Felaqua Connect from Sure Petcare
www.surepetcare.com/en-eu/felaqua-connect
€100 Felaqua Connect
€162.99 Felaqua Connect + Internet Hub

Anyone with a cat will know it’s notoriously difficult to get them to drink (unless it’s out of the glass you’re trying to drink from!) Our cat will meow for us to turn on taps on occasion, but only on hot days, but the rest of the time, he couldn’t be less interested in his own water bowl. We’ve even tried giving him glasses on water on the floor, as he seems to love ours so much, but it’s hit and miss whether that work eithers.

The Felaqua Connect is brilliant for two reasons – firstly, it’s designed in a way that makes water more appealing and more easily visible to your cats, which should encourage them to drink, and secondly, it brings a digital solution to this time-old problem.

Now, I’ll admit, when I first saw the Felaqua Connect, I thought the concept seemed like overkill. “Even my pets’ water dishes need apps now?”, was the immediate thought. However, I can’t deny that this product is solving a common cat owner problem! Via the app, the Felaqua Connect will alert you of when your water bowl is empty, but more importantly, it monitors and records your cats’ drinking habits. You can program it to identify your cat(s) and tell them apart if you have more than one, by recognising either their microchip or from collars tags also sold by Sure Petcare. This allows you to check that they’re drinking, and also shows you charts of their habits over time, which could be really helpful when checking on their health and speaking to a vet.

The bowl itself encourages cats to drink from it by being wide and shallow in design, seeming more like a puddle and thus that bit easier for them to see and speaking more directly to their instincts. Having less in the bowl at a time, and dispensing more as needed, also keeps water fresh – in my experience, cats only seem to trust water that’s running or very fresh, which is a good survival instinct.

The water dispenser is easy to fill and attach, and despite my worries, it doesn’t require any fillers that you’ll need to buy and replace. It and the bowl are also both dishwasher safe, which I also appreciate. As for the body of the Felaqua, it’s wires-free and quiet, so there’s no disruption to your home.

Our Felaqua Connect came with the accompanying internet hub. This hub is needed the first time you buy a Connect product from Sure Petcare, and it will then serve to support as many products as you buy. For example, the company has made smart cat flaps and food bowls, and the hub allows you to gather and examine all of the data from these products into one place. Given that plenty of products have supporting apps without needing a hub, I think it’s a bit cheeky that you have to shell out an extra € 63 for this – surely, it’s possible without? Can you imagine if our homes needed hubs for every group of smart products out there?  On the plus side, at least it’s got cute cat ears, it can connect to up to 10 Sure Petcare products and perhaps making the hub as a one-off reduces the cost of each individual product, but it still raises questions for me. 

Overall, this product is far more useful than I initially gave it credit – especially if you’re worried about your cat’s health or you know they’re a fussy drinker.

4/5

Pros:
Shallow bowl encourages cats to drink
No noise or wires
Can tell your cats apart
Handy and easy to use app
Monitors cat drinking habits
Alerts you to an empty bowl
Bowl and water dispenser dishwasher safe

Cons:
The hub is a frustrating extra cost