Cats are famously bad at drinking enough water. A still bowl in the corner of the kitchen barely registers with most of them, but running water is a different story. Put a fountain down and you will usually catch your cat drinking from it within the first day, often more than you expected them to.

The bowl is stainless steel rather than plastic, which matters more than it sounds. Plastic scratches over time and those tiny scratches hold onto bacteria and slime no matter how often you rinse it. Steel does not, so the water tastes clean and the bowl stays hygienic between washes. It is also the sort of thing that still looks fine in your kitchen after a year of daily use.

A filter runs the water through before it comes back out, catching fur, litter crumbs and the bits that end up in every pet bowl eventually. The pump is quiet enough to sit in a living room or a bedroom without anyone noticing it, which is usually the deciding factor for people who have tried a noisy one before.

Taking it apart for cleaning is straightforward. The pieces come away without tools, rinse easily and go back together the same way, so you will actually keep up with it rather than putting it off.

Refill it, plug it in and leave it running. Your cat drinks more, you stop worrying about it, and everyone gets on with their day.