The best option is PETKIT Eversweet Solo 2, and the optimal one for most pets is the Petfort automatic drinking fountain.
According to the Five Freedoms concept of pet welfare, your pet should have free access to clean drinking water, and monitoring its quality is important for health.
Depending on the age, level of activity and nutrition of the animal, the daily norm can be 150-300 ml for a cat and 700-1000 ml for a ten-kilogram dog. An automatic drinking bowl comes to the rescue: water is always available and remains fresh for three to five days.
In stores and marketplaces you can find a huge number of options up to 1000 ₽. Such models raise doubts regarding build quality and service life. In this article I will look at automatic drinkers in the price range from 2000 to 5000 rubles.
I have collected several options for drinking bowls that will fit perfectly into the interior and take care of your animal.
Team criteria
Type of drinker. There are two types of drinking bowls on sale: automatic and mechanical. In automatic drinkers, water is supplied using a pump, and in mechanical drinkers it is poured into a special bottle or container.
In the article I discuss automatic drinkers: they are much more convenient and safer than mechanical ones. The water in them remains fresh for three to five days due to the built-in filters. Most automatic drinkers are powered by USB, so they can be connected to a power bank or plugged into a power outlet using an adapter.
The devices differ in water supply modes, so when choosing, you should take into account the character of the animal. If your pet shows interest in tap water , you should take a closer look at automatic drinking bowls with a spout, and if the animal is generally curious, you can choose a fountain type drinking bowl.
If it is unclear how your pet will react to a water bottle, choose a device with two types of water supply. Such models switch from jet mode to fountain mode.
Displacement and size. For an animal weighing up to 15 kg , small drinking bowls of one or two liters are ideal ; the water in them needs to be changed every three to five days.
Material. The most popular materials used to produce drinking bowls are ABS or food grade plastic: they are safe for animals. There are also models made of stainless steel and ceramics. Ceramic drinkers are heavy and expensive, while steel ones are poorly represented on Russian marketplaces. I will consider plastic models.
Water filtration system. Types of water filtration in automatic drinkers can be single-stage, when activated carbon is used as a filter, and multi-stage – such systems usually include from three to five stages of purification using different elements.
Water goes through the following stages through multi-stage purification systems:
- Non-woven material. It filters out wool and impurities such as chlorine.
- Mineral stones. Remove heavy metals.
- Activated carbon. Removes unpleasant taste and odor, purifies water from chlorine.
- Ion exchange resin. Softens water.
- Thick sponge. Filters water.
Noise level from operation. Drinkers that are too loud can frighten your pet, so I selected devices with low noise levels. The manufacturers of these models claim that the noise level does not exceed 30 dB – sounds at the level of a ticking clock or a whisper.
Power in case of a power outage. Most of the automatic drinkers on the market are powered by a USB cable . This means that they can be connected to an outlet via an adapter, and in case of a power outage, to a power bank.
Additional gadgets. In some models, manufacturers install a motion sensor. In this case, the device starts working when the animal is at a certain distance from the drinking bowl. This is an optional feature; in addition , you can buy a motion sensor on marketplaces and install it yourself, checking with the manufacturer to see if it is compatible with the drinker.
Some models are equipped with a control function from your phone. This allows you to control the remaining liquid in the drinker, turn the water supply on or off, and monitor the filter life in real time.
There are also models with a color or sound indicator of the remaining water. If it is not enough, the device will signal that it needs to be topped up. A useful feature for drinking bowls made of opaque plastic.
Availability of replacement filters and their cost. It’s a shame to buy a drinker and then discover that replacement filters for it are no longer sold. Therefore, I looked at drinking bowls, filters for which can be bought in several stores in sets up to 1,500 rubles. Still  , I recommend purchasing in advance in case there are problems with supplies. One filter usually lasts from one to three months.