Posted by Pat B! |
- I've always thought it was depth perception
Posted by Lisa
on 7/28/2009, 3:59 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"Some cats can't see very well up close so they paw at the water to gauge where it is. That's why it's great to having moving water with a fountain. I know my Leo loses things when they are a couple inches from his face though his nose will kick in to sniff out his treats and he paws on either side of the water dish to get his bearings. Maggie sometimes dips her paw in and drinks, but I think that's just one of her quirks and not a visual thing. - Giles does this. Maybe trained to do it to make sure water is clear? msg
Posted by sweeney
on 7/28/2009, 8:18 am, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"I put his water bowl inside a high sided baking pan to keep the spilled water off the floor - Razzeratz like to tap at the bowl, sometimes knocking water out of it...msg
Posted by Auntie Debbie
on 7/26/2009, 6:01 am, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"never could figure out why he does that!
"Those you shelter on earth will be your treasures in Heaven." Victor Hugo, I think - some of us dig all around it
Posted by Bendy Kitty
on 7/25/2009, 7:46 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"our persian is the worst, he will digdigdigdig all around the outside of any waterbowl, but not a food bowl.
there are seveal cats here that paw the top of the water to differing extents. mom seys it is 'breaking the ice' but she really doesn' tknow.
i just like to put thigns in my waterbowl.
bendy
meet the crew here at www.alittletlc.com - My April is a level water checker. msg
Posted by MikeK
on 7/25/2009, 7:38 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"She paws it to determine the water level before she drinks. It's like Norah says, some do not like water up the snoazola.
"It takes a bigger man to admit he loves cats than most men who would not". - Me - I have a couple of cats that do that. it looks like they
Posted by bellabella
on 7/25/2009, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"are trying to see where the water starts in the bowl..sometimes they paw it then put their face in the bowl and instead of drinking they lift up and start pawing again...no idea why but they look like they are on a mission - I have one cat that drinks from her paw...msg
Posted by Ann
on 7/25/2009, 2:48 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"and one that paws at the water so hard that the bowl slides across the floor. - I have cats who paw water, too. (msg)
Posted by Judith
on 7/25/2009, 2:42 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"Nothing like washing a big water dish, then filling with fresh Brita water and then having three cats dip their paws into it. Mine tend to bat the surface.
This reminded of me years ago when I got a new water dish. It had an illustration of a cat at the bottom. Oh my gosh! The cats went wild. They kept batting that water bowl trying to get at or get away from (they'd run away after they hit it) that thing they saw at the bottom. I've since learned to use plain bowls.
- Could she be seeing her reflection? nm
Posted by Viv
on 7/25/2009, 2:05 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"v
Our animals shepherd us through certain eras of our lives.
When we are ready to turn the corner and make it on our own...they let us go. - They don't want to get water up their nose
Posted by Norah
on 7/25/2009, 1:27 pm, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"so they make the water ripple by touching it or the ones here scratch at the floor or the towel under the fountain to "see" the water. - You could be onto something!
Posted by Pat B!
on 7/25/2009, 2:16 pm, in reply to "They don't want to get water up their nose"She's definitely watching very intently as she does it. - Oops! Meant this to go under Viv's post
Posted by Pat B!
on 7/25/2009, 2:18 pm, in reply to "You could be onto something!"Although I think your observations probably relate to the same basic idea. - You should see what my Maine Coons do...msg
Posted by Nitro's Mom
on 7/25/2009, 11:02 am, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"My 3 look at the water dish as something to play with. Ram does a little digging dance on the floor in front of the dish before drinking. Bailey brushes the top of the water thus shooting water across the floor. We have a drinkwell fountain because a regular dish is spilled in 10 minutes. Bailey and Nitro will only drink from the spout.
- This isn't play
Posted by Pat B!
on 7/25/2009, 12:08 pm, in reply to "You should see what my Maine Coons do...msg"Owen's Mom sounds like she's seen more of the kind of thing I'm observing. It's really interesting. - Oh, and about the fountain splashing . . .
Posted by Pat B!
on 7/25/2009, 12:17 pm, in reply to "This isn't play"Sara the Terrorist Kitten made a MESS with the Drinkwell I got until I put it on one of those plastic trays you put under a washing machine in case of overflow (link below).
This worked fine until she knocked the cover off the reservoir and then the reservoir off its base. I'm waiting for the stainless steel model MikeK posted about . . . . . . . . . . . . .Link: Washer Tray
Post a Response - I've had cats do this...msg
Posted by Owen'sMom
on 7/25/2009, 10:16 am, in reply to "Does anyone else's cat do this/Do you know what it means?"We'll never know why cats do many of the things they do, but I think (as you say)it could be an instinctual thing just as some cats try to bury their food by pawing the floor around the bowl.
Are they checking the water for danger? Trying to paw aside scum, algae or other debris from the "pond" to get to clear water? Who knows...
