I bought this for my 3 cats, Harley, Jazzie, and Sinbad almost two years ago and they love it. Sinbad was hyperthyroid and he needed to drink more water and this seemed to help. Also, when I went looking for the filters I found them on the amazon.com website and bought a box of 10. It is a great feeling knowing my kitties are getting fresh water and I clean it about once a week. I find it easy to clean and sterilize in the bathroom tub. Whenever you have more than one cat, this is a great item.

I like this thing. It may look like a urinal, but it is actually very nice. My cat likes it as well. Drinks from it all the time. No, he has not peed in it yet.

I received this product from my son who claimed his cats were afraid of the horrific noise it made, but after filling it correctly and turning it on I found very little noise. What I did find was he filled it incorrectly, did not fully saturate the filter before inserting, did not fill to capacity in the filter chamber or the bowl unit. After successfully and correctly filling the unit within a few minutes I found very little noise, VERY little. Basically it makes a very pleasant low gentle trickling water sound, which is what a fountain does and it does attract the cats, plus they LOVE it! I even like the soft gentle trickling sound, as it is relaxing and a sound you find on many sleep units for adults.

It is important to remember when this unit starts to run low on water or it is not filled properly it will indeed alert you via more noise, as the pump doesn't have enough water so you fill it and POOF the noise is gone. Of course you are buying a, "Cat Fountain" so to speak and therefore it will generate more noise than a bowl of water because it is a fountain which pumps constant water. For this unit to be silent it would merely be a bowl of water, but that is not what you are buying.

As for cleaning...........of course you need to clean it, but you also need to clean bowls of water and other non-pump auto water units. Actually I have found this unit to require less cleaning and stay cleanier than bowls of water or noncirculating auto water methods because the water it contains is constantly circulating, it has a filter and therefore stays pretty clean. I clean my unit once per week with antibacterial soap, rinse it well, wipe it down, etc., but when I used water bowls or sedentary auto water units I was cleaning them daily.

Of course it will collect airborne particles and some debris, as it is open and cats are using it however since it does have the circulating water and filter this problem is very minimal. Actually with the other non-pump auto water units and bowls I found they would collect a lot of debris and also mold despite my constant cleaning since the water just sits there.

You must also be certain to clean your pump portion in order to keep it running properly and this is very easy..........pop it out and rinse it off. I do this once per week, as I have noticed it will collect a bit of cat hair under it, which I think is normal and no problem whatsoever. It is also important to change your filter approximately once per month so your unit will continue to provide clean water.

My 4 cats LOVE this unit and actually it serves 2 purposes, as they think it is a toy, thus play in the water and also love drinking out of it! When my cats hear our electric ice maker in the fridge, which I must say is much louder they come running because they want those ice cubes placed in their fountain so they can bob and bat at them. Actually I have a new high end refridgerator and that makes more noise than this cat fountain.

After my son gave me the unit claiming it was too noisy he came over and found it was not noisy in the least when filled properly so he went out and bought another one, filled it properly, saturated the filter and filter chamber and POOF no noise! His cats love it too!

I feel good about the fact my cats are now drinking more water, which is filtered and circulating, thus cleaner plus they love it. I have had my unit for 2 years of constant use and finally the pump died, so I am ordering another one since my cats now sit in front of the existing one, which is no longer working and bat the water around like they are hoping it will start working again.

Actually I had no idea their fountain wasn't working, as it is that quiet, but then I noticed the whole gang was sitting in front of the unit just gazing at it, as if to say, "What the heck happened to our fountain?" I got 2 years out of my pump, which I think is fabulous especially because the cost of the unit is so reasonable, so I have assured the boys they will get a new one soon.

I think this is a fabulous product, much more sanitary, easier to maintain and the cats love it. Currently I know at least 5 people other than myself who are using this unit for their cats and none have reported noise while all have reported this is a great little water fountain, which their cats love!