Feline Fascination With Water

[AvaJoy]

I have heard that some cats enjoy playing with flowing water; whenever a faucet is on they are up on the counter or sink or bathtub to observe at close range. Meeshe will touch a paw to the water in his dish before drinking (either testing the temperature or level - only he knows!), and Lily likes to have a fresh cup of water held for her while she drinks, but she will also drink from her bowl.

Otherwise, I have never had a cat that seemed at all intrigued by running water, and wondered if anyone would like to share their cat's water antics.

I've read that Persians prefer to drink from fountains, because due to their facial structure they can get water up their noses trying to drink from a bowl . . . Spencer, have you found this to be true?

[AvaJoy]

Oh, I hope not . . . I've had the same concerns about Lily when she began to cry for water upon waking, as she is no spring chicken anymore. Let us hope it is just a fixation and not of any medical significance.

[AngieS]

My cat done the weirdest thing when she would get a drink from her bowl of water. She would kind of scartch or paw at the floor in front of the water bowl when she would get a drink. I have no idea why she does this. I haven't noticed her doing it as much lately because now she will go to the kitchen faucet and lick it i turned the water on to a small stream and she didn't seem to like it but maybe she will eventually. I don't think she would get enough to drink from what is in the faucet but she seems to be happy trying. LOL

[zippy-kat]

I had NO IDEA re: kidney disease!!!
That explains my Max to a T! (rainbow bridge now--it seemed he could NEVER get enough to drink!--and he died of kidney disease) None of the vets told us that his 'love of water' was a warning sign!

I'm in shock!!

Tinker will paw her water before drinking as well. Tom would only drink from the bathroom faucet!

[Gio]

Gigio has kidney disease and he drinks gallons of water (he is 18) but the reason he prefers to drink from the tap rather than his bowl stems to almost 15 years ago. My father, who absolutely adores cats but can be quite absent minded, was left alone with the cats for a couple of days. It was the height of the summer and when I came back I noticed that the cats' water bowl was dry. When I asked him why he replied "I was wondering what that bowl was doing on the floor ". He also told me that during a thunderstorm Gigio demanded to be let out on the balcony and dashed to drink from the trays my mother placed under the flower pots. Ever since then he prefers running water, but can you blame him?

Maya is fascinated by water. You cannot run a bath, wash the dishes or the floors that as soon as she hears it running she appears. And if the floors are wet than it's paradise. She can sit on the border of the bath with her tail and front paws deep in the warm water.

[Former User]

We're still too small to jump on the sink etc. but we are fascinated by the water yes. Everytime when our humans take a shower, we're there on the floor, top of the floor towel. We like it because it's wet...then we also like to walk all o ver the bathroom floor after their shower. We get our paws wet, but we don't mind that. We don't mind water either, whenever our humans spray a bit of water, we try to catch the water drops that's fun! And we used to annoy the humans by almost swimming in our waterbowl, but now they've changed it to a smaller one, and we can't do that anymore darn humans

[yorkster]

Good subject! I have 2 cats: one 7 yr. old mix, and a 8 month old M. Coon kitten. The kitten drives me crazy with his water obsession. When I fill up his water-bowl, first he starts 'slapping' the top of the water with his already large paw. I mean he slaps hard, and has got it down to where he can make the water go up about a foot. He does this for awhile, then he starts 'scooping' the water out over the side of the bowl- it looks like he is digging in his litter box, only it is with water. So obviously my floors are always wet! I tried putting a tray under the water, then a disposible aluminum pan, but those don't work because he slaps the water too hard and will also try and scoop it out of the tray. Finally I put a DEEP plastic dishpan under his water dish. That seems to be working, except that now he stands inside the whole dishpan to drink his water, and he is not a small kitty! He also likes to stick most of his head & neck into the water, so now his pretty fluff around his neck, etc. looks frizzy all the time. His paws are wet most of the time too because he does this for quite some time everyday. Also Both my cats like to put their toys into the water dish and play with them that way.

