The PetSafe HydroSphere 60 oz Cordless Fountain is a rechargeable, motion-activated water fountain designed for cats and small dogs. It combines a stainless-steel drinking surface with Ion-X filtration and UVC sanitation, but the feature that immediately caught my attention was much simpler: you don’t have to put it anywhere near an outlet.
That’s useful in any house, but it’s especially useful in mine. Our kitchen outlets are all inconveniently located up on the counters, and there isn’t one near the floor where I actually want to keep the cats’ water.
Of course, none of that matters if the cats refuse to drink from it.
Fortunately, my cats had opinions about the HydroSphere approximately three seconds after I set it down. Five of my six cats immediately came over to investigate, and at one point there was an actual line waiting for a turn. The sixth, Zoe, was upstairs sleeping and hadn’t seen it yet. So technically, the HydroSphere was batting 1.000 with every cat who knew it existed.
Want to see how it works for just one cat? Check out Jamey’s HydroSphere review over on PetParentAdvisor!
The PetSafe HydroSphere 60 oz Cordless Fountain combines motion-activated water flow, UVC sanitation, and Ion-X filtration in a quiet, rechargeable design. With up to 30 days of battery life and no outlet required, it’s easy to place almost anywhere.
PetSafe HydroSphere Top Features
- 60-ounce water capacity
- Rechargeable cordless design
- Up to 30 days of battery life, depending on usage
- Motion-activated water flow when running on battery
- Can also be plugged in for continuous water flow
- Gentle bubbling water action
- Stainless-steel drinking tray
- Ion-Xâ„¢ filtration helps remove impurities and improve water taste
- UVC sanitation helps keep circulating water fresh
- LED indicators for battery, water level, and filter replacement
- Wire-free removable pump
- Dishwasher-safe bowl, tray, and splash guard
- Designed for cats and small dogs
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✓ Cats took to it almost immediately | ✕ Bowl doesn’t lock onto the base |
| ✓ Cordless design lets you place it almost anywhere | ✕ Printed instructions are pretty minimal |
| ✓ Motion activation helps conserve battery | ✕ Charging cable doesn’t include a wall adapter |
| ✓ Extremely quiet with gentle bubbling | ✕ 60 oz capacity may need frequent refills for large dogs |
| ✓ Easy to take apart and clean | |
| ✓ Ion-X filtration plus UVC sanitation | |
| ✓ Simple LED alerts with no app required |
My Real-World PetSafe HydroSphere Review With Six Cats
I’ve tested enough pet products to know that what sounds useful on a product page and what actually works in a house full of animals are sometimes two entirely different things.
The HydroSphere has only been here a short time, so there are a couple of things I’ll need to update after longer-term testing, particularly real-world battery life. But I can already say that its basic design works extremely well for our multi-cat household.
And apparently my cats agree.
Five Out of Five Available Cats Approved It Immediately
This is easily the biggest thing the HydroSphere has going for it so far. I didn’t have to coax anyone over. I didn’t have to remove their regular bowls to force the issue (and wouldn’t have anyway). I basically put the fountain down and suddenly I had cats.
Lots of cats. Five of my six were immediately interested enough to investigate it, drink from it, paw at it, or wait impatiently for another cat to move. At one point, they were quite literally lined up around the fountain.
Zoe was the lone holdout, but that’s only because she was sleeping upstairs and didn’t know there was a new attraction open in the kitchen.
For a household with multiple cats, that’s a pretty promising first impression.
The Gentle Bubbling Seems Very Cat-Friendly
Some fountains produce streams, waterfalls, or enough water movement that a cautious cat may need some time to decide whether this strange new kitchen appliance is friend or foe.
The HydroSphere is much more subtle.
Water bubbles gently from the center rather than shooting into the air, and the movement across the stainless-steel tray is noticeable without being dramatic. Based on my cats’ reactions, it hit a nice middle ground. The water moves enough to get their attention without turning drinking into an extreme sport.
PetSafe specifically designed the HydroSphere with a quiet bubbling flow, and I can see this being a good option for cats that have been hesitant about more aggressive fountains.
Cordless Really Does Mean You Can Put It Where You Want It
This is probably my favorite feature.
We have one of those kitchens where all the outlets are exactly where they’re supposed to be for countertop appliances and nowhere remotely useful for a pet fountain on the floor.
