Cat Tipping Water Bowl.

MikeD

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Greetings.

I have two male cats, one a 6 year old tabby, and the other an 8 month old kitten (not sure of the breed). We got the kitten because our tabby's brother died unexpectedly last year.

Within the past two months, our kitten was just neutered Kitten was just spayed within the last two months, and by all accounts, everything went great. Kitty was back to normal within a day or so. However...

Recently, he has taken to flipping over the water bowls (we have two water bowls and two food bowls). He leaves the food bowls alone, except to eat. We have tried using different bowls to no avail. We recently moved the feeding spot...after kitty had started flipping the water...and we found that kitty scoots the bowls by reaching in them and dragging them with his paws. We transitioned to larger, heavier bowls, but it still does not prevent him from scooting the bowls. My concern is my older cat is not able to drink when he wants water, because there is no water in the bowls...specifically when my wife and I are out of the house working.

I can't seem to find any ideas or reasoning for this. I did find that the kitty is scrapping at the floor around the food bowls for some reason, but not sure why.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.


TIA
 

basscat

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Ping pong ball in the water bowl, or something like a small rock/pebble in the bottom of it.
Sounds like he can't tell where the surface is. Sticks a paw in to find it, then drags it, etc.
AND, a stoneware/crock bowl.
 

arouetta

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You mentioned scooting the bowls....are they elevated? If so, then getting a heavy ceramic dish and putting it on the floor might do the trick. Until you can find a bowl that works I would suggest leaving the bathtub faucet on a drip/trickle so the cats don't run out of water.
 
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MikeD

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Thank you for the suggestion basscat. I will try that tonight.

arouetta, the bowls are sitting on the floor. The problem started when we had a brand called NeaterFeeder, which was two bowls sitting on a tray that would catch any overflow. We found that kitty would tip over the water bowls, soaking the food, to get to the water in the overflow tray.

We do have a very slow leak in the bathtub, and the cats go in there if they get really thirsty. I just want to avoid that, as we sometimes get ants in there, and we have to spray occasionally. I get mad at kitty for tipping the bowl over, but I don't want him to get sick!

Thank you for the suggestions.
 

foxden

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If your kitty was going after the water in the overflow tray, maybe he would like water in a wider, shallower bowl.

Some cats are very particular about shape and sizes of bowls, and don't like their whiskers to touch the sides. You could even use a plate and put a pool of water on the plate. He might scoop all the water off the plate, or he may decide it is a good drinking dish.
I'd put a plate down in addition to a regular water bowl, so the other cat has a chance to drink.
I have put cat bowls on a boot tray to keep the mess contained. That would keep water from going all over the floor.
 

arouetta

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We do have a very slow leak in the bathtub, and the cats go in there if they get really thirsty. I just want to avoid that, as we sometimes get ants in there, and we have to spray occasionally. I get mad at kitty for tipping the bowl over, but I don't want him to get sick!
Do you have a half-bath or mind the cats on the counter? A half-bath sink or kitchen sink would also work, assuming the older cat has the mobility to jump up that high.
 
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MikeD

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Thank you all for your replies.

Kitty thought the ping pong ball was a new toy, and just hit it out and played with it. After he was bored, he went back to splashing the water all over the place. I ended up putting a rock in the bottom of the water bowl, and that has cut down this behavior quite a bit...enough that the World's Best Wife and I are satisfied. We no longer come to the kitchen to a big puddle of water, it's just an occasional tiny puddle.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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You can also try adhering a set of velcro patches, both to the underside of the bowl & onto the floor, to keep the dish immobile on the floor. He may still splash a bit but at least the kitten may not be able to drag it around the floor.
 

susanm9006

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You can try one of those auto water feeders that uses a big jug to hold the water. That makes the feeder heavy enough so that it is difficult for a cat to tip over.
 

mac n tosh

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Only one of my cats, Tosh, drags the water bowl. He is also the one who drinks from the tub. He seems to have a lot of trouble seeing the surface. Mac just sticks his tongue out till it touches and drinks. I have tried 3 different kinds of bowls: blue ceramic, metal and grey plastic. It doesn't matter. I find he has a better time when there is an ice cube in there but, of course, that is only temporary. I will definitely try to put something at the bottom of the bowl. Thank you basscat!
 
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MikeD

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Once again, I want to thank everyone for their replies on this.

Kitty was fine until last week, when he found that he could knock the rock out of the water bowl, and it was a new playtoy. However, he seems to have elevated his behavior.

Now, he flips the water bowl that my older cat uses, but leaves his intact. He also has taken to scratching the floor around his food dish, which I take it is a way to 'mark' his territory. Old Boy (the oldest cat) doesn't eat or drink from those bowls, unless he is out of food/water (which has maybe happened once).

Any additional thoughts? The World's Best Wife has started talking about re-homing Kitty because of all the messes he is causing, and because he is depriving Old Boy of food/water. I don't want to re-home Kitty, but I also can't have the constant messes or depriving of food/water for Old Boy.
 

danteshuman

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Sorry it was attached to the original drinkwell fountain ... I had one of those for years
 
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