[lizbud]

I have two siblings(Red & Mikey),and Mikey
definately has a 'thing' about water!!
Their Momma was a feral rescued from "alley
cat" status 3 years ago..As a way of interacting with these two 'First" kitties
I used filling the water bowl as a kind of
game..With lots of OOHS & AAHs about how
interesting the flowing water was! Well
Mikey loved it and showed GREAT interest
whenever He hear the water, he came running,
and would sit crouched down next to the bowl,
to watch this "Great Event"When he showed no
fear & even smacked the water,I praised him
a lot..It became another game we played.
Mikey still loves the game , but Red acted
like it was just to silly to get involved in.
P.S. Momma Cat has been completely Veted and
lives in a Condo in my garage!!!

[shaggo]

I swear obsession with water is a Maine Coon trait! I have two Maine Coons who both love to play with their water dishes. My younger one dunks all of his toys in his water dish (and then carries them dripping all over the house). He also likes to sit with his his paws wrapped around the water bowl. He will do this for an hour at a time, not drinking, just "guarding" the bowl from his big brother. His brother likes to dip his paws in the water.
This facination with water has always intrigued me and I have since heard of a great many Maine Coons with similar characteristics.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by yorkster:
[QB]Good subject! I have 2 cats: one 7 yr. old mix, and a 8 month old M. Coon kitten. The kitten drives me crazy with his water obsession. When I fill up his water-bowl, first he starts 'slapping' the top of the water with his already large paw. I mean he .

[yorkster]

Maine Coons are such hams- I just love it! Never a dull moment around here. How old did you say your kitties were Shaggo? You should take a picture of your cat 'guarding' his water dish. Welcome to COTD!

[shaggo]

Thanks for the welcome!! I have been a lurker for awhile but have only posted a couple of times. My boys are two and three years old. They are wonderful little (BIG actually) guys. I don't know what we'd do without them. I must get a picture of Cody with his water dish!!

Originally posted by yorkster:
<STRONG>Maine Coons are such hams- I just love it! Never a dull moment around here. How old did you say your kitties were Shaggo? You should take a picture of your cat 'guarding' his water dish. Welcome to COTD!</STRONG>

[4 feline house]

Cosmo (RB) was fascinated with the flushing toilet. He would run through the house and the first whoosh so he could jump up on the seat and watch the swirling water disappear!

Incidently, excessive thirst and urination are not an early sign of kidney disease - once these symptoms occur it is usually already advanced.

[yorkster]

That's right 4-feline-house that excessive thirst, etc. means it is advanced kidney problems- I had a cat (Liza, blk. & white tuxedo) die about a year and 1/2 ago from it. By the time I noticed that something was REALLY wrong with her, it was too late. It can advance very quickly as it did in her case. I know I felt so awful for not having done something sooner. She had been drinking a lot of water and kind of lethargic (spellcheck) for awhile, but she was getting up in years and I did not know which of my cats was drinking all the water at first. Now it is something I watch for closely.

[4 feline house]

Yorkster, don't beat yourself up. The kind of kidney disease cats are prone to has no treatment. All that you can do is hope to slow the progression, but even then sometimes your best efforts are for naught. Also, even advanced kidney disease can have no symptoms until the end, and most routine chemistries will come up normal until the disease is advanced. Although I have only about 35% of my kidney function, all but two of my tests still show normal, and one of those is only given when kidney disease is already suspected or known - it is not part of a routine physical. Abnormal chemistries generally don't start coming up until function is down to about 10-20%, and that's also when dialysis starts. I've known of several people who found out they had kidney disease and started dialysis all on the same day. Add to that the added difficulty of your cat not being able to tell you that she's thirsty or has an upset tummy, and it's no wonder you didn't know sooner.

I'm lucky in that they have discovered a class of drugs that can slow and sometimes even stop the progression, but unfortunately for every other kidney patient, people and animal, it is only effective in type 1 diabetics. Even in people, there is not a whole lot that can be done.

I hope this eases your guilt, because it is not warranted.

[yorkster]

Thank-you 4 feline house. That is good information you passed on.