# Cats are supposed to \*DISlike water, right?.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841 "2006-06-08T04:56:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/1 "2006-06-08T04:56:37Z")
I guess Nemo never got the memo that domesticated housecats are supposed to _dislike_ water… whenever i put a dish of water down on the floor for him, the first thing he does is paw _half_ of it onto the floor (thank Og for linoleum bathroom tiles…), instead of drinking directly from the dish, he then proceeds to lick the water off his paw… if i fill the water dish up halfway, he won’t drink it, nooo, it _has_ to be _full_ so he can paw half of it onto the floor… and now that he sees me typing on the laptop, he’s decided to “help” me post by soiupewbnfDCOSUIBW3F sorry, he just walked across the keyboard… at least Blue (our other cat) only has the problem of being _Agressively_ freindly, if you happen to be sitting on the floor (or otherwise within paw-reach) he’ll walk right up to you, grab your arm and start rubbing against it and playing with it, basically saying “PAY ATTENTION TO ME, DAMMIT!” so, we have the winning combo of an agressively-freindly Alpha male cat (Blue) and another cat with a water fetish (Nemo), i think Nemo may have delusions of Tigerhood… ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/2 "2006-06-08T11:00:23Z")
Maybe naming him “Nemo” gave him a water fetish? I am sitting with a large Siamese cat about a foot away from me on the desk. He is staring intently at me. He will stare at me as long as I am on the computer, not moving. Unless I should glance at him, when he immediately starts purring and making biscuits on the desk. This cat is not anything approaching sane. This cat is not even in the same universe as sanity. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/3 "2006-06-08T11:51:26Z")
I’ve got one like Nemo. Every once in a while, I’ll hear splashing in the kitchen and go out there to find him pawing frantically at the water in the bowl. He does it with both paws, and has this crazed look on his face. He’ll look up at me as if to say, “It’s okay! I’ve nearly got all the water out of the bowl for you!” He used to tip it over and splash around in the resulting puddle, until I bought a heavy ceramic bowl that can’t be moved. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/4 "2006-06-08T13:57:01Z")
Tarot drinks with her feet, as well. We did get her a cat fountain, and she does use that “properly” - but otherwise it’s paw-in-water-lick-paw. She’ll also happily drink from the toilet, and is very thrilled whenever guests forget and leave the lid up. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/5 "2006-06-08T14:45:35Z")
Pixel likes licking water off her paws. She’ll dive for a running faucet in a second. She also likes to jump into the shower the second I shut off the water and open the door. Both cats use their bowl “properly,” but if there is an alternative they jump at it. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/6 "2006-06-08T15:37:53Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > \*_Cats are supposed to DISlike water, right?.._ [Not all of 'em.](http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/swimming-lion.html) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/7 "2006-06-08T15:59:03Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > making biscuits on the desk. 😕 …Pooping? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/8 "2006-06-08T16:11:18Z")
A “cat making biscuits” is when the cat is making the small, kneading motion with its paws/claws that it used as a kitten to stimulate Mom to give up the milk. It looks exactly like the same motion a baker uses in manipulating dough, hence the “making biscuits” expression. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/9 "2006-06-08T16:19:47Z")
None of my cats have a water fetish, but one really, _really_ likes bubbles, much like that Finding Nemo segment in the fish tank. If I go to get a drink out of the water cooler she’ll run over and stare in tently at the bottle as it makes its “Glub! Glub” noise. The cats also have an aerated water dish (basically a large reservoir water tray with a small pump attached to aerate the water). IF I turn it on she won’t drink from it, but she’ll spend half an hour trying to capture the bubbles. I do have one cat that does the pawing thing with food though. He can’t eat like a normal cat. He has to paw a bit of kibble on to the floor and eat it from there. Sometimes he’ll make like it’s a fugitive kibble and chase it around the kitchen before finally deciding he made a good catch and eating it. ---
**Author:** ![theunfounddoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@theunfounddoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theunfounddoor)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/10 "2006-06-08T16:54:26Z")
One of my cats will stalk the outside of the bath tub while I’m in there. Giving me the “Are you crazy?” look. But about every other time I take a bath, she will inevitably fall most of the way in, sramble out real quick and spend the rest of the time I’m in there cleaning herself off and looking at me accusingly, like I pushed her in or something. :dubious: My big guy, he’s starting to get over weight a little bit. But, I think he is the laziest eater ever. He gets all excited when I put food in his bowl (of course) then proceeds to roll in/on the bowl whilst purring and getting it everywhere. After a minute or so of that, he’ll circle it, plop onto the ground and eat while laying on his side on top of half of the food. He really really likes his food I guess. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/11 "2006-06-08T17:04:42Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Not all of 'em.](http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/swimming-lion.html) 🙂 Also [Turkish Van cats.](http://www.freedom.co.za/vans/) ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/12 "2006-06-08T17:09:06Z")
I’ll perform a scientific experiment tonight, I’ll partially fill the tub with water, so there’s an area covered with water, as well as some “dry land”, I’ll put Nemo on the dry portion and see what he does with the big pool o’ water… since he’s a cat, he’ll probably stare at it, realize he’s being experimented on, hop out of the tub and ask for water in his bowl instead… I guess it’s the “forbidden” aspect of water on the floor, it’s not just water in his dish that he has to get on the floor, I have one of those orange 5 gallon Home Despot paint buckets that’s used for water changes in the aquariums, if there’s any water left in it after refilling the tanks, Nemo _has_ to try and tip it over, I can’t leave any water in it or nemo _will_ tip it over, just to see what’s inside… however, if the bucket is empty, he _ignores_ it, he’s only interested in it if it contains water, if there is even the tiniest amount of water in it, he’s _compelled_ to tip it over, he just _HAS_ to… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/13 "2006-06-08T18:02:11Z")
Sounds like my cats are normal – they like their water in motion, dripping from a faucet or hose, or sloshing in a bowl. The big fat one (Mick, about 18 pounds) can still jump to the bathroom sink. We’ll turn the water on to a drip-drip. He’ll stay there forever. I tried leaving water in the sink so I could turn off the faucet and go to bed, but he’s not interested in a non-moving puddle. Cats are so cool. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/14 "2006-06-08T18:08:49Z")
My cats–one in particular–are fascinated by water. I have bought them a cat fountain, which they seem to like. Both of them will walk around the bathtub when someone is in it and one of them will peek into the shower. He also likes to drink directly from the aquarium when I’m doing water changes. In fact he is so fascinated by the aquarium (and other things in it besides the water, I might add) that I had to install a cardboard cover over the small gap not otherwise covered. Not to mention that I had to get aquarium covers that could either withstand the weight of a 17-pound cat or are engineered in such a way that it discourages them, i.e., rounded and slippery. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/15 "2006-06-08T22:56:42Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Cats are so **cool.** You spelled ‘freaking insane’ wrong. ---
**Author:** ![RCGDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@RCGDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RCGDC)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-are-supposed-to-dislike-water-right/359841/16 "2006-06-08T23:04:03Z")
Most cats love water, they just don’t like getting wet. It’s rare to see a cat that doesn’t like splashing water or to bat a dripping faucet. They love to play with it, but what they don’t like is having to lick themselves dry should they fall in. That is too much water