Cats evolved to take most of their water from prey rather than from a bowl, and a great many of them drink far less than they should. That is part of why urinary and kidney trouble turns up so often in indoor cats on dry food. Moving water is the reliable lever: cats who ignore a full bowl all day will often drink happily from a running stream simply because it is running.

This one takes its power over USB, so it runs from a phone charger or a plug adaptor rather than needing its own mains unit, and the pump is near-silent. That is worth caring about, because a fountain which buzzes in a quiet kitchen in the small hours gets switched off and then forgotten. The tank is transparent, so you can read the level from across the room, and water passes through a replaceable filter.

• USB powered, no dedicated mains adaptor needed
• Near-silent pump
• Gentle waterfall spout to draw cats in
• Transparent tank for checking the level at a glance
• Replaceable filter, supplied with a set of six
• Available in white, yellow or grey

Two things worth knowing. A fountain only works if it never runs dry, and pumps burn out when the water drops below them, so topping it up needs to be a daily habit rather than a weekly one. And plenty of cats need a week of the thing simply sitting there, switched off at first, before they will use it. Keep the old bowl down alongside until you have seen them drink.

Who it's for: Owners of cats who barely touch a water bowl, especially indoor cats fed mainly on dry food.