Experience with cats tipping their water bowls over

NInacatthingss

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 16, 2022
Messages
3
Purraise
2
Hi guys,

I have a 3 year old cat named Arthur :) He came from a rescue centre when he was 7 months old.
He very often tries to tip his water bowl over, I have understood that it is often because cats like to see the flow of water, as it signifies a fresh and clean source, but also can be for attention seeking reasons.
I would like to do some research into this problem.
For this I would ask the following two questions, and I would love to hear about your experience!

Does your cat ever try to tip their bowl of water over/slid it across the floor?
Do you have any things to prevent this from happening?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

catmando2

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 25, 2022
Messages
85
Purraise
91
I have one cat who enjoys tipping water over. Another that dips her paws into the water.

When the water tipper was a kitten, I had one of those gravity water feeders but still not secure enough for him to hip over. I'd see the water bowl sideways and water all over the carpet. The little rascal.

To prevent, if using a bowl (I also have cat fountains), I use one of those non-tipping dog bowls. The popular silver ones. My assumption is those bowls are designed that way to prevent pets from tipping.
 

ArtNJ

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,485
Purraise
6,957
The non tipping dog bowls work great, you can chose from a bunch on Amazon. I recently also bought a silicone mat. Mostly to make clean up of stray food easier, but it also helps with water spillage. (Even if they can't tip it, they can still splash after all!)
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
Some ideas:

There are bowls with suction cup bottoms or non slip bottoms that should keep the bowl from being tipped over.

Place the bowl (suction bottom or not) into a shallow tray (boot tray, upside down plastic storage container lid, shallow storage container, etc) to keep spills easy to clean up. Line the tray with an old towel or puppy pad if needed.

In addition to a bowl, use a pet water fountain. You may need to put the fountain into a tray to keep spills and splashes from making a mess.
 

vansX2

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 10, 2022
Messages
2,714
Purraise
3,048
Location
Iowa
Hi guys,

I have a 3 year old cat named Arthur :) He came from a rescue centre when he was 7 months old.
He very often tries to tip his water bowl over, I have understood that it is often because cats like to see the flow of water, as it signifies a fresh and clean source, but also can be for attention seeking reasons.
I would like to do some research into this problem.
For this I would ask the following two questions, and I would love to hear about your experience!

Does your cat ever try to tip their bowl of water over/slid it across the floor?
Do you have any things to prevent this from happening?
I solved the water spilling issue by installing a "Pet Water Fountain". The fountain runs 24/7 providing my boys with good tasting aerated water.
 

catloverfromwayback

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 24, 2021
Messages
3,734
Purraise
8,502
Location
Victoria, Australia
I have a fountain and a non-tip bowl, one of the silver ones with a rubber ring around the base. Now if only I could stop knocking it and spilling the water!
 

vansX2

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 10, 2022
Messages
2,714
Purraise
3,048
Location
Iowa
I have a fountain and a non-tip bowl, one of the silver ones with a rubber ring around the base. Now if only I could stop knocking it and spilling the water!
My boy "Jackpot " likes to wash his paws in the fountain. My DW goes bonkers yelling at Jackpot when she sees him cleaning his paws in the fountain.
 

Aileen666

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 14, 2022
Messages
27
Purraise
26
Hi guys,

I have a 3 year old cat named Arthur :) He came from a rescue centre when he was 7 months old.
He very often tries to tip his water bowl over, I have understood that it is often because cats like to see the flow of water, as it signifies a fresh and clean source, but also can be for attention seeking reasons.
I would like to do some research into this problem.
For this I would ask the following two questions, and I would love to hear about your experience!

Does your cat ever try to tip their bowl of water over/slid it across the floor?
Do you have any things to prevent this from happening?
My cats knocked over every water bowl I ever used so I started putting them in the bathtub. Works perfectly !
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

NInacatthingss

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 16, 2022
Messages
3
Purraise
2
I have a fountain and a non-tip bowl, one of the silver ones with a rubber ring around the base. Now if only I could stop knocking it and spilling the water!
hahah I also walk into the food bowls a little too often.. and then my cat looks at me with disgust for all the times Ive told him not to :')
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

NInacatthingss

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Oct 16, 2022
Messages
3
Purraise
2
Some ideas:

There are bowls with suction cup bottoms or non slip bottoms that should keep the bowl from being tipped over.

Place the bowl (suction bottom or not) into a shallow tray (boot tray, upside down plastic storage container lid, shallow storage container, etc) to keep spills easy to clean up. Line the tray with an old towel or puppy pad if needed.

In addition to a bowl, use a pet water fountain. You may need to put the fountain into a tray to keep spills and splashes from making a mess.
That is goood, thank you for the advice! I had heard that the fountains are useful but have never tried before
 

Alldara

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Apr 29, 2022
Messages
5,278
Purraise
8,912
Location
Canada
I had a gravity waterer. Nobel kept slapping it across the floor and I passed it along. We use a large dog bowl, human cups with mats underneath and a long shallow Rubbermaid container and a Catit fountain. Basically every room in the house almost has a drinking area. We take hydration seriously 😹
 

lollie

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Apr 28, 2018
Messages
311
Purraise
458
My cat became obsessed with this for awhile a few years ago - drove me nuts. I put one of those large pet silicone mats down with a lip, to catch the water. I also tried putting some tape on the bottom of the bowl.

The solution for me, was just to finally set her in the tub with a big bowl of water and let her play it out. An hour later, and much dipping and shaking of the paw, and she was done. Got it out of her system. Put a few ice cubes in there, apparently it adds to the mystique.
 

Lulu&Finn

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
144
Purraise
285
I bought silicone mats for the water bowl and food bowls. Lulu pulls the water bowl to the edge of the mat, tipping it along the way, but she doesn't pull her food bowls to the edge. She's always played with the water. But she's just naughty. lol
 

CaseysMom

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 7, 2022
Messages
100
Purraise
211
Tiny does this! Not so much tipping it over as moving it around to see the water swish and splash out. :rolleyes: She also likes to dip her paws in the water, and put her toys in the water. :rolleyes: I honestly haven't tried to discourage her. I figure she is getting some enrichment out of it. I just keep the bowls on a mat or on a hard floor (not carpet) so that it is easy to clean up, and she has so many bowls that at least one of them is full enough to drink out of at any one time.
 
Top