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A Cat’s Relationship with Water: Love-Hate & Oh So Complex

December 1, 2017 By Elise Xavier | Updated: August 1, 2018 - 4 Comments

Do cats love water? Do they hate it? Is there some weird love-hate relationship type thing going on between cats and water? What exactly is the deal?

Every cat on earth has a different relationship with water. Some cats will actually go so far as to swim without looking like they’re staring straight into the face of an axe murderer or as miserable as a… well, cat drenched in water. Of course, these sea-fearing types are very rare in the house cat world, as most of our pets, I think, have a more “standard” approach to dealing with the wet stuff.

While I do feel there are enough unanimous, underlying commonalities tying together how most kitties feel and physically react to water, this relationship seems to be anything but simple. And of course there will always be exceptions upon exceptions to these “rules” so to speak. Nonetheless, here’s my attempt at depicting the typical cat’s overall experience and relationship with the wet stuff we humans have all at one point felt the felines really love to hate..

cat-relationship-with-water-love-hate

The Complex Account of a Cat’s Love-Hate Relationship With Water

Told from the perspective of a cat…

  1. If it falls from the sky, water’s dreadful. Avoid; nearly at all costs.
  2. If it’s sprayed at you, it’s obviously in the same vein as it falling from the sky, yet a lot more frightening. Abort. The. Situation.
  3. If it’s still but deep, water is a bit intriguing, but a threat – save yourself and potentially the humans you care about from this incredibly awful condition.
  4. If it’s still but very shallow, it can, and quite frankly should, be inspected.
  5. If it’s dripping, like from what humans call a “faucet,” you’ve hit ambrosia, the nectar of the gods. Water in this form is a gift from the heavens, the perfect way to drink, and should absolutely under all circumstances be taken advantage of.
  6. Same with if it is not quite dripping, but undisturbed in tiny droplet form on surfaces. Magic. Pure wonder to lick and drink.
  7. If water happens to be hovering extremely shallowly, just ever so slightly coating the surface of a hard object, like in a “tub” after a human’s taken one of their absolutely inefficient “showers” (someone really needs to train those humans to clean with their mouths..), it’s a great way to cool down and get your paws nice and clean.
  8. If it’s on the surface of a textile, what humans called “wet,” it’s meant to be sniffed and inspected, and possibly sat on as well.
  9. If it’s within the textile and is completely, what humans call “soaked,” it’s not to be analyzed until it’s had some time to dry. Unless it’s dripping. In which case, the dripping can be analyzed. Dripping is always good so long as it’s not on you.
  10. Waters in glasses and bowls are boring waters. They’re not bad, just plain. Drink from them only if you have no other choice.
  11. Humans don’t understand, but many of us love the taste of rain water and other waters sourced from “outdoors.” I don’t see how their “clean” version is tasty to them – no flavour!
  12. Humans also don’t understand – drinking isn’t much fun at all, so most of us will not bother to do it. I mean it’s not satisfying like eating, after all.
  13. We need to be bribed if they wish us to do more “drinking!” Some of us like our water when its flavoured slightly by its metal container, others prefer ceramic, others prefer glass. They need to learn which of us prefers which, and commit these preferences to memory.
  14. Other ways to bribe us include making sure our water is fresh; they should certainly be refilling our glasses on demand. We also prefer it chilled – from the cool “tap,” or with this invention they have titled “ice,” which should frankly be given more freely and frequently. These particular preferences I will never understand why they do not assume, since they too seem to have them for their drinking water.
  15. Water is not so mystifying, but it seems humans just don’t understand our relationship to it. They try to “boil down” the complexity of it and somehow think we exclusively hate it. They are simple beings that don’t appreciate minutiae. Really, once you take a proper look, it’s quite simple, at least to us cats who are mostly all in agreement. As you can see it only took 15 steps to nearly completely explain.

cats-hate-water-why-fear-soaking-wet-kittyclysm-blog

What Do You Think of the Feline Relationship to Water?

What do you think of cats’ relationships to water? Do you feel there’s an overall hatred or fear toward it for most cats?

How does your own cat react to water in different forms? Does your cat love all water? Hate all water? Love it only sometimes, in certain ways?

Would love to hear your insights in the comments down below!

Filed Under: Cat Love

Elise Xavier

Have a pet cat named Avery whom I love to bits.
Obsessed with cats. Figured I might as well blog about it.

Dig KittyClysm? Think you may like some of my other sites?
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eastside Cats says

    December 1, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    We purchased a cat water fountain years ago; the cats ran from it. Once we took them off of kibble and they only ate wet food, drinking water was a rarity. Then, as Chucky got sicker, he was lapping up water consistently, but Angel doesn’t go near the bowl. So, I mix about 1/4 can of water (5.5 oz food can) into her meals. She’s peeing normally, so I cannot complain.

    Reply
    • Elise Xavier says

      December 2, 2017 at 4:46 am

      RAN from a fountain? That’s got to be the most hilarious sight! 🙂 I know some fountains make loud noises that make cats not want to come near, but to run from one sounds like quite an overreaction, haha. Cats!

      Mixing water in with food is the only way to get some cats to drink enough, for sure. I wish most cats liked drinking as much as they like food – my mom’s and brother’s cats definitely wouldn’t have had UTIs if that was the case. At the end of the day, getting that water into their system is all that matters. So it’s great you’re mixing it in for her. Gotta keep them healthy!

      Reply
  2. Crystal Stewart says

    December 1, 2017 at 11:47 am

    My Daisy Mae absolutely hates water. She hates baths but likes to drink water and loves her ice cubes. It’s really weird. This post was eye opening. Is it OK to share on LinkedIn or Press it on wordpress.com. Please let me know.

    Reply
    • Elise Xavier says

      December 2, 2017 at 4:41 am

      Cats really are quite quirky, and I feel like when it comes to water, they get all the quirkier! 🙂

      Yes, definitely you can share it! Please if you happen to copy and paste to share, do only take a part of the article (maybe a third of it) and leave a link to read the rest here. But feel free to share any of my posts that way. I actually really appreciate it! I’m honestly thrilled you liked the post so much 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Elise! Welcome to KittyClysm - a blog for cat lovers & kitty keepers. Join my furries, Avery & Bjorn, and I in our own little corner of the feline-obsessed world. Facts about cats, training tips, cat stories, pet care advice - I talk as much as I can about it all here!

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