PetLibro Pet Drinking Fountain Review: We Tried a Water Fountain for Cats!

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PetLibro Automatic Pet Water Fountain

$34.99
7.7

Ease of setup & use

8.0 /10

Filtration

9.5 /10

Cat-appeal

10.0 /10

Sturdiness

6.0 /10

Affordability

5.0 /10

Pros

  • Very easy to set up
  • Excellent filtration system & pre-filter
  • Easy maintenance & cleaning
  • Cats like it
  • Has a nightlight

Cons

  • Must disassemble to refill
  • Not the most sturdy
  • Can be expensive over time

Do you feel like your cat doesn’t drink enough water? You’re not alone—a lot of cats are resistant to drinking water. Unfortunately, this disinclination combined with a diet of dry kibble often leads to dehydration.

>> You may also enjoy: Dry Cat Food and Feline Urinary Disease: Is Dry Food Bad for Cats?

Oftentimes, cats avoid their water bowls and instead choose to drink from the toilet bowl or from a dripping faucet. If your cat has a habit of drinking from the faucet instead of his bowl, it might be because moving water sources are perceived as fresher than still water which can grow stagnant. 

One way to encourage your cat to drink more water is to use a water fountain for cats that filters water and keeps water in motion. We had the opportunity to try one such cat water fountain over the past couple of weeks. The brand PetLibro reached out to us and offered to let us try their PetLibro Automatic Pet Water Fountain—a midrange water fountain with a 4.4 out of 5-star rating on Amazon. Continue reading to find out more about the water fountain and our complete review and experience.

Disclosure: “Wildernesscat received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. Although the product was gratis, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.”

Quick Navigation

What’s inside the PetLibro Automatic Water Fountain box?

Before we dive into our experience with the fountain, let’s take a look at what comes in the box and the PetLibro fountain’s specs. 

PetLibro fountain for cats boxed

The fountain comes with everything you need to get started, and a little bit more. Our fountain came with some cool PetLibro-logo stickers, as well!

The fountain is a decent size with a 74oz/2.2L reservoir, which can provide fresh water for approximately a month, depending on how many pets you have and how much they drink. The fountain body is made of BPA-free plastic. The plastic felt pretty sturdy, though the unit was quite light overall. 

The PetLibro fountain is USB-powered and comes with a USB cord and AC adapter. This cord connects to the fountain base, which is separate from the reservoir, through a micro-USB port.

In addition to all of the parts, you’ll also find clear setup instructions in the box.

Unboxed PetLibro fountain for cats

What kind of filter does the PetLibro fountain use?

One of the most important factors we look at when determining whether or not a cat water fountain is a good choice is a fountain’s filter. Water fountains aren’t just designed to keep water moving. A great cat water fountain will keep the water clean, odor-free, and great-tasting. 

Petlibro replacement filters Amazon affiliate link
See PetLibro fountain replacement filters on Amazon.com.

A high-quality water fountain’s filter should fit a couple of basic criteria. It should include:

  • A carbon filter to capture odors and small particles.
  • A pre-filter to capture larger debris, such as pet hair. This helps extend the life of your filter and prevents damage to the fountain pump. 

The PetLibro water fountain provides us with both of these elements. It features a pre-filter built into the top water tray, effectively keeping hair, sediment, and debris from reaching the inner filter and pump inside.

The replaceable inner filter has four components that contribute to the filtration process. Let’s take a closer look.

PetLibro’s four-step filtration process.

Medical stone: The filter is made with medical stone to improve water quality. Medical stone, or sodium aluminosilicate, is porous and commonly used as an adsorbent for a variety of purposes, including water filtration. 

Ion exchange resin: The filter includes ion exchange resin to soften hard tap water. Hard water can damage the fountain pump over time. 

Sponge: The sponge inside the filter traps any sand or rust that might be in the water.

Granular activated carbon: Granular activated carbon is an important filter component known for its ability to filter out many organic chemicals, including those that cause bad odors, from water. 

Combined, these elements filter out debris, heavy metals, and other contaminants, ensuring the water that bubbles up out of your cat’s fountain is always fresh. Overall, the filter seems comparable to what I’ve seen from other high-quality fountains. The inclusion of a pre-filter on the water tray is a great addition since it helps to extend filter life. 

How easy was the PetLibro water fountain assembly?

Setting up the fountain was easy. The fountain came with all of its pieces intact, so in order to fill the fountain up, you have to first disassemble the fountain. The instructions were clear and straight-forward, so it was easy to understand how everything went together again.

All of the PetLibro automatic pet water fountain parts
All of the PetLibro fountain parts ready for re-assembly.

The longest setup step was letting the filter soak for 15 minutes before assembly. According to the instructions, if you don’t soak the filter, the water doesn’t disperse evenly and could cause spurting or overflow. PetLibro also recommends rinsing the filter before use to prevent any activated carbon granules from shedding out into the water. 

Soaking filter on PetLibro fountain
Pre-soaking the filter before assembly. I didn’t realize the intake tube came apart from the filter.

