If you are looking for drinking fountains for cats (or even not too big dogs), you can now find a wide selection. The quality range is correspondingly large. The Petgugu Pet Water Fountain PF1 is a drinking fountain of the clearly upscale price range. Accordingly, expectations are quite high and the eye is drawn to the reasons for the high price. Thus, there is monitoring via a smartphone app. Can the Petgugu PF1 fulfill the expectations of the high price? In the thorough Petgugu Pet Water Fountain PF1 review, we take a look at the cat drinking fountain, the app – and of course let the cats give their opinion.
Specifications
| Size | 22.9 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm |
| Water capacity | 2 liters |
| Color | Marble white |
| Weight | 2.79 kg |
| Pump | Induction |
| Network | WLAN 2.4 Ghz + app control |
| Price | € 2.34 * |
Petgugu PF1 test of the package
- Packaging looks unusual at first
- It folds into a small hut for cats
The packaging of the Petgugu PF1 is a bit strange at first glance, as there is no print of any kind to indicate the contents. Except for a small inscription on the bottom. Otherwise, the box looks like a small house in terms of design. Okay – that’s where the first idea comes in, because cats and shipping boxes are quickly associated. There are often jokes on the internet about cat accessories being ignored in favor of the packaging.
And indeed, the packaging of the Petgugu PF1 cat drinking fountain becomes the first real highlight. Once the plastic wrap is removed, you notice that the top is secured with Velcro. There are also crease edges when you open it. The first look inside reveals a quick guide – including a folding plan. And indeed, after removing the contents, the box is quite quickly and easily put into shape. Folded, tucked and closed with the Velcro fasteners, there are also perforated areas on several sides. Thus, openings can also be created. The cat house is ready!
This is already a very ingenious idea. The only problem is at most the size. Depending on size and fullness of body, adult cats often won’t fit. My two fit.
Scope of delivery
- Cat fountain (multi-piece) with instructions
- Power supply
- A single water filter without replacement filter
Back to the actual test object. In addition to the quick start guide, the package includes more detailed instructions, a power supply, a single filter, and of course the multi-piece cat fountain itself. The Petgugu PF1 is held by two large trays made of “egg carton” cardboard. And individual parts are still wrapped in plastic foil. Petgugu Pet Water Fountain PF1 cat drinking fountain consists of the bottom part with the control unit, then the water tank and “waterfall” with pump connected to it. At the front of the upper part there is a small drawer where the filter should be placed.
Design and finish
- High-quality processed parts
- Decoupled from power grid by induction operated pump
- Tub holds some water even in standby
In the Petgugu PF1 test, the workmanship of the drinking fountain is shown to be neat and of high quality. All parts are neatly finished, have a decent dead weight that protects against accidental displacement and there are no sharp edges. Also very nice is the concept, because with many other drinking fountains the pump hangs directly on the power with a cable. But with the Petgugu PF1, the powered base is completely free of direct water contact. The pump is therefore driven by induction. This gives a safe feeling of not having a direct connection between water and power supply.
Design-wise, the top part is shaped so that the water is pumped out the top and then runs down the small waterfall. Below that, there’s a small tub where the water sits a bit lower before running back into the tank via the overflow through the filter.
The plastic used looks high-quality, but the design of the texturing is definitely more a matter of taste. A little hard to see is the lettering “MAX”, which is supposed to indicate the maximum water level of the water tank. Especially when the drinking fountain is on the ground, this is no longer visible. On the positive side, you don’t always have to see the lettering if you remember that it’s virtually right on top of a bend in the plastic, which is also so easy to see.
Commissioning and operation
- All parts are rinsed out first
- Water filter is inserted
- Power supply is connected and cable is clamped for strain relief
To start up the Petgugu PF1, the water tank and the “waterfall” should first be thoroughly washed out once. Also the one filter should be held a few minutes under running water. Now the small drawer in the front is taken out and the filter is inserted. Then the power supply is connected to the control panel at the bottom and for strain relief the cable should be clamped at the back, which requires some force, but then holds securely.
Finally, the Petgugu PF1 can be assembled: The water tank goes into the bottom part and now comes the waterfall with the pump on top, where the pump should touch down at the very bottom of the water tank.
If you now connect the Petgugu PF1, it can be started via the button at the front bottom. A quick press will toggle between two modes: continuous running and interval flow. Continuous mode keeps the pump running at all times, and Interval mode pushes the water up for three minutes, then pauses for three minutes, continuing to run in a constant 3-minute cycle. This ultimately saves electricity and increases the filter’s useful life. Pets can still drink because the recess always keeps some water on hand. A 5-second press on the button starts the network mode for app access. But more on that later.
Apart from that, the Petgugu Pet Water Fountein PF1 review shows that the volume of the drinking fountain is very low. No splashing, no splashing, but it works very quietly. When it is very quiet, you can hardly hear more than a gentle hum from the pump. The fact that it does not splash is quite good for the soil, because.
What do the furry colleagues actually say?
