browneyedgirl36 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Soooo...I have an almost 9 month-old cat (I guess she's still technically a *kitten* but I forget because she's HUGE!) She's gorgeous, adorable, loveable, wonderful, except for ONE thing: Like many cats, she likes her drinking water to *move*. This desire for moving water manifests itself in all sorts of annoying little behaviors, including jumping up on the bathroom sink while I am washing my hands or face or brushing my teeth and jumping up on the side of the bathtub while I am taking a bath or shower. That in itself would be mildly annoying, but she insists on drinking out of the sink/tub, and the water usually contains soap, face cleanser, body wash, or something else she shouldn't be drinking, so I am constantly having to stop what I'm doing to pluck her off the side of the sink or tub lest she poison herself by injesting water full of soap and other chemicals. I have tried shutting the bathroom door while I'm bathing, etc., but she scratches insistently at the door the ENTIRE time I'm in the bathroom, and she cries pitifully. UGH. I can ALMOST deal with this stuff, even though it bugs me, but her weird habits extend to her own water dish as well. Since she likes her water to move, she's constantly taking her paw and splashing water all over the place, as well as dragging her water dish, with her paws, accross the kitchen. I come home every day to a puddle on my kitchen floor, and her dish has moved, sometimes several feet from its original location. I even bought one of those continuous waterer things so that when the level of her water goes down, more water goes into the bowl -- so, at least a few times a day, her water DOES move, on its own. I figured this woud be enough to satisfy her, but...no. She manages to drag the automatic waterer all over the kitchen too (it's pretty heavy, so I don't know how she does it), and again...puddles. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get her to stop this? I can deal with her jumping up on the sink and bathtub (though it's pretty annoying), but I am really getting tired of coming home to a flood on my kitchen floor. I love this kitten, but she's NOTHING like my previous cat, who hated water and never did anything like this. She drank her water, but that was it -- no batting it around, no jumping on the sink, no dragging her water dish around the kitchen. So, I have no experience with this. Any thoughts? Thanks! Link to comment
Elaine Marley Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Have you thought about getting one of those water bowls that's also a fountain? My cats like those. Link to comment
diamond78 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 That's what I have....it's a water bowl that's like a fountain. It also apparently filters the water and the way the fountain is built I would imagine that it would be extremely hard to bat around, if at all possible. Here's the one I use...My cat loves it! link removed Have you tried training/disciplining your cat? Your kitty seems to have some bad habits that may drive you crazy if they don't ever go away. Link to comment
sherryberrypie Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Does she have any maine coon in her? My maine coon is obsessed with water. He will head straight for the shower when I'm done, leaves puddles on the kitchen floor from his water dish, and we can't leave open water glasses around, or he will stick his face in and help himself. These are maine coon traits. I've never had any cat or seen any other cat that acts this way, so that's why I ask. The fountains seem good. I'm planning on getting him one of those. Link to comment
lavenderdove Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 She is full of energy at this age and looking to entertain herself... Regarding coming in the bathroom, just shut the door and let her yell and tell her no periodically... Your will just has to be stronger than hers! It is the same as a human kid, who will push you to the limit trying to get what she wants. Eventually she will learn she will not get in and will probably outgrow her fascination with water such that she will be happy with just her fountain of water. re: her moving the fountain around, try getting some of that gripper tape to hold it in one place, or else put it inside a box or blocked in on three sides by something so she can't move it around. Set it on a paper towel so a little spilled water gets absorbed by the towel. Link to comment
browneyedgirl36 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to look into one of those fountain bowl thingies -- it sounds like a possible solution. If her water is moving a lot of the time, she should be content! I admit I have not done much in the way of disciplining her other than removing her from the sink, side of bathtub, etc. and locking her out of the bathroom when I'm in there. I have heard that cats CAN be trained, to some extent, and I may have to look into some type of training for her. My previous cat, while she had some annoying behaivors, was a lot better behaved than this one, so I'm not used to this. As I'm typing this, she has crawled up onto my lap and is snuggled up against me. Soooo cute. She really is a little doll. We just need to come to a solution to a few of her discipline problems. Thanks, all! If anyone knows of any cat-training resources, please feel free to post them! Link to comment
