Why Do Cats Hate Water?

Do Cats Actually Hate Water?

By Meghan Bartels

Cats hate water, however they love fish—and these two stereotypes contradict one another. Though immediately’s furry home rulers can take pleasure in fishy feasts whereas staying excessive and dry, since time immemorial, wild cats have apparently been keen to get their paws moist to snag some tasty treats.

This discrepancy is only one clue that blithely assuming that every one cats hate water is a mistake, says Wailani Sung, a veterinary behaviorist at Joybound Folks & Pets, a rescue and veterinary service in California. “I think when we generalize like that, we do animals a disservice,” she says. “Cats are all individuals. Some cats like water. Some cats don’t.”

In that manner, they aren’t so completely different from canines, says Carlo Siracusa, a veterinary behaviorist on the College of Pennsylvania. “We tend to think cats are this unique creature that doesn’t like water, but there are many dogs that do not like water,” he says.

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One key distinction between the pet species may need contributed to the stereotype, Sung notes: pet cats have a tendency to remain indoors, whereas canine are extra ceaselessly introduced out into the world and brought on adventures, doubtlessly giving them extra alternatives to get used to and luxuriate in being in water. Most pet canine are additionally frequently uncovered to water by bathing, however cats usually groom themselves with their tongue—no water wanted.

Generalizations apart, cats do have some completely good causes to keep away from water when doable. Cats have whiskerlike hairs throughout their physique that assist them sense the world round them, and getting these hairs moist would possibly disrupt how they understand their setting, Sung speculates. Moist fur may also go away a cat susceptible to the chilly, Siracusa says, as a result of cats—like most furry mammals—use their fur to lure air as insulation.

And as prey animals, cats aren’t often followers of unpredictable conditions. Regardless of their fierce searching expertise, cats carry the evolutionary reminiscence of being susceptible to hungry predators and threatening environments. Which means cats are sometimes uncomfortable when their freedom of motion is hampered or once they’re put in unsure and unfamiliar conditions. “Cats in general are averse to new stimuli that they feel they cannot control,” Siracusa says.

As a result of wholesome cats can groom themselves, there’s often no veterinary cause to fret in case your cat can’t stand water. “Most cats, if they are not ill, are perfectly able to take care of their coat, and they always look gorgeous,” Siracusa says. He encourages homeowners who need the choice of bathing a cat to begin sluggish and let the animal get used to every step within the course of whereas nonetheless feeling secure.

Home cats, notably these which are fed dry meals, might must be inspired to drink water. That’s as a result of, over evolutionary time, cats have gotten a lot of their water from the meals they eat fairly than needing to search out it within the arid house landscapes they advanced in. Siracusa encourages homeowners to offer a number of water bowls, together with a minimum of one which’s positioned away from feeding areas and ideally at a better elevation in the primary dwelling house.

Utilizing a twig bottle of water to punish a cat for misbehavior is a unhealthy concept no matter how the animal feels about water, each vets agree. Usually the response is simply too delayed for a cat to know what the inaccurate habits was, leaving them contemplating their proprietor unpredictably threatening, Sung says. As a substitute she recommends confronting unhealthy behaviors extra gently. “We definitely want to use positive reinforcement to reinforce the behaviors you do want to see, and you want to distract and redirect when you see something you don’t like,” Sung says. For instance, she says, in case your cat jumps on the counter when you’re making dinner, maybe strive coaching them to as a substitute sit on a chair subsequent to you, the place they are going to be praised, petted and comfy.

And in case your cat is among the many who like water, congratulations! Benefit from the excessive jinks that doubtless come up. “Some cats just love water. They sit at the sink, and they meow at the owners until they turn on the faucet,” Sung says. “I have certainly had cats that like to play with water in their water bowl, and they splash it everywhere.”