The fountain pieces simply stack together. The pump sits at the bottom of the water reservoir. Before assembling the rest of the parts, I added water to the reservoir. The fountain features a handy viewing window so that you can see how much water is in the reservoir. I filled the water up to the maximum line, then stacked on the different trays and filter. While the fountain went together very simply, I felt like it could use something more to keep the pieces together securely. The uppermost water tray sits on top, and could easily be knocked out of place if bumped or an enthusiastic cat took to nudging it around.

The electrical cord plugs into the fountain base, and then I set the reservoir on top of the base, lining up the pins on the back. 

PetLibro cat fountain base

Once the reservoir was placed on the base and received power, water started bubbling up. At first I was afraid it would overflow, especially since the top water tray floated up slightly since there is nothing holding it down. However, my worry was unwarranted, because the water level didn’t rise any further, and the fountain simply started bubbling steadily. 

Our experience with the PetLibro Automatic Pet Water Fountain.

Once I’d set up the fountain, I placed it down next to our cats feeding area where I normally keep their water bowls and tested it out over the next couple of weeks. When night came around I was met by a surprise—I didn’t realize that the fountain featured a nightlight! The fountain includes an automatic nightlight around its base that turns on it when it gets dark out. This makes it easy to see in the dark and prevents you from tripping on it.

How loud is the water fountain?

According to the PetLibro website, the fountain operates at volumes as low as 38db with “no audible humming”. Although we don’t have the means to measure the volume of the fountain, I definitely heard the pump noise.  

In addition to the sound of quietly bubbling water, there is a noticeable humming from the pump. I could hear it whenever I was in the room a few feet away. I didn’t find the noise disruptive, though, and it isn’t loud enough to scare off most cats from using the fountain.

Keep in mind that the pump is always running since the bubbling is continuous on this fountain. 

Did our cats like the fountain?

I never actually saw Wessie and Forest drinking from the fountain. However, it’s rare for me to see the cats drinking, so this didn’t surprise me. They get most of their water from their food and I don’t often see them drinking additional water. However, I did notice that the water level went down over time through the water level window, so I presume they have been drinking from it. 

Wessie and Forest are already used to using a water fountain, so they didn’t express any surprise at the bubbling and weren’t bothered by the pump noise at all. Overall, I think both cats were comfortable with the fountain. However, since they already use a fountain, it didn’t noticeably affect their water intake.

Cleaning and refilling the fountain. 

Unfortunately, the only way to know that it’s time to refill the fountain is by getting down next to the fountain and looking through the window on the fountain to see how much water is left. While the fountain does last for a while in between refills, it’s not as convenient as some fountains which have a light to notify you that water is getting low. Don’t worry about missing that the water is low and damaging the pump, though. The fountain shuts off automatically before the water level becomes low enough to damage the pump.

Refilling the fountain is pretty convenient since you can lift the reservoir right off of the base and carry it to the sink for refilling. It would be nice to be able to pour water directly onto the fountain to fill it, but since the fountain comes apart so easily, it’s not a big loss.

Taking apart the fountain to refill the water provides a good opportunity to clean the fountain as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that any of the parts are specifically labeled as dishwasher-safe, so I’m sticking to handwashing. It’s important to remember that the base of the fountain shouldn’t be immersed in water, so if you need to clean it, do so with a damp cloth and avoid any electrical parts.

How much does the PetLibro fountain cost over time? 

The fountain cost starts at $34.99 from the PetLibro website. You can add four or eight extra filters onto your fountain purchase for an additional $15 and $30.53, respectively. This is cheaper than purchasing filters separately. Individual filter 4-packs cost $19.99 on the PetLibro website. 

It’s recommended to change the filter once every 1-2 months depending on your cat’s drinking frequency or the number of cats you have. If you stick to this filter changing schedule, you’ll be looking at from $30 – $60 in filter replacement costs over the course of a year. These yearly operating costs are on the higher side of the spectrum compared to other similar-range water fountains.

Our conclusion.

The PetLibro Automatic Pet Water Fountain is a solid water fountain for cats at a mid-range price. It’s easy to set up, maintain, and the water filter includes everything we look for in a high-quality water fountain for cats.

The fountain isn’t the most stable, though, and you do have to remember to check the water level so water doesn’t run out. Filter costs over time are also on the high side.

Overall, however, the PetLibro water fountain does what a water fountain for cats should do—effectively filter water and keep it moving. It’s sleek, discreet, and could be a great investment in your cat’s health by encouraging them to drink more water.

Where can I buy the PetLibro water fountain?

Disclaimer: Some of our links are affiliate links. This means that we’ll receive a small commission if you make a purchase through our links, but it won’t cost you any extra. Thank you!

The PetLibro water fountain is available from the PetLibro website as well as Amazon.com. Click the link to find out how much it costs on Amazon. You can also find replacement filters for sale on Amazon

PetLibro is offering our readers a special discount on purchases from their website. Just enter coupon code wildernesscat for 20% off of your order! The coupon can only be used once per customer and is only valid on the PetLibro website.

PetLibro coupon code wildernesscat

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