Do your cats like water?

[kittyandco]

Hello, everybody. So, I have this cat. He's about six months old, mostly black with a white spot under his neck and between his back legs, medium-long haired like a Siberian. His name, is Muffin. He. Loves. Water.

I don't know why, but he just loves it. If you leave your cup of water sitting on the table after you're done eating, even if he was sleeping, he'll jump up, stick his paw in the water, and tip the cup over so that all the water flows out. If you leave a vase of bamboo somewhere he can get to, he'll tip it over. If you're forcefeeding water to a cat with something stuck in his throat, or perhaps a malnourished kitten who wouldn't suckle with it's siblings, and that water is in a bowl next to you, he'll tip it over. If the betta was still alive, he'd tip over the fishbowl. We're planning to buy the cats a heavy dog bowl for their water, because without fail, at LEAST once a day, he tips over the water bowl and spills it all over the floor, drags around the bowl with his teeth, and clearly enjoys watching the water spread out into the hardwood that's eventually gonna come loose if we don't get a new water bowl. If there's an ice cube in the bowl on hot days, he'll scoop it out and bat it all over the floor, leaving a trail of cold ice juice in it's wake.

When he isn't tipping things over, he puts his paw in the water and stirs it. He likes to see the water move, and I know many cats do THIS, so i'm not too curious about it. Seriously though, there are tons of paw print water stains on the floor, and i'm definitely stumped on who made those...

Oh, yes, and his brother drinks from the toilet.

Do ANY of your cats do this? Is there a way to stop this water madness? Do I have to give him a BATH to satisfy this craving for water? Do tell, he's looking pretty suspicious by the pitcher...

 

[yayi]

None of my cats do this but it is not an uncommon behavior. Get Muffin one of those water fountains and his craving or instinct for running water will be satisfied. 

 

[melesine]

A couple of my cats love water but my blue cat is absolutely obsessed. He comes running when he hears me turn the shower or bath water on. He watches me bathe all the time. He has actually jumped up and walked around the glass shower enclosure to check out the water. One time he even jumped down into the shower from the top when I was warming the shower water. He is obsessed with the pet water fountain, the faucets and our counter top water filter system. He rarely drinks water, he just wants to play with it and watch it running. 

 

[sonnygll]

Yea, my Siamese does that sort of thing. She isn't nearly that bad, but she is very obsessed with water. She doesn't dump the water dish over, but that's only because it is a large double sided container. She does pull it towards her, so it will end up in various places, spilling water on the floor. She gets in the tub when I turn on the water to take a shower, but she only lets it touch her front paws a little. Sometime she will say in the back of the tub while I turn the shower on, usually she will feel a droplet and get out, but then she will stand there between the liner and the curtain, sometimes for the whole time I'm in there.

She jumps on the sink and will dip a paw in the water while I am shaving too. She is absolutely transfixed when I let the water go down the drain, as if it's the most interesting thing she's ever seen.

If I turn the water on a trickle in the sink or tub, she will play with it, and lick it a little. My big fluffy boy likes to do that too, but he doesn't do any of that other stuff.
 

 

[thetigerden]

Both kids will go into the bathroom with me when I shower. The girl will watch from a distance, but completely fascinated by the way I put myself in that horrifying situation. The boy doesn't care much what I do, and doesn't mind if he occasionally falls in. Just another day at work! 

 

[catspaw66]

Sugar and Spice come running when the water in the sink or bathtub gets turned on. They will sit side-by-side and watch the water come out of the faucet and go down the drain hole. They will occasionally take a poke at it, but not really play with it.  When I take a bath, they like to walk back and forth on the edge of the tub, sit and play with the bubbles (I always use Lavender bubble bath) and dip their paws in the water. I can't leave them in the bathroom very long, because I know one will fall in and I have no desire for a startled 10 pound cat in my lap. Fortunately, they get bored after about 10 minutes and leave on their own, and I shut the door and heave a sigh of relief.

 

[archerbaby]

When I take a bath, they like to walk back and forth on the edge of the tub, sit and play with the bubbles (I always use Lavender bubble bath) and dip their paws in the water.

Do they ever try to walk on the bubbles?  My cat apparently thinks that he's divine and that he can walk on water when I take a bubble bath because he's always trying to put a paw or two in and see if those bubbles will hold him up

  He also does the walking back and forth on the edge of the tub.  And he insists on staying in the bathroom with me the whole time I'm in the tub, though he normally gets bored and lays on the bathmat to take a nice nap...My husband says that he's being my little lifeguard and that's why he won't leave me alone  (Oh and I always use lavender too because it helps me sleep, but I wonder if cats are maybe drawn to the scent of lavender?)

I love reading the stories about cats' fascination with water.  Especially the ones who want to jump right in the water, rather than interacting with it at more of a distance.  It just helps to illustrate the many different personalities in our kitty companions

As for the problem with a cat tipping over the water bowl, we dealt with this with Archer too because he loved seeing the water spreading like your kitty, Muffin.  The idea you have to get a heavy duty dog bowl sounds like a good one, and it's similar to what we had to do.  We got a heavy duty, no slip ceramic crock type bowl from Petco and that seems to have helped a lot.  He can't get his paw under it, so he can't tip it over and since it's no slip it helps to make it a lot harder for him to scoot it around and slosh water out.  Of course it won't help with him putting his paw in to scoop water out.  The idea for a good pet fountain might help too so that he can see the water moving without having to make it move.  Maybe even just get a little office desktop fountain so that he can see the water moving that way.  Good luck

 

[catspaw66]

Yes, most cats love the scent of lavender. After I get out of the tub, Sugar will not stop rubbing against and grabbing my feet. She has a foot fetish, anyway, but the scent of lavender drives her even more wacko.

No, they have never tried to walk on the bubbles, they just play with them and lick them off their front paws.