Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
Oscar adopted us almost a year ago when he was just 6 months old. He was very playful then, and still is, but one thing that remained a constant for him was the placement of his food and water dishes. He has had the same water dish (it’s a refillable tank that dispenses into a shallow dish) from the first day, though we refill and clean it daily. Recently, he has started knocking the tank off the top, causing most of the water to dispense into the dish, but also spilling it across the floor. He has a fairly consistent day-to-day routine, and I work from home, so he’s not often alone, so it seems odd for him to start doing this now. What can we do?
~ Carly
Thomas: Well, Carly, this may be due to a couple of things. First of all, we cats tend to like to drink from moving water. It’s just an instinct thing — moving water equals fresh water.
Bella: He’s probably knocking the tank off the top of the water dish because that makes the water move, and maybe that makes it fresher.
Thomas: That instinctive drive to drink moving water is why a lot of cat caretakers, including Mama, provide their kitties with drinking fountains.
Bella: Pet fountains come in all sorts of materials from plastic to metal to even hand-fired ceramic.
Thomas: Mama got us a super-nice one made of ceramic, and she spent the money on it because she likes to support independent artists and, as she said …
Bella: … and for some reason I don’t think she was joking …
Thomas: … “If they don’t like it, at least it’ll be a pretty feng shui water feature.”
Bella: Humph.
Thomas: Anyway, Carly, we’d recommend trying a drinking fountain to see if that helps to alleviate your kitty’s water polo activities.
Bella: We would suggest staying away from plastic, though. Metal and ceramic are much easier to clean thoroughly and keep sterile. Plastic can develop tiny scratches in which bacteria and other assorted ickies can grow.
Thomas: Another possibility is that your playful little guy may be getting bored.
Bella: Do you do interactive play sessions with him? If not, we recommend at least one good 15- to 20-minute hard play session every day.
Thomas: That’ll get your kitty all tired out and, when you play with him properly, you can get him all excited and using his hunting instincts.
Bella: I love it when Mama plays with me. She plays Throw and Mousie and Birdie Hunter and all kinds of fun games. Speaking of games … Mama, will you play with me?
Thomas: Oh, for goodness’ sake, Bella, at least wait until we’ve finished writing our post for the week.
Bella: Will you play with me after we’re done writing, Mama?
Mama: Of course I will, sweetie.
Bella: Oh, yay! I get to play, I get to play, I get to play!
Thomas: Not yet, Bella. Just another few minutes.
Bella: *pout*
Thomas: Okay, before Bella goes full-on brat on us, do any of you other readers have a cat that likes to play with his water? What have you done to deal with the situation?
Bella: Please tell us about it in the comments. Now, come on, Mama, it’s time to play!
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
My 2 used to drink out of a pint glass on the floor (with no problems) , but while i was looking after Boots (my sisters b/f’s cat) I noticed Boo’d always stick his paw in it, to kind of make sure the water was there or something -he’d knock it over more times than not !!! (accidentally of cause) so i switched to a big bowl, so he could see the water in it better and although he still ‘pawed at it’ he didnt do it half as often !! :D and no spillages :D
I’m finding myself nodding my head in agreement *grin*
I used to have two cats that loved to topple the bowl and see it go flying through the air – water and all. One day, they discovered just how much fun they could have that way and there was no deterring them from their newfound game. I found that putting the bowl on a windowsill somewhat helped, but I got a water fountain soon after – it was easier to refill, more fun for them and provided them with constant, fresh, moving water.
Yes, I have one of my three cats who plays with the water. He pushes the bowl until the water splashes out and then drinks from the drain. (I keep the bowl in the bathtub so he doesn’t get water all over the floor.) He also likes to drink from the running tap in the bathroom sink.
When ‘the brothers’ were born, I also had a very senior cat. To make things easier for HER, I had a crunchy dish and water both upstairs and down.
Of the 4 boys, one in particular – Fluff – has the frustrating habit of dragging the water dishes around, water be damned!
Even those big ‘guaranteed not to tip’ bowls are no challenge for him.
I still want to get them a fountain for downstairs, but their “water dish” has been one of those big ‘dishpans’, full of water, in the bathtub.
They all like to play in the water too, so there are a few toys floating in it as well… They get to fish and drink from their ‘pond’ – and I don’t step in puddles of water in odd places! Heehee
my kitty has started knocking his water over .all the time