Cat upsetting water

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon

"mahlon" wrote in message
lkaboutpets.com...
My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he
regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw
in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor.
Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon


Holly does that, too. She doesn't tip the bowl, but she can completely
empty a bowl very quickly by playing with it in the way you describe. My
solution has been to put her water bowl in a vegetable bin. It is one of
those plastic bins with one low side. They are actually designed to stack
one on top of the other, and the low side enables a person to reach in for
vegetables. Be sure to get the solid type, not the type with slots for air
circulation. I place a heavy ceramic water bowl in the bin, and Holly
happily drinks by reaching over the low side. If she dips into the bowl,
the water will be caught in the bottom of the bin and will not splash onto
the floor -- but, oddly, she seldom does this as long as I keep it in the
container I just described.

MaryL

"mahlon" wrote in message
lkaboutpets.com...
My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he
regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw
in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor.
Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon


Holly does that, too. She doesn't tip the bowl, but she can completely
empty a bowl very quickly by playing with it in the way you describe. My
solution has been to put her water bowl in a vegetable bin. It is one of
those plastic bins with one low side. They are actually designed to stack
one on top of the other, and the low side enables a person to reach in for
vegetables. Be sure to get the solid type, not the type with slots for air
circulation. I place a heavy ceramic water bowl in the bin, and Holly
happily drinks by reaching over the low side. If she dips into the bowl,
the water will be caught in the bottom of the bin and will not splash onto
the floor -- but, oddly, she seldom does this as long as I keep it in the
container I just described.

MaryL

mahlon wrote:

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon

I guess a lot of cats do this sort of thing. Mac likes to push his
water dish so that some water gets up on the lip of the dish, then
he drinks that water (from the lip). Unfortunately, a lot of the
water ends up on the floor!

Putting the dish inside another container, as MaryL suggested, is
probably the best way to deal with it.

8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~

"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson
*************************************************
http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/

mahlon wrote:

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon

I guess a lot of cats do this sort of thing. Mac likes to push his
water dish so that some water gets up on the lip of the dish, then
he drinks that water (from the lip). Unfortunately, a lot of the
water ends up on the floor!

Putting the dish inside another container, as MaryL suggested, is
probably the best way to deal with it.

8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~

"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson
*************************************************
http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary
upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the
water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does
he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

Your cat, and others, do that because they prefer running water. The still
water somehow bothers them and when they put their paws in the bowl it causes
ripples which is something they find comforting. I had several cats who did
the same thing. I do not think you can stop this behaviour.

This, I think, is the primary reason they sell some cat water bowls which are
weighted at the bottom, it prevents them from being tossed around. A possible
solution is to buy a watering type gadget (often a bit pricey) which not only
gives them an almost endless supply of fresh water, but also mimics a fountain
and the water seems as if it is running.

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary
upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the
water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does
he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

Your cat, and others, do that because they prefer running water. The still
water somehow bothers them and when they put their paws in the bowl it causes
ripples which is something they find comforting. I had several cats who did
the same thing. I do not think you can stop this behaviour.

This, I think, is the primary reason they sell some cat water bowls which are
weighted at the bottom, it prevents them from being tossed around. A possible
solution is to buy a watering type gadget (often a bit pricey) which not only
gives them an almost endless supply of fresh water, but also mimics a fountain
and the water seems as if it is running.

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 00:33:15 -0600, "mahlon"
wrote:

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon

FYI Cats cannot see water. They put the paw in to determine where it
is. Your best bet is a flowing fountain (Petco or Petsmart). Other
than that a heavy stainless steel bowl or china -- plastic doesn't
seem to work as well. Then -- put a small piece of colored something
that will float so he can see the water level. Good luck.

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 00:33:15 -0600, "mahlon"
wrote:

My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he regulary upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why does he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

mahlon

FYI Cats cannot see water. They put the paw in to determine where it
is. Your best bet is a flowing fountain (Petco or Petsmart). Other
than that a heavy stainless steel bowl or china -- plastic doesn't
seem to work as well. Then -- put a small piece of colored something
that will float so he can see the water level. Good luck.

"GovtLawyer" wrote in message
...
My one year old male cat is normal in all other ways except that he
regulary
upsets water out of his water bowl. When drinking he places a paw in the
water and then "paddles" the water out of the bowl onto the floor. Why
does
he do this? How do I stop it? Any help would be appreciated.

Your cat, and others, do that because they prefer running water. The
still
water somehow bothers them and when they put their paws in the bowl it
causes
ripples which is something they find comforting. I had several cats who
did
the same thing. I do not think you can stop this behaviour.

This, I think, is the primary reason they sell some cat water bowls which
are
weighted at the bottom, it prevents them from being tossed around. A
possible
solution is to buy a watering type gadget (often a bit pricey) which not
only
gives them an almost endless supply of fresh water, but also mimics a
fountain
and the water seems as if it is running.

The problem with this solution for *some* cats is that many cats really want
to play in the water. Holly is one of them. I will sometimes turn the
faucet on very low *just for her.* She sticks her head under it, splashes
and throws it with her paws, etc. But she still needs a permanent bowl of
drinking water that she won't throw all over the place (and that leads back
to my previous message where I described how I solved that problem...).

MaryL