CROWDFUNDING REVIEW – I have a 1.5 year old American Bobtail cat named Ozzy. I’ve noticed that he doesn’t drink very often from his water dish, but when he does, he’ll drink for several minutes at a time. After some research, I figured out that he might be getting whisker fatigue from his whiskers touching the sides of the bowl when he drinks. So I was really curious about the Elfin water fountain when it was offered for review. Let’s see if Ozzy likes it!
What is it?
The Elfin water fountain is a rechargeable pumpless water fountain for your pet.
What’s in the box?
- Elfin water fountain
- Filter
- USB charging cable
- AC adapter
- User guide
Design and features
The Elfin water fountain is mainly comprised of plastic except for the shallow stainless steel water dish.
The fountain is disassembled into 4 main parts (7 if you count the filter, the impeller, and the water conduit that attaches to the bottom of the water tank). Everything but the base can be easily washed by hand.
The base of the Elfin fountain holds the rechargeable battery and motor. You’ll need to charge the base before using it. It can take around 8 hours to fully charge it. Yes, that’s a long time, but on the positive side, one charge will keep the Elfin Fountain running for up to a month. It is possible to keep the unit plugged in if desired, but using it wirelessly is more convenient.
On the back of the base, there are 2 buttons. The top button is the function/power button and the button below it is the filter. timer reset button.
The top of the base has a motion sensor with 4 status LEDs above it. The LEDs are the battery indicator, mode indicator, warning indicator, and filter life indicator.
The water tank is made of a frosted semi-clear plastic with measurements on the side. To use the Elfin Fountain, you fill it up to the max line.
The next step is to assemble the white filter tray with the filter in place and then the stainless steel water tray goes on top along with the clear plastic spout.
Since I mentioned the filter, that’s one unknown when it comes to this fountain. It’s suggested that the filter be changed every 3-4 weeks. There’s even a built-in alarm to remind you to replace the filter. Even if you use filtered or bottled water, it’s important to use a filter due to bacteria that can grow from food crumbs, dirt, etc. from the pet’s tongue and whiskers. But what happens in the future if these filters are no longer available for purchase? That’s the important question…
With the water tank filled, and the filter tray and stainless steel water tray on top, everything is secured in place with the locking levers on the sides of the water tank, all that is left to do is to insert the spout and turn it on.
Oh… you also have to get your pet to use it 😉 My cat Ozzy, gave the Elfin Fountain a wide berth when I first replaced his ceramic water dish (aka one of our soup bowls). He wasn’t sure what to think when the water automatically started circulating when he was near it. But he’s a smart cat and he got over his fear and was drinking from it within an hour or two.
The Elfin fountain has two modes. There’s the intelligent mode which detects if the pet hasn’t passed by for a certain period of time and will turn on to attract them to drink. In this mode, it will also automatically start the fountain when it detects motion through the built-in motion sensor. There is also a timer mode which will dispense water for 20 seconds every 15 minutes.
See it in action
If you were wondering why Ozzy doesn’t have a whisker fatigue problem with his food dish. That’s because he’s been using a Dr. Catsby’s whisker fatigue dish that I reviewed around 7 years ago for our other kitty Max who died last year. 🙁
What I like
- Rechargeable
- Easy to clean
- Quiet
What I’d change
- Include more than 1 filter with the purchase
Final thoughts
The Elfin pet water fountain is easy to use and easy to clean. My cat likes it, so your pets probably will like it too. The only concern I have is the availability and price of the filters. I just wish there was an easy DIY solution for that…
Price: $65.00
Where to buy: Kickstarter
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Elfin.
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Sure- I’m giving it a shot. And there were still 4 slots left for the $65 early bird with 4 filters so got that. I wonder if I could cut to size one of the Drinkwell filters from my current fountain? Probably not since then the edges wouldn’t be sealed.
Let me know if you come up with any DIY solutions for the filters. I’m swiftly approaching the time when it will need to be replaced and they only included one filter with my review sample.
Future filter availability was what I noted in the post pledge survey. As always with these projects, when I will actually receive something to try to DIY is uncertain 😉
In the comments section they do say they will use Amazon to sell supplies .
Cool… but I still would like an easier/cheaper way to make my own filters 😉 I guess I could forego a filter if I was cleaning everything every other day or so… but then that completely removes the convenience of using it in the first place.
I was wondering if you could give me the measurements of the filter?
It’s 3 x 3 x .30 inches
I wonder if it is guaranteed to work with a money back promise?
Is there a return policy if my cat doesn’t like it?
This device is absolutely brilliant. Just got mine and it came with 8 filters. It is beautiful and very well made. Vivy loves to drink from it after getting used to it. I couldn’t be happier with it.