With the HydroSphere, I don’t have to rearrange the kitchen around the location of an electrical outlet. I can put the water where it makes sense for the cats.
PetSafe also makes a corded 60 oz HydroSphere Stainless Steel Fountain for $59.99. The cordless model is currently $69.99, so you’re paying just $10 more for the freedom to put it pretty much wherever you want. For my house, I’d spend the extra $10 without hesitation.
You aren’t completely committed to battery operation, either. The cordless HydroSphere can be plugged in for continuous water flow. PetSafe includes the USB power cable, but not a wall adapter, so you’ll need to supply your own charging brick.
You Don’t Have to Empty the Fountain to Charge It
This is a small design detail that I appreciate more than I expected.
The bowl lifts right off the battery base. When it’s time to recharge, I can leave the water-filled bowl exactly where it is and take only the base over to an outlet.
There’s enough water left in the upper basin that the cats can continue drinking from it as a regular bowl while the battery charges. Obviously, it won’t bubble or circulate without the base, but nobody is suddenly left without water.
For cats, that remaining water is perfectly usable as a temporary drinking bowl.
I wouldn’t rely on it the same way for a dog, particularly a larger one. They need substantially more water, so I’d make sure another full bowl was available while the fountain was charging.
Motion Activation Makes Cordless Operation Much More Practical
I’ve tried older cordless fountains before, and battery life was always the catch.
Sure, you could put them anywhere. You’d just be charging them again approximately five minutes later.
The HydroSphere takes a much smarter approach. When it’s running on battery power, the water flow is motion activated rather than continuously running. When a pet approaches, the fountain comes on. That gives them the moving water that makes a fountain appealing without wasting battery power circulating water while everyone is asleep on the couch.
PetSafe says the rechargeable battery can last up to 30 days, depending on usage.
I don’t expect to get a particularly scientific 30-day test right away because at the moment the HydroSphere is apparently the hottest entertainment in the house. Once everyone stops circling it like lions around a desert oasis, I’ll have a better idea of how long a charge lasts under normal conditions.
Even then, “normal” in my house means six cats and a dog, so your results may be considerably better.
It’s So Quiet That I Can’t Hear It
PetSafe calls the HydroSphere “quiet.” I’m going a little further.
I literally can’t hear it.
I’m hesitant to call any pet fountain completely silent because cats and dogs can hear frequencies we can’t, and I’m not going to pretend my human ears are precision acoustic testing equipment.
But from a normal human-in-the-room perspective? Nothing.
That’s another reason I think it could work well for cats that are suspicious of fountains. There’s no noticeable motor hum competing with the gentle water movement.
The Water Gets Two Different Types of Treatment
The HydroSphere doesn’t rely on moving the water around and calling it a day.
It uses an Ion-X filter, which PetSafe says helps remove impurities and improve the taste of the water. It also uses UVC sanitation to help maintain freshness while the water circulates.
The drinking surface itself is stainless steel, which I also prefer for something that’s going to hold water all day. It’s easy to wipe down and doesn’t have the same tendency to hang onto odors and residue as some plastic surfaces.
The LED Indicators Tell You What You Actually Need to Know
There aren’t screens or menus to navigate. The HydroSphere uses simple indicator lights, which is exactly enough information for a water fountain.
The center power indicator is blue when the battery is above 25% and turns red when it’s time to recharge.
The filter and water indicators stay off during normal operation. The filter indicator turns red when the filter needs replacing, while the water indicator turns red when the fountain needs a refill.
That’s it. Look at the fountain occasionally and respond to the red light. I can manage that.
And There Is No App!
I write for two pet-tech sites (this one and our sister site, TechnoBark). I genuinely like pet tech. I also don’t need every object in my house requesting an email address.
There is no HydroSphere app to download, no account to create, no Wi-Fi password to enter, and no collection of settings that need to be configured before your cat can have a drink.
Put water in. Turn fountain on. Cat drinks. Sometimes that’s all the technology we need.
It’s Surprisingly Lightweight and Portable
Even filled with water, the HydroSphere is light enough that I can easily move it from one part of the house to another.
There’s one important caveat here, which I’ll get into below: hold both the bowl and the base when you move it. They don’t lock together.
Still, the relatively small footprint, rechargeable battery, and light weight make this more portable than most fountains I’ve used.
