Cat can't see water...

oogieone

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My 11 year old cat seems to be having a problem seeing his water. He will pull his water dish all over the place because he will only drink the water if it is moving. He doesn't seem to be having trouble seeing anything else. Just the water. Has anyone seen this before? I have had cats all of my life and never had one do this. This is a recent quirk of his.
 

javern

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My oldest male does this and I know his eyesight is fine. For some reason he slams the bowl around a bit before drinking from it. He also did this to the cat drinking fountain I used for a time. I had to put rubber mats under everything to catch the spillage.
 

stormy

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I've had a few cats do that as well. I asked the vet and he said some cats can't see the water so the get it to move so they can see where it is...I guess they don't like getting it up their nose!
 

kittiekitten

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some of my cats do that, the kittens (2 of them) picked it up from their mother. their eyesites are fine too. goofie cats. they will use their paws and touch the water to make it move so they can see it.
 

aussie_dog

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I think most cats can't see water properly, which is why quite a bit will dip a paw in first, making sure there's actually water there, lol. What you can do is buy a cat or dog water fountain, since it simulates a stream or river, so the cat can see the water moving.
 

ddcats

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My cat used to splash the water all over the floor and make a huge mess. She has stopped after being with us for a while. I thought she did it because she could not see the water, so, I put a clean plastic cat toy in the water bowl for a while. I also changed bowls a million times. I also think she did it because she was a stray and was traumatized and that was her way of acting out her aggression.
 

lnbandcats

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I have to agree with everyone else's comments. Both Sophie and Mollie love to see the water moving. They make such a mess! Sophie will actually deliberately tip over the bowl - water,water everywhere!
I think that is is why they make the pet water fountains, because cats are attracted to the fresh, running water.
BTW, Mollie likes to drink from the running faucet if she can!
 

kumbulu

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Would placing a clean ping-pong ball in the water help? He could tap that, make it bob and work out where the water is from that.
 

goldenkitty45

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You might try that fountain water dish. Or put a small drop of food coloring in the bowl (if its white).

Some cats just like to play in the water. Charlie will take his paw and dip it in my cooled down tea at times
 

jennyr

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Biscotte and Dushka both like to dip a paw in first and move it around. if it becomes a problem try a few pebbles at the bottom of the bowl to help him see it.
 

debskats

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Originally Posted by littleraven7726

one of my cats seems to have this problem. i started buying water bowls with pictures at the bottom of the bowl and he does fine (no more dumping water). my other 2 like their fountain better.
I had a cat a few years ago, Shasta, who had the same problem, so I did what littleraven did . . . bought bowls with a picture on the bottom and it seemed to help her a lot!
 

xxtashaxx

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Originally Posted by jennyranson

Biscotte and Dushka both like to dip a paw in first and move it around. if it becomes a problem try a few pebbles at the bottom of the bowl to help him see it.
the cat i had here who was homed last week did the same thing , he would dip his paw in the water to see it then he would drink. he was scared of the water fountine
, so i did the same thing i put a few pebbles that had been sterlised in the bottom and this seemed to help loads. he also used to cuddle the bowl while drinking was so cute , a shame he didnt like other cats, and had a bad start in life or i would have kept him.
 
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oogieone

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The only reason I was concerned was that this is a fairly recent habit that he started. He likes to drink out of the faucet, he gets his head all wet in the process trying to aim for the stream of water. I think I will get one of those faucets and for time being I will put one drop of food coloring in the water. Thanks for everyone's ideas...
<This is the cutie himself...
 

EnzoLeya

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My male cat did the same thing! It drove me nuts so I bought him a pet water fountain for him to drink out of. He even pulled that around by the cord for a while!!! You wouldn't believe everything I had to do to keep him from dragging the whole fountain across the floor!!! He did stop doing it just a couple weeks after we got the fountain. Prices have gone down on them and you can find them at a farm store for $20 new.
 
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