Cat and parrot sharing a water fountain

A parrot helping themselves to the cat's water is actually pretty common — birds are drawn to moving water just as much as cats are. The good news is this gives you a real reason to upgrade, because a quality fountain benefits all three of you: your cat drinks more (which directly protects their kidneys and urinary tract as they age), your parrot gets fresher, filtered water, and you stop worrying about what's in the bowl. Before I point you to the right one — is your cat young or older, and do you know roughly what size your parrot is? That helps me think about fountain height and flow.

Perfect — an African Grey is a substantial bird, so you need a fountain with a wide, stable basin and a gentle enough flow that your parrot isn't put off by splashing. The one I'd point you to is the Pioneer Pet Raindrop Ceramic Fountain. It's ceramic rather than plastic, which matters a lot here: no BPA, no plastic leaching into the water, genuinely easy to clean properly, and ceramics don't harbour the bacteria that scratched plastic does. The Raindrop has a wide open upper tier and a calm, rain-like trickle rather than a jet — that calm flow is actually ideal for birds, who can be skittish around loud or forceful water movement. The basin is deep enough for your cat and accessible enough for a large parrot. It's also quiet, which matters if your African Grey is sensitive to noise.

Really good instinct — parrots are sensitive to a lot of things that are fine for cats. Unglazed ceramic or ceramic with low-quality glazes can leach heavy metals, which is a genuine risk. The Pioneer Pet Raindrop uses a food-safe ceramic glaze that's lead and cadmium free, so it's the same standard as ceramic food and water dishes that are routinely used with parrots. It's a much safer choice than plastic for this exact reason. What you want to avoid is cheap unbranded ceramic or anything with a decorative glaze that isn't confirmed food-safe. This one is well-documented on that front and is widely used by bird owners.

The carbon filter typically lasts two to four weeks depending on how much use it gets — with a cat and a parrot both drinking from it, I'd plan for every two to three weeks. The ceramic body itself is dishwasher safe, which is a genuine advantage over plastic fountains where you're always wondering if the dishwasher heat is warping something. The pump is small and straightforward to rinse. Full clean takes about ten minutes once you've done it a couple of times. Replacement filters are easy to find and inexpensive. One tip: rinse the ceramic bowl every few days regardless — African Greys in particular can leave food debris near water sources, and staying on top of that keeps the filter lasting longer.