What about if the bowl runs dry? Will there be any problems with it overheating or anything like that? I'm not there to monitor it during the day, and there are lots of feral cats who need water. What about if the bowl runs dry? Will there be any problems with it overheating or anything like that? I'm not there to monitor it during the day, and there are lots of feral cats who need... » Read More What about if the bowl runs dry? Will there be any problems with it overheating or anything like that? I'm not there to monitor it during the day, and there are lots of feral cats who need water. « Show Less
1832467
I use mine for chickens and it does run dry at times. The longest it has run dry was 12 hours overnight as I forgot to unplug it. I just filled it and it's still working fine. It has been about a month since this happened and all is well so far.
1832468
there is minor evaporation because it is heated ,however if you check once daily and refill it or wipe it out and refill ,u should have no problem ,it does not get hot,just warm enough to prevent freeze,,cats will drink alot more water when outside in winter mnths,by two to be safe there cheap and work great ,they have a built in temp sensor so as not to melt or catch fire... great product
1832469
no problems. It has run dry while I was gone overnight in freezing weather and it is just fine. It does not get that hot just keeps water from freezing. I use it for my ornamental bantam chickens all season.
1832470
I would suggest getting a larger size water bowl. The 1 quart size is not large enough for multiple cats.
1832471
Please know that the bowl does not 'heat' the water in the bowl. There is a thermostat inside the mechanism that keeps the contents in the bowl above freezing. The contents never feel hot or warm to the touch. My bowl has run dry on occasion and has never suffered any ill consequences.
1832472
I think mine's run dry before and still seems to be working this week(first freezes in New Jersey, us)...it seems to keep the water just above freezing so I don't think runs very warm
1512366
I feed my cats dry food from these bowls. There has always been spillage around their bowls, no matter what bowl I've used and there still is. I think it is more of an issue of how they eat rather than the bowl design. I use black "cafeteria" type trays under their bowls (and placemats under those!) to try to catch most of the mess.
1694667
Mine stopped working and I bought the drinkwell hy drator and just used it in the bowl. My cat still uses the bowl he is used to. I also got the refill carbon filter for it so I don't have to buy filters. It all works great.
28409
I have never let mine run dry, but sense it is a under water pump, I think it might, I always keep mine clean and change the water at least once a week, even though it has a filter, it will still get dirty, I clean the filter and only change it now and then, I just clean it with water, I also take a pipe cleaner and clean the part of the pump that the water comes out frequently. I do not use any chemical to clean it because I do not want my cats exposed to chemicals.
736932
I don't think so. The bowl on this one is not that large and most likely would not hold enough water for a week with the cat drinking and evaporation. However there are other fountains on the market that have a larger water capacity; look for ones made more for dogs as these will have a high water capacity.
1412731
i believe this is a design flaw. Ours was the same and when we did use it our cat moved the top and the water was pumped out on the floor. If you can, return the device.
501083
3 weeks is too long a time for any cat (and what about water?)!! Please don't do that! You should only leave a cat alone for no more than 3 days. Then have someone check in and make sure the water bowl is cleaned and filled and the food dispensor is okay (it should not need to be changed too ofen). They also can check if the cat seems to be okay... not injured or sick. When I go on trips, I board my cat. I went around town and found the best place I could. It is not as expensive as boarding a dog, but we still budget for this cost. It is worth it to know he is cared for, is safe and gets attention (and they watch for any medical issues) 3 weeks is too long a time for any cat (and what about water?)!! Please don't do that! You should only leave a cat alone for no more than 3 days. Then have someone check in and make sure the water bowl is cleaned and filled and the food dispensor is okay (it should not need to be changed too ofen). They also can check if the cat seems to be okay... not injured or sick. When I go on trips, I board my cat. I went around town and found the best place I could. It is not as expensive as boarding a dog, but we still budget for this cost. It is worth it to know he is cared for, is safe and gets... » Read More 3 weeks is too long a time for any cat (and what about water?)!! Please don't do that! You should only leave a cat alone for no more than 3 days. Then have someone check in and make sure the water bowl is cleaned and filled and the food dispensor is okay (it should not need to be changed too ofen). They also can check if the cat seems to be okay... not injured or sick. When I go on trips, I board my cat. I went around town and found the best place I could. It is not as expensive as boarding a dog, but we still budget for this cost. It is worth it to know he is cared for, is safe and gets attention (and they watch for any medical issues) « Show Less
668020
No, mine loved it immediately and they are OLD--19! But they have always loved running water. I suggest you turn the control that increases/decreases the water flow to make it a small trickle and see if that helps. I also suggest using filtered water (tastes and smells better to cats). Meantime, be sure they have other fresh water sources as cats can dehydrate quickly. Let me know if that helps!
