Catit Pixi Smart Fountain Replacement Pump

The Catit Pixi Smart Fountain Replacement Pump is the genuine spare pump for the Catit PIXI Smart Fountain -- the app-connected version, which uses a different pump from the rest of the PIXI range.

Key Features

• Smart Model Only: Catit are explicit that this pump is not suitable for the standard PIXI Fountain or the PIXI Stainless Steel Fountain
• Pump Only: No other replacement parts are included -- no adapter, no filter, no bowl components
• Size: 11 x 9 x 4 cm
• Genuine Part: The Smart fountain reports its own status, and a non-Catit pump will not talk to it

Why A Fountain Helps

Cats are poor drinkers. The domestic cat descends from a desert animal that took most of its water from prey, and a cat on dry food alone often does not make up the difference at the bowl. Moving water gets more cats drinking than still water in a dish does, partly because it is obviously fresh and partly because a cat can see where the surface is without dipping its whiskers in. Drinking more is worth having on its own terms -- it is not a treatment for anything.

Keeping It Clean

• Strip it down and wash every part once a week. A film builds up inside the bowl and under the pump cover that you can feel before you can see it, and that film is the usual reason a cat stops using a fountain.
• Rinse all detergent out. Cats are far more sensitive to the smell of washing-up liquid than we are.
• Never let it run dry. The pump is cooled by the water it moves, so an empty bowl kills it.
• Change the filter pad about once a month, sooner in a dusty home or with a long-haired cat.
• Top it up daily rather than waiting for the low mark.

Who Makes It

Catit is the cat brand of Rolf C. Hagen, the Montreal company founded in 1955. The Design Senses and Flower Fountain ranges are its best known, and parts for them are sold separately so a unit can be repaired rather than replaced.

Good To Know

• A pump is a wearing part, not a fault. Most fountain pumps last a year or two of continuous running, and a slowing flow or a new rattle usually means limescale in the impeller housing rather than a dead motor -- take it apart and soak it in a weak vinegar solution before you replace it.
• If the app is reporting a fault but the pump still runs, check the water level sensor and the filter before you change the pump.
• Unplug it before dismantling anything, and dry your hands before handling the connector.