Easy to use, good for your pets
One of the things responsible cat owners have to do is to make sure their felines are drinking enough, especially true if your kitties are on a dry-food diet. This can be a challenge since cats can be notoriously finicky or even lazy about drinking enough water.

With this in mind, as well as keeping more water available during my frequent travels, I tried out this unit, was pleased, and bought an additional one. After about a year, one of them started to leak through the joint whre the water flows through. I replaced the unit with a new one that has not leaked yet.

I've had three cats use them. One loves the water fountains best and drinks from them pretty much exclusively; that senior kitty can't crouch very well so she drinks from the top of the flowing part, while standing up. Another cat alternates between normal bowls and the bowl of the fountains. A third one never used the fountains.

For the people complaining about noise or burned out units, keep in mind this product uses a submersible pump (like in an aquarium), it needs to be completely immersed to function properly and to cool itself. Letting it run dry makes it both noisy and damages the pump (after a while). Keep it filled and it's fine. The fountain will be noisy for 1-5 minutes when you first re-fill it, but otherwise it's just a quiet hum.

Caveats: It's hard to tell when the filters are gunked up enough to affect the taste of the water, and replacing them creates some added cost. If your animals shed a lot, fur can get stuck around the pump and eventually impede water flow. My cats prefer if I change the water in the fountain regularly (much more often than Petmate suggests).

Other thoughts: I checked with my P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
and discovered the unit only uses a miniscule 2W, less than most nightlights!

For the price and the health of your animals, these are a bargain. Recommended!

Second One Works Well!
I recently ordered the PetMate fountain because one of my KittenKats had one episode of a urinary problem and I want him to drink more water. After two hours of trying to assemble and get the flow lever to fit the pump; I decided "it's not me" and the part was defective. I called Amazon and was immediately provided a postage-paid return label and confirmation of a replacement. Even with the free shipping option, I received each unit within two days! The replacement was easy to assemble, and I was able to see that yes, the first flow lever was defective. So far, it is working very well and is quiet. I left the flow lever on the "Low" position as recommended and it produces a moderate flow of water down the ramp, creating just a little movement of water in the bowl (which is preferrable to Kitties). I am also very pleased with the long power cord, so the bowl can be placed near their food. Even though they get bottled water, I went ahead and used the carbon filter too. Be sure to rinse it well first. BTW: if you use bottled water, check the label for Magnesium content (magnesium sulfate). Magnesium is the primary mineral found in cat foods that can cause urinary crystals and blockage (a veterinary EMERGENCY that must be treated in less than 24 hours!). I am happy with this purchase, especially for the price and free shipping and great customer care. And kittens are fascinated

Love it!!
I bought this product three or four months ago to stop my cats from drinking out of the toilet/tub after we were done showering. It worked! They immediately stopped drinking out of both of them and instead started drinking out of the fountain.

While I will admit this does take a small amount of maintenance, it is still a wonderful product. Okay, sure, you need to clean it every week or so; but shouldn't you do that with a normal cat bowl anyways? It's just a tad bit harder with this bowl because of the small crevices.

I plugged in the filter on the first day and it was as silent as ever. I couldn't even tell that it was running! I originally was so scared that it was going to be a loud filter, causing my cats to run away from it but boy was I wrong. The filter does need to be cleaned out every now and then from the cat hair and debris, which people have been complaining about. But I would much rather have to clean out the pump every week than have that Cat Hair & Co cycle through my fountain until the water became murky and gross!

My fountain has started to "leak" just recently, but I have yet to determine if that is condensation from the high humidity or actual leaking.

All in all, I love this fountain. Like I put earlier, it does take a small amount of maintenance, but that is understandable.

Great for Cats!
I got this system to be used by my cat and my dog. My dog is only 15 lbs but she quickly drinks the system dry. Sometimes within the same day. I have the standard size. When I got it, there were no other sizes available. My dog also tends to leave debris in the water from her whiskers and beard. It clogs the hole where the water is taken to be recycled through the filter. I decided to put it up out of reach of my dog and use it for just the cat. I have also not been able to find something like Drinkwell's "aqua garden" for the system I currently have.
However, the system is great for my cat. I just wish I could find a cat grass thing for it.

Nice Pet Water
I love this waterer. Believe it or not - it is easier to clean and care for then just a plain bowl of water. I refresh the water every few days and rinse it out. Our water is hard- so this is my second Petmate- and I use bottled drinking water exclusively- no lime buildup in this one! It is nearly silent- and my cat loves it- he drinks more water than he ever used to. He never drank out of the bowl anyway- he would jump in the sink to drink tap water- this makes him nearly as happy- and he can play in it a little... I highly recommend it. His first Petmate I got second hand- but it built up with lime and then the motor died- hence the reason for bottled water only in this new one. It makes a HUGE difference.