264324
Interesting question... We have a cat but I've never had issue to use it. I can only say that I will try it for that situation should it happen.
2068990
A few things. If it's several years old and it's running all day, the motor could have burned out. After usage, was the humidifier cleaned including wiping the blades? Was it ever stored where there is dampness such as a basement? Several factors. I've had mine over 8 years and it's a table top. When it goes, I know I got my money's worth and will buy another unit. It is NOT worth it to replace the motor IF that is the problem as it's too costly. Good luck.
1763978
I usually add the hot water to the bowl rather than heat the entire bowl in the microwave. I've not had this problem ever before and I would "freak" if the same thing happened to me. Perhaps your microwave wattage runs higher than normal??
940747
safe for whom, the cat or the skitter critter? The cat will be fine, the skitter critter on the other hand, you might have trouble finding it again. Somewhere in my house are two from the first batch and one from the second batch. Occasionally I find one that I had given up on when looking for a current one. Then we have a couple going at the same time. Currently have one in hiding again. WHERE does he put these things? Sure likes them though. I'm tempted to open up batch #3 and put another on into service. I like having more than one at a time.
776743
You can use it while away on vacation but two weeks is pushing it. With every clean out, at least a tablespoon of gravel is scooped away into the hopper. You can't overfill the bowl with gravel or it'll not dry properly leading to wet paws (plus cats don't like that). If filled to the correct amount or under filled, come two weeks time, there won't be enough gravel for the cats to use. If you put it on a cycle to go off only once a day, it'll lead to inefficient cleaning since there's so much to scoop out depending on how many times your cat uses it and how many cats you have.
2207510
Like the other posters, I use a heavy duty (orange) outdoor extension cord and the dish and cord are on a covered porch and I have had no problems with it. A great product and we have had temps in the below 0 range and I do not have to worry about our outdoor cats having fresh (not frozen) water at all times.
668021
As of right now, I still think they don't like to drink from it... I heard a report (from my wife) that she saw one of the two cats drinking from it, but I have not been able to verify this myself. I have filled it up with water twice because it went below the fill line, but I'm not sure if that is due to cats drinking the water or evaporation.
41601
I have three cats and two of these bowls. If I fill both bowls up in the morning, it will last them all day but they also get some wet food in the mornings. It depends on how much your cats eat each day, but I would not say that it would last them for two days if you only have one bowl. Maybe you should measure how much it takes to fill the bowl and see if they eat it all in one day. If cats get bored, they tend to nibble more, too.
1919483
That's a common problem, see the other reviews. I had the same issue. It would feed my cat successfully, at BEST, maybe 70% of the time. A lot of the time it would get to one minute before a scheduled feeding, then switch to 12:00AM, no matter what time it was, and the cat would go hungry unless we manually fed her anyway (which defeats the purpose.) A lot of the time when it did turn on at the right time, the motor would run, but no food would come out. This is a terrible, terrible product! 80% of the reviews are bad ones. If you can still return this item, DO SO!!! If you go on a trip and leave it with an animal, they WILL go hungry. That's a common problem, see the other reviews. I had the same issue. It would feed my cat successfully, at BEST, maybe 70% of the time. A lot of the time it would get to one minute before a scheduled feeding, then switch to 12:00AM, no matter what time it was, and the cat would go hungry unless we manually fed her anyway (which defeats the purpose.) A lot of the time when it did turn on at the right time, the motor would run, but no food would come out. This is a terrible, terrible product! 80% of the reviews are bad ones. If you can still return this item, DO SO!!! If you go on a trip and... » Read More That's a common problem, see the other reviews. I had the same issue. It would feed my cat successfully, at BEST, maybe 70% of the time. A lot of the time it would get to one minute before a scheduled feeding, then switch to 12:00AM, no matter what time it was, and the cat would go hungry unless we manually fed her anyway (which defeats the purpose.) A lot of the time when it did turn on at the right time, the motor would run, but no food would come out. This is a terrible, terrible product! 80% of the reviews are bad ones. If you can still return this item, DO SO!!! If you go on a trip and leave it with an animal, they WILL go hungry. « Show Less