Why Should Your Cat Have a Water Fountain?
By Sarah Ann Mountford It struck me as odd, the first time I heard it. Cat fountains? Cats have their own fountains? How bizarre, thought I. But not so. Turns out that cats favor moving water so long as it isn't so big a body of water they might lose themselves in it. Cats do have 'hydrophobia', or fear of water, but that means large bodies of water. Small bodies of moving water are magnetic to cats.
In nature the safest water is (or used to be) moving water that sunlight reaches. Streams, for example are favorite drinking sources for many wild animals and cat's, however tame, are no different. But it turns out there is more to it than just the appeal of moving water that is behind the really quite big business of cat fountains.
Because cats are, in fact, not attracted to standing bowls of water many cats fail to hydrate sufficiently. Wet, canned food supplies a fair portion of needed water but a lot of cats don't eat wet food. These cats are at serious risk from dehydration which can result in kidney failure. You'd think cats would have enough sense to drink enough but they often don't and the consequences can be fatal. Which is why many Veterinarians advocate cat fountains and why more and different kinds of cat fountains are available.
Given the need for feline hydration and the fact that there are an estimated 90 to 100 million owned cats in the United States alone it easy to see how cat fountains have become a big business over the past eight years. Drinkwell is one popular brand. Petmate and Hagen are two other manufacturers. These sell from about thirty dollars to around eighty dollars. And given our tendency to pamper our pets, it's just as easy to understand the rise of the one-of-a-kind cat fountain.
Handmade cat fountains are now offered by several individuals on http://www.etsy.com, an online conglomerate of individuals' stores offering handmade items. These are ceramic bowls with a little recirculating pump inside with a small hose attached which displays a small spout of water. These handmade fountains are decidedly more attractive than the rather sterile looking manufactured units widely sold though they do have the pump cord going visibly over the top. But cats love them.
Taking it a step or two further are both bubble-up and fountain types of cat fountains in handmade ceramic bowls with built-in cat grass planters. The fountain type of these have an enameled copper (that's glass on copper, not paint), leaf shaped ornament which fills with water from a copper stem (tube) with enameled leaves. Water falls into the bowl and the cat holds his tongue under the falling water. In these cat fountains the cord exits through the bottom, not over the top.
The bubble-up type from the same maker is like those on Etsy but the cord is not visible and these too come with built-in planters. The pump is adjustable, silent and hidden beneath glass beads and or river pebbles which also serve as filtration. Sold under the name of ThirstyCat and Cat Oases, these handmade cat fountains are available at http://www.gardenhomeart.com, an online store which specializes in handmade items for home decor.
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http://www.gardenhomeart.com
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