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 get pleasure from fishy feasts whereas staying excessive and dry, since time immemorial, wild cats have apparently been prepared 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 Individuals & Pets, a rescue and veterinary service in California. “I believe once we generalize like that, we do animals a disservice,” she says. “Cats are all people. Some cats like water. Some cats don’t.”

In that means, they aren’t so totally different from canines, says Carlo Siracusa, a veterinary behaviorist on the College of Pennsylvania. “We are likely to assume cats are this distinctive creature that doesn’t like water, however there are a lot of canine that don’t 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 incessantly introduced out into the world and brought on adventures, doubtlessly giving them extra alternatives to get used to and revel in being in water. Most pet canine are additionally commonly uncovered to water by means of bathing, however cats typically groom themselves with their tongue—no water wanted.

Generalizations apart, cats do have some completely good causes to keep away from water when attainable. 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 depart a cat susceptible to the chilly, Siracusa says, as a result of cats—like most furry mammals—use their fur to entice air as insulation.

And as prey animals, cats aren’t often followers of unpredictable conditions. Regardless of their fierce looking 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 after they’re put in unsure and unfamiliar conditions. “Cats usually are averse to new stimuli that they really feel they can not management,” Siracusa says.

As a result of wholesome cats can groom themselves, there’s often no veterinary motive to fret in case your cat can’t stand water. “Most cats, if they don’t seem to be in poor health, are completely capable of care for their coat, they usually all the time look beautiful,” 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 protected.

Home cats, significantly these which can be fed dry meals, could should 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 quite than needing to search out it within the arid dwelling landscapes they advanced in. Siracusa encourages homeowners to supply a number of water bowls, together with at the least one which’s positioned away from feeding areas and ideally at the next elevation in the principle residing house.

Utilizing a sprig bottle of water to punish a cat for misbehavior is a foul thought no matter how the animal feels about water, each vets agree. Typically the response is just too delayed for a cat to know what the inaccurate conduct was, leaving them contemplating their proprietor unpredictably threatening, Sung says. As an alternative she recommends confronting unhealthy behaviors extra gently. “We positively wish to use constructive reinforcement to strengthen the behaviors you do wish to see, and also you wish to distract and redirect whenever you see one thing 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 an alternative sit on a chair subsequent to you, the place they are going to be praised, petted and comfy.

And in case your cat is likely one of the many who like water, congratulations! Benefit from the excessive jinks that possible come up. “Some cats simply love water. They sit on the sink, they usually meow on the homeowners till they activate the tap,” Sung says. “I’ve definitely had cats that wish to play with water of their water bowl, they usually splash it in every single place.”