Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Why does my cat do this?

Every time my cat (a 6 year old male) drinks water from his bowl he first has to take his paw and skim the top layer of water from the bowl.  Needless to say, he gets water everywhere!!!  He does not then drink the water from his paw but will drink from the bowl.  He does this everytime he drinks.  We've had cats in the past and have never seen this before.  Does anyone have any idea why he does this???
13 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
596105 tn?1314580333
You know what....My cat Oliver does the same exact thing....and is always consistant with it as well haha.....I think that when you give them a bowl of water they dont really see it well so they just check.....you know? Like they put their paw in to see whats there...and then they'll lick.....ORRRRRR sometimes Oliver just plays with water too.....so you never know...cats are cute and funny hahaha
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Have a 4-6 week old kitten-(left on my porch) very alert and lively-eats well.   Lately -for about 4 hours a day-acts drunk, lethargic, cant hold his head up--after resting -a few hours later--hes normal again--Has anyone ever seen this-or heard of this ?--I am making an appt at the vet--but would like some additional info-- thanks!
Helpful - 0
441382 tn?1452810569
Believe it or not, there IS an actual reason that cats do this.  In cases where cats paw at their water before drinking it, when these individuals were kittens, in their early attempts at drinking from a bowl they put their faces in too far and submerged their muzzles, ending up with them getting a snootful of water.  Because the water is clear, cats can't see it unless it's moving, so they move it with their paws so that they know how far down the water level is in the bowl.  That way they know how far in it's safe to put their muzzles to drink without ending up snorting water.  As loony as they look when they do that, it's actually quite clever of them to have figured this out, I think.  I have one who, in one of his first attempts at drinking water after he was weaned, went in almost up to his eyes!  To this day he won't take a drink unless he has pawed at the water enough to create a mini-tsunami in the bowl!  LOL

Ghilly
Helpful - 0
590413 tn?1218784711
That is funny, my best friends cat Nola does that too.  Who knows, she does not drink out of her water dish, because its yucky from her putting her food in it, so she drinks from the toilet...yes the toilet (she is a full blood MaineCoon....32 pounds of cat...dog...cat HAHAHAHAHA).

Kitters are funny creatures.....
Helpful - 0
560293 tn?1218715761
That's so funny! My cat Thomasina actually does the same thing only i've seen her drop pieces of her cruchy food in the water & then fish them out & eat them? Jesus, talk about picky...lol, actually I was thinking maybe her food is to hard? Maybe she needs some wet food instead, what do you think? I have on occasion done a little of both...but we have 6 cat's (YES) 6 not planned but we love them to death so it's very hard to only feed a few wet food & not the rest the get crazy!
Helpful - 0
590413 tn?1218784711
I have 2 cats, one does this alot the other so so. I actually started putting the water in a fun glass bowl with river rocks and foliage (non toxic) on accident...........I noticed that they were drinking outa the thing in the bay window one day, now that there are plants in the water they seem to drink without playing in it......oh and I used to have a fish tank and she would do the same water playing thing...........funny as heck........
Helpful - 0
587732 tn?1218564271
My cat has been doing the same thing non-stop for a year already.  i thought he was picky with the water, but i change it at least twice a day (morning and evening).  Not only does he skim the top, but he has to put his paw over the bowl and literally TILT the entire water bowl over and everything gets soaked.

I have also made the bowl secure with nails around the sides and just twist the nails to remove to bowl to clean and put water and then just twist the nails back over around the top when i put the bowl back ... but he still tries to tip and knock it over.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My cat does the same thing.  It is very annoying.  He gets all wet.  However, he is not consistent.  Sometimes he does and other times he doesn't.  It doesn't matter if the water is fresh or not.  I have asked other people about it.  Some say the cat is testing the water.  But I agreed with Savas.  I think my cat is just trying to irritate me.
Helpful - 0
228686 tn?1211554707
I find that house cats tend to be a little strange and confused sometimes in their use of instinctual behavior. That digging behavior is linked to toilet and food habit behavior...usually burying or covering food they're done with.
I'd guess he's being screwy and has it stuck in his head he's uncovering his food/water source in preparation to drink.

Or...he could just love irritating you and making a mess!!! :)
Helpful - 0
300987 tn?1219983665
I think what your cat is doing is skimming it for little hairs that are floating on the top. Your cat is probably just trying to push them out of the way. My cat does it too.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was wondering if it might be a freshness issue.  If I put a fresh bowl in front of him he will just start drinking without skimming but if he walks away, even for just 5 minutes, he will come back and skim before drinking.  He is such a snobby cat!!! :-)
Helpful - 0
286776 tn?1268874332
Its funny, im not sure if my cats do that all i know is they scoot the water bowl all over and spill the water out, maybe he knows that the water is or isnt fresh?
Helpful - 0
203342 tn?1328737207
I have two cats who do that! I'm not sure why they do it either. I thought maybe they were checking the depth of the water? Like if they can't see the depth real well? That's what I thought.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Cats Community

Top Cats Answerers
874521 tn?1424116797
Canada..., SK
506791 tn?1439842983
Saint Mary's County, MD
242912 tn?1660619837
CA
740516 tn?1360942486
Brazil
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.