Just like us, our cats need to stay well hydrated. Now, while owners can lead their cats to their water bowls, they really can’t make them drink. Nevertheless, cats still need a minimum daily amount of about 3.5 to 4.5 ounces of water per 5 pounds of their body weight just to stay well hydrated. More importantly, cats are actually vulnerable to kidney disease, as many tend to be dehydrated because they don’t have a well-developed sense of thirst, or sometimes, they’re simply picky about their water source. Not only that, but when cats already have a health problem that causes an increase in thirst – such as kidney disease or diabetes – their drinking behavior can actually be used to monitor the progression of said disease and their response to the corresponding treatment. With all that said, it’s quite important for owners to keep an eye on their cats’ drinking habits, and while that task could be hard to manage, the Sure Petcare Felaqua Connect makes that job much easier.
The Sure Petcare Felaqua Connect is a smart water delivery and drinking monitoring system for cats that allows owners to easily monitor their cats’ drinking habits and also keep track of their daily water intake via a mobile App, with the system regularly providing cats with a source of fresh water.
The way this device is designed to work is by having each cat registered to the system’s internal memory via their microchip to record each cat’s drinking behavior such as which cat drank, what time it drank, and how much it drank.
As such, the Felaqua Connect makes it much easier for cat owners to keep an eye on their cats’ drinking habits, which ultimately allows them to ensure that their cats can always stay well hydrated on a regular basis.
Now, let’s have more detailed look at this system and check out exactly how it works and also see everything that it has to offer you.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the device’s size, the Felaqua Connect comes at a reasonably compact size, measuring exactly 13.5 inches long by 11.1 inches wide by 10.4 inches tall, with the whole unit weighing exactly 2.64 lbs. (1.2 kg), for which its weight makes it sturdy and stable enough to not be pushed by most cat(s).
Not only that, but the unit also features a unique cat-friendly design that’s mainly focused on presenting water in a way that is more visible and much more appealing for your cat(s), which is basically done by having the device replicating the shape of a puddle through its smart water bowl, which is wide and shallow to ultimately encourage your cat to drink regularly.
In other words, this unique wide and shallow water bowl used in this device is much, much more appealing for cats than any conventional cat drinking bowl. The unit’s smart water bowl can be found at the front-side of the device, coming neatly installed at the center of the unit.
On top of that, the bowl is also water repellent, thus causing the water to bead in the same way that water would stand up on a newly polished car, which ultimately causes water to reflect and glisten in order to make it more appealing to cats.
Then, to keep water fresh and ready to drink, the device also integrates an air-tight, gravity-fed water reservoir that’s is designed to release water into the unit’s smart water bowl as it is needed.
As such, the unit’s water bowl is automatically refilled from the reservoir as your cat drinks. That said, there’s no recirculating water or any filters to change, just clean, fresh water being served to the unit’s bowl once your cat drinks from it.
The device’s water reservoir features a total capacity of 0.26 gallons (1 liter), and the reservoir can also be machine-washed.
BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE
Now, in order to keep the unit powered, it’s also worth noting that this device is actually battery-powered, with the unit requiring a total of 4 C Cell/LR14 batteries to work. Now, for the unit’s battery life, note that a set of 4 C batteries can offer the device enough power to keep your Felaqua Connect running for approximately 6 months.
Best of all, since the device is battery powered, there’s obviously no need for an electrical power source and also no pesky cables to deal with. Thanks to that, you can set up the unit in just about any part of your home to best meet your cat’s drinking needs.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
We’ll now talk a bit about how exactly this smart water delivery and drinking monitoring system for cats is designed to work.
As said at the start of our review, the Felaqua Connect works by having each cat registered to the system’s internal memory via their microchip, which then allows the system to record each cat’s drinking behavior such as which cat drank, what time it drank, and how much it drank.
Thanks to its microchip recognition functionality, the Felaqua Connect can actually be used to monitor multiple cats in the same household.
Alternatively, for cats without a microchip, the system could also be used with a Sure Petcare Collar Tag (costs you $22,24 for a pack of 2 Smart Collar Tags).
