# A cat question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2001, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534 "2001-02-15T02:13:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![insider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@insider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insider)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/1 "2001-02-15T02:13:31Z")
Can domesticated cats swim? Would they ever normally go into water just to swim around? Do some types of cats like going into water and others do not? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/2 "2001-02-15T02:32:31Z")
Yes, domestic cats can swim. However, tossing them into a lake is not a good way to make friends with them. I’ve never had a cat that enjoyed swimming, but someone else probably has. Tigers enjoy swimming but generally the domestic breeds do not. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/3 "2001-02-15T12:03:31Z")
As Squink pointed out, cats generally hate swimming. they are, however, very good at it if forced to do so. I have heard of one breed of domestic cat which doesn’t mind the water. I could be wrong, but I think it is the manx. ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/4 "2001-02-15T12:49:31Z")
Insider- The Manx might swim, I don’t know, but I worked with a lady who had an Abyssinian (sp?). This cat could swim! This cat LOVED to swim! He would jump into the bathtub just to swim around while she was giving her son a bath. I was told this is a common trait for Abyssinians, but I have no hard data to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/5 "2001-02-15T12:55:17Z")
Turkish Vans might be the breed you’re thinking of. I’ve seen pictures of these cats swimming and their owners say they enjoy it. My cat Bo fell in my swimming pool once. He didn’t swim, he just got out of the water _really_ fast. Poor guy, I thought I was going to have to go in after him. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/6 "2001-02-15T14:20:46Z")
Cats like to _swim_; they just don’t like _getting splashed_. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/7 "2001-02-15T14:39:00Z")
Cats don’t like being wet in general. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/8 "2001-02-15T14:47:39Z")
Jack fell into the water garden once. She sort of ran acrosss the surface of the water to the other side. She was barely wet when she flew out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cat-question/54534/9 "2001-02-15T16:49:45Z")
When I was a child, I put all of our cats thru a strenuous exercise regimen teaching them how to swim at our pond. Yessirree, I made sure that every cat we ever had knew how to swim. I would spend hours patiently teaching them. What was really fun, though, were those rare occasions when our pond would freeze over. Then I would spend hours (well, not quite _hours_, but long periods of time) teaching them how to ice-skate.😃