browneyedgirl36 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Does she have any maine coon in her? My maine coon is obsessed with water. He will head straight for the shower when I'm done, leaves puddles on the kitchen floor from his water dish, and we can't leave open water glasses around, or he will stick his face in and help himself. These are maine coon traits. I've never had any cat or seen any other cat that acts this way, so that's why I ask. The fountains seem good. I'm planning on getting him one of those. I don't think she has any Maine Coon in her, but I can't be 100% certain. I know they have some quirks -- I know someone who had one. Beautiful cat, but definitely *different* in a lot of ways. I do really want to try the fountain. I think i will go on Amazon and order one today and see how it works out. Link to comment
asthesparrow Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 My cat is like this too. When I shower she stands at the shower door, staring at me, MEOWING like she's in pain! Really she just wants to get in and drink and play. She LOVES water. Whenever she hears any tap running, she's dying to drink from it. And she will rarely EVER drink from her water bowl. Even when I splash it. Some times if I fill her water bowl up (having realised she's thirsty) if she doesn't drink it, I add a bit of milk (smallest drop, just enough to change the colour of it) while she is sitting there, watching. She usually drinks it. You could try that. Otherwise, you could spray her with spray bottle when she jumps up on the tables/sinks. I used to come home and find my cat curled up asleep in the sink! So cute, but also not very nice hahaha. Good luck Link to comment
browneyedgirl36 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 She is full of energy at this age and looking to entertain herself... Regarding coming in the bathroom, just shut the door and let her yell and tell her no periodically... Your will just has to be stronger than hers! It is the same as a human kid, who will push you to the limit trying to get what she wants. Eventually she will learn she will not get in and will probably outgrow her fascination with water such that she will be happy with just her fountain of water. re: her moving the fountain around, try getting some of that gripper tape to hold it in one place, or else put it inside a box or blocked in on three sides by something so she can't move it around. Set it on a paper towel so a little spilled water gets absorbed by the towel. Yep -- she definitely has energy to SPARE! She's all over the place sometimes! Fortunately, she's got lots of stuff to play with and keep her busy, and I spend a lot of time playing with her and just sitting with her on my lap. She's definitely happy -- just a bit rambunctious. I have to remember, though, that for all intents and purposes, she is still a *baby* even at nearly 9 months, so she's being a baby! Thanks for yoru suggestions, lavenderdove -- I will definitely be testing them out! Link to comment
browneyedgirl36 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks! It's SO weird -- some cats absolutely HATE water and want nothing to do with it whatsoever. My previous cat was like this. If she even stepped in some spilled water, she'd freak out and shake her paw everywhere! This one, I swear, would go swimming in the full bathtub if I would let her! Link to comment
tikei Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 wow didn't know that many cats like moving water. My cat only drinks from running taps- i thought it was more to do with the freshness/coolness of the water. Whenever I'm in the bathroom, she'd jump into the bathtub and sit there, looking at me while I brush my teeth. Also when I wash my hands in the kitchen she'd jump onto the counter and start drinking. She doesn't drag her dish around though, so I find her actions pretty cute. Link to comment
browneyedgirl36 Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 UPDATE: I went to Petsmart yesterday and bought a kitty water fountain. It wasn't cheap -- $39.99 -- but I can tell already that it will NOT be as messy as her regular water dish because she can't move it -- it's too heavy for her to move, and it's plugged into the wall. It makes a very low, pleasant humming sound, which is kind of soothing. I've only had it for 24 hours, so the jury's still out, but she has drunk out of it, and I am hoping she'll get used to it. Today, I rewarded her with a treat because she drank out of it several times. She was sort of playing with it, too -- putting her paw over the little fountain spout, splashing around a bit in it, etc. -- and while some water did come out, it's not a giant puddle on the floor like it was with her regular bowl or her automatic waterer thing. Plus, the water is continuously filtered and cycled through the fountain, which is supposed to be healthier for animals because the water isn't sitting still. So...we shall see. Thanks for the suggestions, all! I've owned cats my whole life and didn't really know anything about these fountains, so I appreciate the suggestion! Link to comment
Unknown1607307972 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 My cat is a bit like that, she likes to drink running water from the tap and will keep jumping into my sink, leaving muddy paw prints for me to clean up. When I am brushing my teeth she jumps on the sink and plays with the tap/drinks from the tap, it's annoying Luckily she will drink out of her regular water bowl too, it's just not as interesting I guess! Link to comment
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