Cats descend from desert animals and have a famously poor thirst drive, which is part of why kidney and urinary problems are so common in them. Moving water is the one reliable lever most owners have. A cat who ignores a full bowl all day will often drink several times over from a running fountain, simply because movement registers as fresh in a way that a still surface does not.

This one runs cordless, so there is no cable trailing across the kitchen floor and you can put it where the cat wants it rather than where the socket happens to be. The basin is stainless steel, which is worth paying attention to: steel does not score and scratch the way plastic does, and those scratches are where bacteria collect. A window on the side shows the level at a glance, and a filter catches hair and debris.

• Round stainless steel basin
• Cordless pump, no trailing cable
• Clear window shows the water level
• Built-in filter catches hair and debris
• Quiet running, suitable for nervous cats
• Circulates water to encourage drinking

Two things worth knowing. Cordless means it needs charging or fresh batteries, and a pump with no plug to remind you is one that is easy to forget. A fountain that has stopped is worse than a bowl, because the cat has learned to expect it. Keep an ordinary water bowl alongside it either way.

Who it's for: Owners of a cat who barely touches still water, particularly one fed mainly on dry food or with a history of urinary trouble.