Fresh Water Connoisseurs

Harry, who likes to think of himself as a wild cat, stalking the residential neighborhood as his presumed ancestors stalked the Norwegian forests, will only drink water that is outside, or flowing. Probably not a bad survival mechanism, but it can be a chore to keep his bowls full and clean. Raccoons tip them over. Leaves fall and fill them up. In the winter, they freeze; in summer, they dry up.

Also, I have to let him out at night every time he wants a drink (he never uses the cat door when I am available). He paws at the window loud enough to wake me; I stumble over and provide an opening; he leaps out and runs straight to his water dish.

Enter the fountain. I've been planning to make one for months; bought a pump finally a couple of weeks ago. I was aiming for domestic coolness -- a teapot pouring into a tea cup, cascading down into the saucer. And someday maybe I'll make that. However, physics intruded -- the whole base of the fountain has be rimmed high enough to contain the water and deep enough to cover the pump. The teapot has to have a hole in the base for the piping, without cracking the whole pot (although I had a Plan B for a broken-pot-look fountain). The whole teapot thing would end up being quite large, to accommodate cascades and flowing -- larger than the table space I'm willing to devote to it. And the smallest pump I could find (at an aquarium store) can push water 7 feet, so the flow would be pretty fast. (Actually, it's been an interesting lesson in practical wave mechanics, and would make a good science fair project for children in future years.)

The current bamboo fountain, in a planter pot from Home Goods.

Then, I found a fountain "kit" at a garden store. Someone else found a pump (smaller than the one I had), piped it into a piece of bamboo with a clever stabilizing tool made of smaller bits of bamboo and twine and voila! Instant Fountain (you provide the bowl and the water). Cost, maybe $10 for the pump and the bamboo you could grow yourself; sale price (to me) $29 for the smallest version. Great little cottage industry.

It became simply a matter of finding a suitable bowl (trips to Ikea and Home Goods), and now the cats have fresh water, inside, all the time. I had hoped to warrant an Ikea Hack, but didn't find anything quite suitable. Maybe someday when I do the cascading domestic fountain, I'll use Ikea pottery.

I have it placed next to the window. Already Harry checks in to the water every time he enters or exits. Tasha and Boris have adopted it as well. The one drawback -- the sound of constantly running water, which causes me to be both thirsty, and feel the need to go to the bathroom at frequent intervals.

Tasha drinking from an earlier incarnation -- the Ikea galvanized steel bowl,
while undoubtedly modern-looking, was not deep enough and led to spills and floods.