A flat dish of still water is about the least interesting thing you can offer a cat, and plenty of them respond by drinking barely enough. Breaking the surface changes that. This fountain pushes water up through a blossom-shaped spout that fans it out into several soft streams, which gives a fussy drinker something to watch, something to hear and several places to lap from rather than one still pool.

The body is 304 food-grade stainless steel and BPA free, which is worth paying for over plastic because steel does not scratch into a bacterial haven or hold the smell of yesterday's water. Filtration runs to five stages: two layers of high-density polyester fabric either side of silver particles, coconut shell activated carbon and a composite scale inhibitor. That scale inhibitor earns its place in hard-water parts of the country, where limescale otherwise kills a pump early.

• 304 food-grade stainless steel, BPA free
• 95oz tank, roughly 2.8 litres
• Blossom spout fans water into several gentle streams
• Five-stage filter with silver particles and activated carbon
• Composite scale inhibitor for hard-water areas
• Choice of square flower, flower head or faucet spout
• Plug options include a UK adapter

One correction. Despite what the product name suggests, this fountain is hand wash only and should not go in a dishwasher. The heat will distort the pump housing and seals. Wash it by hand every couple of weeks, and select the UK plug option at checkout rather than assuming it ships with one.

Who it's for: owners of cats who ignore a still bowl, particularly in hard-water areas where a plastic fountain furs up and fails.