Help needed with a cat problem....

[LiberalHeart]

My cat has decided his water bowl is a toy. I fill it up, he sticks his feet in it and splashes it all over the (luckily rubber backed) rug underneath. He even manages to scoop it out with his paw.

I never had a cat before that is so crazy about water. I'm worried he's not going to have any water to drink when I'm out of the house for hours. I find the bowl bone dry several times a day -- and it's not that he's drinking it.

Anyone else have this problem? Any solutions? I mean other than removing his legs.

[texanwitch]

1. I had a kitten that played with water,

She stopped when she was older, nothing I did would get her to stop.

Sounds like the cat is having fun.

[Poiuyt]

2. Maybe one of those pet drinking fountains would help

http://www.thecatconnection.com/page/TCC/CTGY/BWL-DRNK?gclid=COSG4Iy3h4oCFRlmWAoddHKIQw

Some cats have a fascination with water. We had one that loved to drink out of a faucet. Maybe one of these fountains with a reservoir would satisfy his desire to play with the water.

[LiberalHeart]

12. This might be the answer.

My cat loves running water. Maybe playing with the water that falls would satisfy him.

[KitchenWitch]

3. I used to have a cat that would scoop water out of her bowl

and lick it out of her paw. She made a mess...

Sorry I have no advice for you.

[ironflange]

4. We had a kitty like that

She would lie at the water dish, whap it with her paw, and watch the ripples. It was tres cute. For extra fun, we'd throw an ice cube in, that fascinated her.

[crispini]

5. Mine does the same thing.

Lunatic. I have to have the catsitter come every day instead of every other day when I'm gone. Nothing stops him.

If you come up with anything, let me know.... :shrug:

[murielm99]

6. Dunno.

Some cats just like water.

I used to have a cat who would put his two front paws in the water dish every time he got a drink. Then he would shake his paws all over the place.

I hope your kitty grows out of this habit.

[Solon]

7. Besides the mess, I wouldn't worry too much about it...

Your cat is smart enough to know when to drink, if thirsty, and when to play. Cats, generally, do not require nearly as much water as humans given their size, especially if they eat canned cat food. They can find other ways to get moisture.

Also, I'll take a guess, is your cat a tortoiseshell or calico by any chance?

[jrandom421]

8. Seriously doubt it

The starter of this thread refers to the cat as "he", so I seriously doubt it's a tortoiseshell or calico.

[Solon]

9. Good point, though it could be a sterile male calico...

I wasn't even paying attention to the pronouns, but I noticed that these two types of cats are usually more likely to play in water. This isn't to say they LIKE water, my tortoiseshell HATES baths, but she still plays in the water dish.

[Poiuyt]

15. Calico cats are a sign of the devil

according to John Ashcroft

[LiberalHeart]

10. A tabby

[Solon]

13. Well, the best advice I can give is this...

Put a towel around the water dish, to absorb water, and prevent puddles, which are annoying. I would also advise that you use either a ceramic or metal bowel with a wide base, so its not easy to flip and to avoid allergic reactions in cats that can occur when they eat or drink from plastic dishes/bowels. If you find the cat's behavior too annoying, you could try training, its long, its tedious, its not as easy as with a dog, but you could discourage the behavior. One of the easier solutions is to let the cat drink from the bathtub, leave a little water in there, and encourage the cat to play in it, this can make messes much easier to clean up.

I wouldn't worry about the cat actually becoming dehydrated from this behavior, he most likely licks his paws and gets enough water that way anyways.

[LiberalHeart]

16. There's no mess ... the water bowl is on a rug that won't leak thru...

It has a rubber back. But just a little while ago I watch the little rascal slap the water, watched it splash all over the rug (which is ALWAYS wet), then he drank a little. My fear of dehydration is that the bowl will be empty too long. He often empties it entirely, and not by tipping it over. He does lick water from his paws.

I have tried both ceramic and metal bowls. Didn't know cats can be allergic to plastic.

That fountain link above intrigued me, so I let a stream of water run in the wash bowl to see if he'd drink from it. Instead he jumped into the wash bowl and let the water run on his head. Weird cat.

[texanwitch]

11. I have seen a hamster style water bottle for cats and dogs.

A pet shop might have one.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BikeWriter]

17. If it also wears a mask, that is not a cat, but a Raccoon.

[China_cat]

18. Just be glad it's a cat.

I've got a 110 lb. Bouvier who likes to play in his water. And the cats' water. And the kitchen sink. And stick his whole head in the bucket. We mop 3 to 4 times a day.

Ever had a totally dripping beard, mustache and long eyebrows laid in your lap?

[MissMillie]

19. I have the same issue

I put a very large water dish inside a large square plastic (rubbermaid) container. That way, when Cosmo splashes the water, it lands inside the container and protects the floor. Plus, with a large water dish, there's plenty of water for all 3 of the cats.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

20. I have a pigeon...

who loves to bath in the cat's water bowl. (The cats don't mind, they apparently like the taste of pigeon-flavored water.)

To say it gets messy is an understatement.

I put a 1/4 size cookie sheet (the kind with sides) under the water bowl and it keeps the water in one place and the cats can still drink it if they need to.

[azmouse]

21. I think your cat sounds adorable.

:loveya:

[spinbaby]

22. If the cat is older, get some blood work done

The first sign that our Matilda had failing kidneys was a sudden obsession with water--she was always splashing in it. We thought it was play at first. Your kitty may just be playing, but it's better to check these things out.

[Deep13]

23. Ithink you need to post pix so we can study the problem.

:-)

[wildhorses]

24. my orange tabby was fascinated by water

and he never outgrew it:shrug:

sorry no advice, pix would be nice though:hi:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. deleted

deleted

[Kali]

26. Your cat isn't going to die of dehydration in a few hours.

There are "lix-it type water despensers for larger pets as mentioned above - like for guinea pigs - basically a plastic water bottle with a tube and a ball valve that the animal licks to open.

Make sure the animal has it figured out before relying on it exclusively. (or use both and don't deprive him of his fun)