One of the cats runs ahead of me into the bathroom and sits by her (full) waterbowl,peering sadly into its crystal clear depths until I dump and refill it. Just like the last time… she drinks the fresh water as tho she’s just came in from a march across the desert. Just like the last time,2 hours ago:smack:
I can top that.
When I come into the bathroom my cat will often leap to the sink and try to drink out of the water I run.
His full water bowl and food bowl are on the floor, just a few feet away.
Our cat does the same thing in the kitchen. She will ignore a full bowl of fresh water and jump up in the sink and try to drink out of the faucet whenever the water is turned on.
We cats are stuck in your elegant prison and we are not always fully amused. So, doing something different means a great deal to us. No life or death. Just a better life. A life more nuanced. A life more engaging.
We’re just as sentient as you are. We have hopes and dreams and goals. We’re mall and we haven’t completed the thumb evolution but I suggest that you cooperate and stay on our good side. JUST as an atheist should still be honorable, just in case, you are similarly obligated.
We won’t steal your breath.
You know, if I was thirsty and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, and I saw one that was sitting out on the counter, I’m not sure I’d drink it. Who knows what might have fallen in, or why it was left out in the first place?
In the wild, I think still water is bad news. Could be all kinds of nasty stuff growing in there. But flowing water is being replenished from somewhere, maybe a nice, clean, underground aquifer.
If your cat is turning her nose up at still water that’s been left sitting in a bowl, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a holdover from some longstanding survival mechanism.
some cats prefer to drink really fresh or running water - that’s why you can buy any number of kitty water fountain type devices
Bingo MRW - cats like the taste of aerated water, the dissolved oxygen makes it sweet. Which also explains why cats and dogs like rain puddles.
The other thing to know is that cats do not trust food near water. The reason is that in nature dead meat in or near water is often foul which has the dual warning not to drink that water nor to eat that food.
Ideally your cat’s food and water should be separated by at least a few feet. Or rooms.
Cat fountains: only learnt of such things recently but wanted to encourage my Maine Coon to drink. So I chanced upon an indoor water-feature on Ebay for $20 which was 1/4 the price of the cat device.
Its hideous, so bad in fact its a talking point. My 16yr daughter sank with shame when she had to tell her visiting friends - “Its Dad’s water fountain for his cat”. But he drinks from it and that’s good enough for me.
http://www.waterfeatures2go.co.uk/kelkay-slate-falls-indoor-water-feature-5055066406018.html
Cats are weird for reasons beyond their water preferences, altho my Bengal always accompanies me into the bathroom, demanding that I turn the sink faucet on for him.
We’ve got a long-haired rescue who’s been with us for about 5 1/2 years. She still bolts and hides under the bed when something upsets her, like people coming to the house or my husband walking near her (he’s never abused her, I promise!!) or a leaf floating past a window. She’s a wuss.
Anyway, my inlaws are here. They’ve visited several times, and they’re in their 80s, so they move slowly and they’re fairy quiet (just to contrast them with wild and crazy children.) The first day they were here, goofy Ziva didn’t venture out until everyone was in bed. Last night, she was brave enough to come into the living room when I was sitting there with MIL. But this morning, she actually went to and accepted skritches from my mother-in-law!!!
That cat is beyond weird - she’s just a nut case! And I’ll bet anything before the day is over, she’ll go back to hiding under the bed.
Tonka wants me to stroke his back before he’ll eat. (Not all the time; just if I’m in the kitchen.) It’s like he’s asking permission to eat.
And of course, if he can see the bottom of his dish, it’s ‘empty’. I give it a shake and… Magic! The bowl is no longer empty and he can eat!
He’s welcome in my room, but he rarely comes in. I retire earlier than ‘mom’, and she shuts the door to keep the light out of my room. (Or my snores in it!) I think Tonka must think he’s not allowed in there. (‘Mom’ thinks it’s just too hot for him to sleep with us.)
Our last cat had several oddities. E.g., he wanted to be escorted to the food dish about half the time. He’d stand in front of you, meow, you’d have to walk to the dish, he’d follow, then he’d start eating.
The middle of last week he started seeming a bit off. Vet on Monday. On Thursday he had to be put down. Only 12. Never had a cat go down so fast.
Miss the weirdness.
Zebulon requires to be scruffed until he clunks over, then mopped in a circular motion about the bathroom floor. This is while one is trying to use the toilet. At all other times, he flees from almost any contact, including, sometimes, looking at him.
Maggie likes drinking from the bathroom sink or tub. She ignores the water dish. Fortunately for her, the bathtub faucet leaks constantly (I have them fix it every 6 months or so, it resumes leaking about a month later) so she has a ready supply of fresh water.
Sometimes when I brush my teeth, she jumps up and plays with the water. She really likes it when I put my hand under it and let it flow over my palm for her.
I bought one of those cat fountain water dishes. She only played in it and it kept getting filthy and clogged up, so I put it away.
I had a pet sitter tell me this a little while back, and I have to admit, at first, I was a little skeptical. It just sounds like an old wive’s tale. But I moved the water dish into another room, and I’ll be damned… I see him drinking WAY more water than I used to.
Sorry ftg for your loss. Our cat, Scooter, loves to bring gifts to the point we has to remove the cat door. She still brings dead stuff and just leaves it on the doormat. This morning it was a dead lizard. I really wish she would not kill anything.
We kept her inside for over two years but she would cry when we left to walk the dog. We could hear her a block away. When we finally gave up and let her come and go as she pleases she hangs around the house. Go figure. Now when we walk the dog she tags along and if we get to far ahead she will just cry and cry. Yeah Cats is weird.
I just posted this in another thread. Tonka will beg for food when there is still plenty in his dish. The problem is that he can see the bottom of his dish! :eek: I give the dish a shake, the ‘hole’ is covered, and he thinks food has magically appeared.
Also, he will sit meowing by his dish until I stroke his back. It’s like he’s asking permission to eat. And he’s not even hungry. He’ll have a few bites and then come back into the living room.
I got 3 cats at the same time - 1 from a barn,2 from Animal Control. The barn cat and one of the AC cats accepted their names with a "Meh~call us for breakfast"attatude and would look at me and even come…the 3rd EMMA would not answer,would not even look at me… I tried different names over the years,but never hit until one day I was reading the comics and said “Oh Ruthie”… She whirled around,looked me in the eye and meowed! “So your true name is Ruthie?!?”:eek: Meow! So I called “Emma,Emma” She turned her back,radiating scorn. “Ruthie?” Meow… “Ok,Ruthie it is…” She died about a year later,but at least she was called by her True Name ~ or the one she chose
I’ve actually been thinking about buying one of those.
My cat is way too interested in the nail clippers. I have to go in the bathroom and shut the door to cut my nails undisturbed. He’ll get right up in my face to put himself between me and the clippers. He will also get friendly with the nail file if I leave it out. Rubs on it, rolls on it, picks it up in his teeth and runs off with it… I have to keep the nail files out of sight.
Cats is weird.