So my roommates and I have this cat…he’s like five months old. He has a couple of weird behavior traits—one is that he likes to slap water. When we give him a bowl of water, he slaps it all over the kitchen floor and then drinks it off there. We give him clean water, we’ve tried different vessels in different locations, turns out he just likes slapping water. Which wouldn’t be a problem if we didn’t mind having a kitchen floor that is always covered in an inch of water, but I guess we do.
The other thing he does is he bites. I have known female cats to bite but this one definitely has balls and yet he likes to chomp. Feet and wrists are considered toys. The only thing to do is throw a better toy so he chases it. Nothing else to do but throw him off, and that seems to encourage him. We used to have a spray bottle, and that worked for a bit, but he likes water so much (see above) that it got old. If I let him bite/wrestle my arm, am I setting him up for a bad habit that he will continue when he’s big? If so, how can I keep him from doing it?
Are you sure he likes water that much? Because even for cats who do, they rarely like getting spritsed right in the face with it. I really don’t know any other way to do negative reinforcement with a cat other than the old spray bottle (smacking them, even lightly, only makes things worse).
I have two Bengals and they like water too. When they started splashing their water bowl around too much I found that a puppy watering bottle was the answer. They’re like those gerbil water bottles, only bigger. Can get them at a pet store (might be a little expensive). My two had no problem licking water from it.
The best advice I got, from the SDMB incidentally, was if the cat does something wrong, just disengage. No punishment - he won’t make the connection between the behaviour and the punishment - just totally ignore the kitty. Walk away, and do not look at him. He will eventually get the connection between “fun game + bite = no fun any more” - as opposed to “fun game + bite = even more fun game”.
Using this method I got my cat to stop biting (mostly), and then later employed it to get her to sit up on her hind legs for food with her hands on her tummy. The latter only took three tries, amazingly. “Sit up + paws = no food”, but “Sit up + no paws = food”!
Yep, like **jjim **says, disengage. Don’t throw something for him - that’s a reward; he bites, he gets to play. Just stand up and walk away.
Obviously, if he likes water, that won’t be a deterrent. Many cats are not fond of sharp noises. Try saving a (clean) pill bottle with a screw top cap. Put a dozen pennies inside and duct tape the top back on (the screw top will loosen itself over time otherwise). You now have a Cat Irritator. When he starts to make a water mess, sharply shake the Cat Irritator. If you’re lucky, he won’t like it, and he’ll start to associate the sound with the water and eventually he’ll leave it alone.
I would get him a kitty fountain, though. Drinkwell makes a good one, and they’re available at PetSmart. Some cats really like moving water, and giving them a (not messy) outlet can let them burn off a lot of stress. If that’s not in the budget, consider leaving your bathtub tap on with just a fast drop or small trickle. Not all the time, but give him some water play time and he’ll be a happier kitty.
He’s also in the midst of his adolescent angst. He’s still very likely to grow out of this mayhem phase.
Another suggestion for the biting is to loudly and sternly say NO, and startle the kitty, and stop playing. I’ve done this with kittens and toddlers alike, and after a few times they get the point.
Though cats can see very well for some purposes, they have some odd limits. They can’t see below a certain angle from the face. Right now, you can probably glance down and see your belt buckle without moving your head. A cat can’t do that. He probably couldn’t even see his little paws on the keyboard.) Some cats also cannot see the surface of still water. Some will get over it if you float a little ball in the water.
I second the motion for a Drinkwell fountain. The Cat-It brand of pet fountain is so complicated and troublesome to clean that I recommend it only as a shooting range target.
We’ve had two cats who were/are water-splashers. I agree that they do it to confirm the surface of the water. The now-deceased one and the current one were/are both orange marmalade cats with the intelligence of a rock.
Our current Sweet Sara started out as a bitey kitten. The deterrent that worked was a loud “NO!” and total disengagement. Also very gentle treatment, no rough play. She is now the most sweet-tempered cat imaginable, and while I’m sure she would bite if she believed it necessary for self defense, it would take some serious provocation.
Water splashing can be handled. Give him a fountain as WhyNot wisely suggested, he wants running water. Some dudes just let a sink drip cold water. I do that when I go away for a coupe of days. Gives them unlimited fresh water and something to play with.
Biting? Scruff them and hiss, when they bite.
For those that don’t know- never hit a cat.
(gives Hail Ants the secret Bengal owner’s high five)