- “Test cats” immediately explored the drinking fountain
- Good usage since then
- No irritation due to noise
Okay, they don’t really say that much, but signs are there. The Petgugu PF1 cat drinking fountain was adopted in no time. After a brief inspection, both cats have already tried him in the first hour and quite extensively. Sure – cats differ. For example, our older cat starts drinking in interval mode only when the water is really running. She continues to drink when it stops, but she doesn’t start drinking when it stops. Our little cat, on the other hand, doesn’t mind any mode.
And as with anything cat related, there’s no guarantee as far as enthusiasm goes. My cats think the Petgugu PF1 is great and obviously prefer it to the old fountain. But of course, there is definitely the possibility that other cats will react differently to it again.
Maintenance of the Petgugu Pet Water Fountain PF1
- Fill up water regularly
- Weekly cleaning recommended
- Filter replacement is expensive
The most typical maintenance will be to fill up water. However, where the water tank is quite large, it should not be filled beyond the limit of the indicator “MAX”, which ends up being around two liters. So depending on the number of cats, temperature and alternative drinking places, you should refill the water 1-3x per week. For this, you can simply slowly add more water from the top.
Weekly cleaning is recommended, that is, an all-around renewal of the water and freeing the device from dust, hair and other dirt that accumulates over time.
For operation, it is recommended to change the filter monthly. And that really becomes the sticking point, because my first thought was something like, “HOLY MOLY! Are they serious?”. At the time of testing, a pack of filters costs around 50€ (current price € 19.95 * ). And this is not a year’s supply, it’s three pieces. Bought individually, it’s even more expensive.
Setting up the Petgugu app
- Language of the app Chinese and English
- Location required
- Pet needs to be created with many mandatory details before connecting the device
Getting the app up and running was not too easy at the beginning. The installation was simple, but at the beginning there were no app reviews, which indicated that the app is still new. Now you have to register an account, which was not so easy at first due to incorrectly labeled fields and a technical problem. But after some conversation with Petgugu, there was an app update and the problem was fixed so far. And the app currently only works in English and Chinese.
But alright – once you’ve managed to sign up (email address with a confirmation code to enter), it’s a matter of adding the device. To do this, you first have to press the button on the Petgugu PF1 for a good 5 seconds to activate pairing mode. In addition to the registered account, a WLAN connection of the smartphone is required and GPS must be activated. So, various tablets without GPS function are probably incompatible. Feels strange to me. Why does a water fountain need the location data? But well, it can’t go on without it, so it’s enabled. Okay – now that’s where the device shows up. Click & go? Not quite yet.
Because when you press on the device, the next hint pops up: You have to add a pet first. So there is no pure information without created pet. There are six mandatory details that are needed before you can save the pet. Name, date of birth, gender, neutering, breed and weight. Especially the breeds are sorted quite crosswise. When you have entered and saved everything, you can finally add the device. Of course, this also needs the WLAN data.
Until now, too much data had to be entered in the Petgugu PF1 test for my taste.
Using the Petgugu app
- Firmware update is easy
- Drinking events are reported with a push message
- Statistics possible for the day, week, month and year
Alright, so what can you do in the app now? First of all, update the firmware. Who would have thought that a drinking fountain could need a firmware update?
The update ran smoothly in the Petgugu PF1 test. And now? Now begins the monitoring of the drinking behavior of the cat(s). Poof – push message to the smartphone! The cat has drunk 9 ml! Push messages? Hui, quite apart from the fact that in the minutes since the setup there was no cat that could have drunk something, push messages to every real or supposed drinking of the pet are definitely not a reason for which x times a day my phone must rattle. This is very quickly turned off again in the app permissions.
The drinking statistics are nevertheless interesting to look at and the comparison to the previous days is shown. In addition, you can see when the filter should be changed.
A hint
- Practically, a large margin in the measurement tolerance
- Other devices from Petgugu can be controlled with the app
Any other drinking source can and will falsify the result. If there is now elsewhere still a water bowl or the watering can with water on the balcony, then it will occasionally come to strong fluctuations, where the pet authorizes itself the water. However, I see it as problematic not to allow an alternative just to have complete statistics in the app.
Also, the monitoring benefit is only moderate for free-rangers, as they will drink something on the go.
Apart from the drinking fountain, there are other devices from Petgugu that can be controlled with the app, such as a robot vacuum cleaner optimized for pets or an automatic food dispenser.
Conclusion
It is not easy to come to a universally valid conclusion in the Petgugu PF1 test. For some users, the Petgugu PF1 from this test already falls out of the race due to its high price. Still others will be willing to make the investment for the quite very high-quality hardware. However, the high follow-up costs due to the expensive replacement filters could be an obstacle. Apart from that, the app is a unique selling point that is definitely interesting for controlling the drinking behavior and thus the health of the cats. However, in order to really use this completely according to its purpose, the Petgugu PF1 cat fountain must be the only drinking source that the cats use.
Thus: Yes, the workmanship is very high quality and the operation is decidedly quiet, but the practical target audience is limited to apartment cat owners with a certain affinity for technology and a higher income to justify the investment along with the follow-up costs.
Fazit
The Petgugu PF1 is a very high quality manufactured and quiet cat fountain, but it is expensive. Via an app, the drinking behavior can be controlled under certain circumstances.
