Cat cleans paws in water bowl?

[Ira92]

I have read other people have noticed their cats clean their paws in the water bowl after using the litter box. We adopted a cat who does this, and it ruins the water for all of them. We even have multiple bowls, and he’ll dirty all of them. Putting water next to the litter box isn’t working, and they tend to drink nasty stuff and sometimes drink from that... i don’t like that it compromises the health of the other 3 cats cause even tho I change it several times a day, sometimes in the morning the water will be really gross. And now him and another of my cats have been getting sick more often. I think this is related. What have people done to remedy this?

 

[fionasmom]

Why Do Cats Paw At The Water Dish? – TheCatSite Articles

I don't know if this will help. I do have one who does this now, but it is not after litter box use so the water is basically clean enough to drink.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I have no tangible ideas how you would stop that. How does he drink water otherwise - also from his paws perhaps? At any rate - these are the things that came to my mind:

• You could try different litters to see if that would help keep his paws cleaner after using the litter box. And/or try larger litter boxes to help prevent your cats from walking through the areas they pee/poop in.
• Perhaps, a mat underneath the litter box would help? You could show him how to 'wipe' his paws on it after leaving the litter box. Maybe even a runner rug so that he would have to walk a bit of a distance before he can reach a water dish to see if that would take most of the litter debris off of his paws.
• I would even try a large sized baking pan with a wet towel covering the bottom to see if he might use that instead, or at least get his paws much cleaner before he heads to a water dish.
• It might also help to elevate the water dishes so they are not directly on the floor. Something like a 2 or 3 tiered stair step with the dish on the top tier. I realize if you don't find a way to anchor down the dish in some manner, this might backfire!!
• A dripping water faucet in the bath tub might be another thing to try.
• I wonder if you would go to water feeders like this one for example (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7QLVSQ/?tag=thecatsite). I think most cats will pick up on the concept fairly quickly.

Hopefully some other members will come along soon and offer some better ideas!

 

[Ira92]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah it is a challenge for sure. I cleaned the bowls out last night and this morning, there was litter with small poop nuggets in there. So gross

 

[Ira92]

Hi. I have no tangible ideas how you would stop that. How does he drink water otherwise - also from his paws perhaps? At any rate - these are the things that came to my mind:

• You could try different litters to see if that would help keep his paws cleaner after using the litter box. And/or try larger litter boxes to help prevent your cats from walking through the areas they pee/poop in.
• Perhaps, a mat underneath the litter box would help? You could show him how to 'wipe' his paws on it after leaving the litter box. Maybe even a runner rug so that he would have to walk a bit of a distance before he can reach a water dish to see if that would take most of the litter debris off of his paws.
• I would even try a large sized baking pan with a wet towel covering the bottom to see if he might use that instead, or at least get his paws much cleaner before he heads to a water dish.
• It might also help to elevate the water dishes so they are not directly on the floor. Something like a 2 or 3 tiered stair step with the dish on the top tier. I realize if you don't find a way to anchor down the dish in some manner, this might backfire!!
• A dripping water faucet in the bath tub might be another thing to try.
• I wonder if you would go to water feeders like this one for example (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7QLVSQ/?tag=thecatsite). I think most cats will pick up on the concept fairly quickly.

Hopefully some other members will come along soon and offer some better ideas!

Thanks those are all good ideas. They live in a garage shop. 4 cats, 4 litter boxes. All as big as I could find. I’ve tried other litters but I will keep looking. The damp towel idea could work I will try. He drinks water like most cats except when he reaches into the dogs water bucket sometimes he’ll scoop it with his paw. Lol.. he’s weird like that

 

[Ira92]

He tends to like getting into puddles and getting wet in the rain too. He’s an aqua cat

 

[Maurey]

Is he at all food motivated? Could it be possible to give him a designated tub (distinct from any drinking bowls) to play around in and clean his paws, and clicker train him into using it over the water bowls?
A pet fountain may also be a solution, but it could also make the whole mess worse -- it's hard to say for certain.