You could even charge it and take it camping. I won’t. Camping sounds lovely during daylight hours. Then night arrives and I remember that my bed is at home and there’s a bathroom conveniently located down the hall from it.
But you could take it camping.
More relevant to me, we live somewhere with frequent power outages. A charged HydroSphere will continue working when the power goes out, which makes it a nice little backup for those occasions when our house decides to experiment with off-grid living without consulting me first.
Cleaning It Is Insanely Simple
Pet fountains can become annoying very quickly when you discover that “cleaning the fountain” involves dismantling 14 tiny pieces and scrubbing mysterious crevices with something resembling a dental instrument.
The HydroSphere isn’t like that.
There aren’t many pieces, and everything comes apart easily. PetSafe says the removable bowl, stainless-steel tray, and splash guard are dishwasher safe. The pump is also wire-free and detachable, so you aren’t wrestling a cord through the fountain every time you take it apart.
Obviously, the rechargeable base doesn’t go in the dishwasher. It also isn’t sitting in the drinking water, though, so that part should generally just need to be wiped down.
For a fountain being shared by six cats, easy cleaning isn’t a minor feature. It’s the difference between something I’ll happily keep using and something I’ll eventually glare at every time I walk past it.
What I’d Change About the PetSafe HydroSphere
There isn’t much I dislike so far, but I have found a few things I’d tweak.
I’d Make the Bowl Lock Onto the Base
This is the biggest design change I’d make. The instructions tell you to rotate the bowl until it “catches” on the base. I initially took that to mean it would actually lock into place. It doesn’t.
There are small nubs underneath the bowl that settle into corresponding indentations on the base. Once everything is positioned correctly, it sits securely enough for normal use. With 60 ounces of water adding some weight, I’m not particularly concerned about one of my cats casually knocking the bowl off.
Moving it is another story. You need to pick the HydroSphere up while supporting both the bowl and the base. If you grab only the bowl and assume the base is attached, it isn’t.
I’d love to see a simple twist-lock mechanism added to a future version.
The Printed Instructions Could Be More Complete
The included quick-start sheet covers the basics, but it doesn’t tell you everything you might want to know when you’re setting up the fountain for the first time.
For the complete instructions, you’re directed to scan a QR code. I understand the reasoning. Less paper, less waste, and nobody really needs a novella explaining how to operate a water fountain.
Still, the instructions aren’t especially complicated. I think PetSafe could have fit the important details onto a slightly larger sheet and saved us the extra step of finding our phones, opening the camera, scanning the QR code, and pulling up another page.
Not a major complaint. Just mildly unnecessary friction.
I’d Love a Larger Version for Big Dogs
For cats, I really like the 60-ounce size. Even with six of them sharing it, the HydroSphere doesn’t take up an obnoxious amount of floor space.
For dogs, capacity becomes more of an issue. PetSafe positions this model primarily for cats and small dogs, which makes sense. A commonly cited guideline is roughly one ounce of water per pound of body weight per day, although individual needs vary with diet, weather, activity, health, and medications.
So, a 60-ounce fountain isn’t going particularly far if it’s the only water source for a large dog.
Freya is also on Lasix for her heart and drinks a ton more water, but we keep bowls in every room she regularly uses anyway. The HydroSphere wouldn’t need to supply her entire day’s water.
Still, I would absolutely like to see PetSafe make a larger cordless HydroSphere someday. Something in the 100+ ounce range with the same battery system would be much more practical as a primary fountain for bigger dogs.
So Far, the Cats Have Spoken
I’ll update this review once we’ve lived with the PetSafe HydroSphere longer, especially once I have a better idea of how the battery performs under real-world conditions. But first impressions are unusually strong.
The cordless design solves an actual problem in my house rather than adding technology simply for the sake of adding technology. It’s quiet, easy to clean, simple to operate, and flexible enough to put the water where my pets actually need it. The motion activation also makes battery-powered operation far more practical than cordless fountains I’ve tried in the past.
Most importantly, though, the cats like it.
Five cats crowded around a brand-new fountain within minutes, including some who apparently felt that waiting patiently for their turn was an unreasonable request.
For once, the product testing department required very little persuasion.
The PetSafe HydroSphere 60 oz Cordless Fountain combines motion-activated water flow, UVC sanitation, and Ion-X filtration in a quiet, rechargeable design. With up to 30 days of battery life and no outlet required, it’s easy to place almost anywhere.
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