"I'm surprised at all the negative reviews for this guy. Yeah, it's a little bit finicky, but I would say that it's well worth the miniscule amount of hassle.
Howard became obsessed with this fountain when we were shacking up in another apartment. The other cats had one, and he would sit in the kitchen, staring at it. I finally made the investment so that he could have one of his own, and he is completely enamored of it. Scout, our most recent addition, also really likes it.
Problems I have occassionally:
-My cats like to "fish" in their water bowl, and some litter will build up if I haven't replaced the filter in awhile. If you have multiple cats, you should do this every 2-3 weeks. They're not that expensive.
-The black adapter inside the device (the bubbler, if you will) has a little vent on the front of it that occassionally gets clogged with rogue fur. If your fountain isn't working properly, this is the first place to check.
-It took me several weeks to realize which "bubble" was the largest and needed to be positioned over the cord adapter. Now that I have, it's totally fine, and I've never had any trouble with the dome fitting properly on the base.
I would definitely recommend this to anybody with cats. They love the moving water, and I think that cleaning it once a week is loads less annoying than having to refill and clean a water dish several times a day. For the price, you really can't go wrong."