PetSafe Drinkwell Ceramic Pagoda Fountain – Full Review

PetSafe Drinkwell Pagoda Fountain Review

The Petsafe Drinkwell Ceramic Pagoda is one of the best cat water fountains in the market and it’s a great solution for pets with allergy to plastic. It has a capacity of 70 ounces of fresh circulating water and a special replaceable charcoal filter to eliminate bad odors and taste. The unit comes with one filter for initial set-up.

The Pagoda fountain is the same than the PetSafe Drinkwell Avalon fountain, except that the Avalon is round and the Pagoda is rectangular.

The Drinkwell Pagoda fountain is very easy to clean and its design looks very nice in your home. This pet fountain has upper and lower dishes to provide your pets of two areas where he can choose where to drink from and a dual-free-falling streams that oxygenate the water for freshness and coolness, encouraging your cat to drink more.

FEATURES

• 70 ounces of water capacity
• Replaceable charcoal filter eliminates bad odors and taste, keeping the water fresh
• Foam pre-filter to protect the pump
• Porcelain design is easier to clean, hygienic, and the design looks great in the house
• Dual patented free-falling streams aerate the water for freshness, coolness and encourage your cat to drink more
• Upper and lower dishes provide two drinking areas for pets to choose from where to drink
• Ceramic parts are dishwasher safe
• Includes one charcoal filter to initially setup the unit
• It uses a low-voltage 12V system
• Submersible pump for a safe and more silent operation
• Product dimensions: 10.6 x 12.2 x 8.4
• Weight: 3.2 pounds

PARTS OF PETSAFE DRINKWELL PAGODA FOUNTAIN

Petsafe Drinkwell Paoda fountain consists of:

• A ceramic dish
• A center ceramic piece
• A submersible pump underneath the center piece
• A foam pre-filter that surrounds the pump
• A filter holder with a cap
• A replaceable charcoal filter
• A small rubber covering where the pump cord passes through the bottom to keep water from leaking
• Inline plug; the cord is detachable, so you can unplug the unit without unplugging the wall outlet. This is particularly useful if you have to plug the unit in behind furniture or in a tight area.
• An adaptor

UNPACKING AND SET UP OF THE PAGODA FOUNTAIN (watch the cats drinking too)

PROS

• Very easy to refill. Simply pour water into it and fill it up or dump and refill.
• Its motor is quiet (being full).
• Easy to assemble following the directions.
• Very easy to clean (since is ceramic, it is really easy to wipe off any dirt or pet hair).
• Charcoal filter helps to reduce bad taste and odors and pre-filter to protect the pump.
• Easy to change the filters
• No slime or scum growing fast like plastic fountains. The Pagoda stays clean longer.
• Different areas where your cat can choose where to drink from.
• Easy to remove the pump to wash it.
• It has two streams so two cats can drink from the fountain at the same time.
• Very nice design and the unit is heavy so cats cannot knock it over easily.
• Tested and approved by UL (independent safety testing company).
• The waterfall sound effect can be relaxing (if you like this sound, this is a Pro)
• Convenient detachable cord to unplug the unit
• Good for felines with allergy to plastic
• Very easy for cats to drink from this fountain; they can stand up fully and drink from the top instead having to stoop.

CONS

• Even thought the motor is quiet, the fountain has a noisy waterfall splash sound (it gets noisier if you let the water level go low)
• The waterfall splashing sound might scare some cats
• Less capacity than other fountains (70 Oz)
• Motor has only one speed setting
• Even when the Pagoda is dishwasher safe, the manual instructs that hand washing is preferred.

• Two types of filters have to be replaced: A charcoal filter every 2-4 weeks and a foam filter every 4-8 weeks.

• Bottom area is a little narrow for a cat to drink comfortable so they have to drink from the upper dish or the stream.
• No extra water reservoir
• Fragile as any ceramic device
• Pricey

TIPS & TRICKS FOR BETTER USE OF THE PAGODA CERAMIC PET FOUNTAIN

• If you like the idea of a SPA water sound in your house, keep the water level medium.
• If you don’t like very much the splashing water noise, keep the water level high (this way the stream has a shorter distance to get the water). Another great tip is to place two soy sauce ceramic dishes upside down underneath each water fall to minimize the impact of the splashing on the water and consequently, the noise.
• Make sure to deeply clean the fountain and change the water at least every 4 days if you have one pet. This way you keep the charcoal filter from building up slime. You will notice a less functioning pump when the filter gets dirty.
• It is a good idea to use filtered water for a better performance of the fountain.
• To make your cat adopt the fountain in the beginning, try not to keep it on all day so this way you can attract its curiosity.
• To ensure the proper operation of this fountain, it’s important to keep it full (no lower than one inch below the mark at the bottom of the reservoir).

Note: There are a few plastic components in this fountain; the two main parts are ceramic, but the pump and filter housing are plastic.

CONCLUSION

• This is a good pet fountain that stays clean longer than the plastic ones. Even though the pump and filter housing are plastic, the main parts are all ceramic which is good for pets with feline acne.
• You have to pay a lot of attention in the filters though because it seems that if they get dirty, the pump does not pump properly.
• This is excellent for pets that love to drink water from faucets and it is comfortable for them to drink from the fall of this fountain as well, because they don’t have to bend over as other similar fountains with waterfalls.
• One big advantage of this fountain over the conventional plastic ones is that is easy to assemble and keep clean.
• The Pagoda fountain is noisy as it has a loud water splash, perfect if you find relaxing the sound of water splashing but is not a good solution if you don’t like any type of noises in your house.
• This fountain might be a little small for more than 2 pets, but can be used for 3 cats if you are willing to clean the pump more often.

BOTTOM LINE

For all what I have mentioned and the pros and cons of this product,

I recommend the Drinkwell Ceramic Pagoda Fountain:

• Ideally for one or two cats
• Cats that love to drink water from faucets
• Cats that need to increase their water drinking
• Cats with feline acne
• Pets used to noises
• If you like the splashing water sound and it relaxes you

x I don’t recommend this unit:

• If you want to use it for more than 2 pets (if you don’t want to clean it too often)
• If your cat does not like to drink from waterfalls
• If your cat is nervous of noises
• If you want an absolutely silent unit
• If you don’t want to buy filters