Lastly, it’s also important to note that in order to get your Felaqua Connect to connect itself to its proprietary Smartphone Companion App (called the Sure Petcare App), you’ll first require to have the unit connected to the company’s Smart Home Hub, which is called the Sure Petcare Hub, as this device is designed to act as a link between your Sure Petcare connected product (in this case, the Felaqua Connect) and the internet.
Now, keep in mind that not only is this Smart Home Hub used to establish a connection with the internet between the Sure Petcare Felaqua Connect and the system’s Mobile App (the Sure Petcare App), but the Sure Petcare Hub is also used for the same purpose for all other Sure Petcare’s line of Smart Pet Products, including the company’s award-winning range of microchip-operated pet doors (such as the SureFlap Microchip Cat Door Connect), as well as their Sure Petcare Smart Pet Feeders (like the SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder Connect), and a few other Smart Pet Products.
We would also like to mention that the Sure Petcare Hub is sold separately, with the Hub going for just $84 per unit. Still, for those that already have it from a previous purchase of other Sure Petcare connected product(s), you’re already good to go and completely set to use the Felaqua Connect.
Now, to establish that said link between the Felaqua Connect (or any other Sure Petcare connected product) and the internet, the first step is to have the Sure Petcare Hub connected to your WiFi router by using an Ethernet cable.
Once that’s done, owners can then control their Sure Petcare connected products by using the Sure Petcare App (which we’ll discuss in greater detail right ahead). Note that the Sure Petcare Hub can have up to 10 Sure Petcare connected products linked to it.
On a side note, this Smart Hub also integrates a pair of Dimmable Cat “Ears” that will basically flash with a bright light whenever there are new notifications for cat owners to read within the Sure Petcare App.
THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The Sure Petcare App
Finally, we’ll talk a bit about the system’s proprietary Smartphone Companion App, called the Sure Petcare App, which is available to download for free for both iOS and Android devices.
Via the App, cat owners can see all of their cats’ profiles both for the Felaqua Connect as well as for all other Sure Petcare connected products, all in one easy, simple, and user-friendly interface.
Through the App’s Dashboard, cat owners are able to visualize a daily snapshot of each of their cat’s drinking behavior to then see how it compares to a “normal” day for each of their cats.
Not only that, but the App also integrates a Timeline that’s updated in real-time, which gives owners detailed notifications of the exact times when their cat(s) interacted with the Felaqua Connect’s smart water bowl. In addition to that, this Timeline also keeps owners updated with Smartphone Push Notifications whenever the unit’s water needs changing as well as when the unit’s
Via the Sure Petcare App, owners are also offered thorough Reports on their cats drinking habits, which can be visited and visualized at any time to see how often, when and how much water each of their cats drink, and this could be of great help for owners to identify any potential changes in their cats’ drinking patterns.
Moreover, owners can also grant App access to other family members, close friends, or even to their pet sitters (if they have one) so that they can share in their pet’s care routine.
Finally, for those that already own a different Sure Petcare connected product that’s not the Felaqua Connect, the Sure Petcare App will also work as a Smart Ecosystem that allows users to easily tab between different screens for each Smart Pet Device, which ultimately gives each owner complete visibility of their cat’s eating, drinking and activity behavior patterns.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Sure Petcare Felaqua Connect is a smart water delivery and drinking monitoring system for cats that allows owners to easily monitor their cats’ drinking habits and also keep track of their daily water intake via a mobile App, with the system regularly providing cats with a source of fresh water.
The way this device is designed to work is by having each cat registered to the system’s internal memory via their microchip to record each cat’s drinking behavior such as which cat drank, what time it drank, and how much it drank.
By using the Felaqua Connect, cat owners can have a much easier way of keeping an eye on their cats’ drinking habits, which ultimately allows them to ensure that their cats can always stay well hydrated on a regular basis.
If you’re interested in buying it, each unit is currently going for $115 each (if you already have the Sure Petcare Hub), or $199 to get the Felaqua Connect together with a Smart Hub unit. Best of all, each purchase also comes together with an included 2-Years Warranty, and shipping is also free. You can order yours online directly from Sure Petcare’s official shopping page.
