Comparing this to the PetMate I've used for years, there are many pros, and only one con so far.

There is almost no motor noise, we've been using it for about 3-4 weeks now. It needs to be filled more often due to not having a reservoir but it is so much easier to fill, that I'm much happier with this method than with the large reservoir on the PetMate. Now, instead of having to take pieces apart and unscrew tops, all I have to do is take a large cup of water across the room and pour it in.

It somehow is smaller than I expected it to be, but I'm really bad at estimating size in my head, so I'm sure it matches whatever it says that the size is in the description.

It is easy to clean, very smooth lines.

The only con in my opinion is that the water makes noise. I could always adjust the rate of water flow from the PetMate to get it to hit the base in a way that it wouldn't splash. I'd have to readjust occasionally, but I could always find the sweet spot. This fountain makes noise like a desktop fountain would. Some people find this soothing. My husband and I do not, that is the only reason it dropped from 5 stars to 4. I guess another con (if I hadn't planned for it) is that it splashes a bit onto the floor around it. However, I planned for this in advance and bought a silicon mat for it to sit on, so the water doesn't actually hit the floor, just the mat that was intended for this purpose.

One of my four cats was immediately interested, and he has tried out the fountain from all different angles, drinking from the spout, as well as the pool, and this fountain is definitely using water faster than the PetMate now, so I believe it is preferred among my felines over the PetMate.

All in all, I'm happy, I just wish I could get it to stop the trickling noise.

Cats immediately took to this fountain. I love that it has a high lip (rarely seeing food dropped in it) and that the water effect is quiet. There is no pump noise which is incredible.

I like that both the pump and the filers can be bought separately!

I was a LITTLE bummed when no filter was delivered when I bought the fountain though. so. be aware. Buy a filter when you buy this fountain!

This thing is a godsend. We have three cats, one of which is old and demands that we continually run water in one of the sinks for him. It took a month, but he finally tried it. Now all three queue up to drink from it. Something about moving water just makes cats happy, and drinking plenty of water helps keep them healthy. They alternate drinking from different parts of it, sometimes preferring the pool but usually the stream and sometimes the fountain up flow part. It did take the old cat about a month to drink from it, but now he loves it. Our semi-outdoor cat took to it immediately, and our inside-only younger cat (he was attacked by a dog and is too dain bramaged to be allowed outside) took about a week. Sometimes two or even all three line up for their turns drinking.

The fountain itself is beautiful and makes a very pleasing sound. I found it easy to properly assemble and dissemble for cleaning, and in two months it has never gotten skewed, made unpleasant noises, or otherwise caused any problems. Visitors comment on it. All in all it's fifty bucks very well spent, and if it were ever damaged we would replace it with exactly the same model.

My finicky 16 year old cat loves this fountain! My cat was diagnosed with kidney dysfunction about 2 years ago and since then we have had to give her fluids intravenously once every five days. The worst part was that she suddenly became very choosey about where she drank water. She would move from water dish to water dish in her mission to find the perfect water. Sometimes/mostly, she would give up searching for just the right water after about 15 minutes and go back to bed. This was both scary and stressful as she already needed more water than she was able to consume. I used the Five Star Fountain for a few months and for awhile, it pleased her and she would drink. However, for some reason, she stopped using it and we started the daily search for the holy grail of water yet again. I tried every type, size, color of dish and location known to man. I even placed shallow dishes filled with water in strategic places outside in the yard because she appeared to like "discovering" her own source of water. Nothing worked. I knew from watching her that she couldn't see the water and although she could smell it, she hated dipping her nose into the dish and accidentally getting water on her nose. I did a lot of research and finally settled on the Pioneer Pet Raindrop Ceramic Drinking Fountain. With this fountain she has three places to drink from, the water is fresh and cool, and she can hear the water so she knows the water is there without dunking her nose in. I also think that she can see the "moving" water where it runs down in a little stream. I've seen her drink off and on throughout the day and I know she must be feeling much better with all of the hydration she is getting. I find that the fountain is easy to clean. It is much easier than the Five Star Fountain. I bought the white ceramic fountain because I wanted to be able to see any slime, bugs, or hair that might be in the water. So far, no slime and I've been using it for a week and a half. You will not be sorry you bought this fountain! However, be advised that if you fill it too full, it will splash droplets on the floor, but this is easily solved by not over-filling it. Also, be advised that mine did not come with a filter, so be sure to pick those up at the same time. Yes, the fountain sounds like a trickle of water is being released from the sink but that is certainly not an issue. Older cats do tend to gradually get hard of hearing, so the trickling water sound is what makes it so perfect. Besides, I think if you put it on a small bath mat or towel, you might not have the same volume of noise. Our family is not disturbed in the least by the sound the falling water makes.

I bought this fountain to replace a plastic fountain that was driving me nuts. It was hard to clean, its design was flawed and the pump was crap, and it was too light.

My hopes weren't high, I was mostly looking for something heavy and easier to clean. And I got it.

I also got a bit of a puzzle in trying to make it all work together. The instructions basically tell you to snap it all together, line up the holes and it will work. What they don't tell you is that there are crucial spots in the design that are missing some kind of orientation/alignment key/mark/whatever so you know that you set it up right. For example, there are four possible ways to put the pump inside of its protective clam shell, yet only one will allow it to push water into the top half of the fountain.

That said, once I figured that out, everything made sense and the fountain has worked perfectly.

Then the bigger problem: my cats.

I thought that old and grumpy cat would be the most resistant to change and that the younger and more daring cat would have no trouble with it. Wrong.

Old and grumpy cat got thirsty, couldn't find the old fountain, noticed the big white shiny thing that made water dripping noises, and went on with her life.

Young and daring cat? Nope. Wouldn't come within a yard of it. I actually had to leave a bowl with water right by it just to get him to come closer, but still he wouldn't touch the fountain. I had to turn off the pump's flow to its lowest, so it barely pushes the stream into the top half and it makes almost no noise. After an hour or so the cat dared to come close enough to drink.

All of this drama unfolded over the first couple of days, now? Like it has been sitting there for years, no trouble whatsoever. And cleaning it of course is a joke, it's two big and thick ceramic parts, and a small plastic enclosure for the pump.

So yeah, if your cats already use electric fountains, and you are a little patient, you and your cats should be happy. And if the sound scares them you can just crank down the pump flow to make it quieter. This fountain is in my home office and the trickling sound is very faint and almost relaxing. I wouldn't hesitate buying a second unit to put it elsewhere in the house.

As for the filters, it uses a cartridge instead of just a square pocket like my old fountain.

The only downside so far is that they should have added a plastic tab inside of the pump's clam shell so the pump only fits one way instead of four, or maybe spend another 10 minutes in the manual warning the user on how these parts need to fit.