Cats Hate Water......

Meshach--combining his morning drink with a shower...

So it started with Shadrach. I don't have a picture of Shad, but he was a big cross eyed lynx point Siamese mix. He loved water and drinking out of the bathroom faucet. So when his little 'brother' Meshach came along, it was monkey see monkey do, with pretty much everything. Shad wished pretty quick that he hadn't let the water faucet trick out of the bag though. After that happened there was much shoving and vying for prime position in the bathroom sink. Too stinking bad if I needed to use it.

Ah, the paws that refreshes..now wheres my coffee?

Then along came Sage. It took him about a half a day to discover the lure of the water. He quickly became quite pushy about it, often 'accidentally' shoving Meshach off the sink. Eventually Meshach moved to the tub faucet--it was his own personal water spout and he didn't have to put up with the now over sized Sage. He also didn't have to jump up very far, which is important when your cat bones are twelve years old.

Sage takes his turn--having the water drain off his paw is somehow very important to his routine...

Then all heck broke loose and four little pirates, er, kittens joined the household. And they all loved water, imagine that. Now, Meshach and Sage no longer have their own personal spout, and pandemonium often reigns. The big boys though just push the small(er) fry out of the way when they get tired of it, and resume their ablutions.

EXcuse me? Can't a cat get a drink around here?
(Notice paw under water flow---sometimes he likes kitty flavored water and drinks from the stream coming off his paw...)

It does make the bathroom pretty crowded and obviously cats are no respecter of privacy. At all. I haven't even tried to shut the door in years, because of the ensuing wailing and paws under the door. Good grief.

This is how you make the Water of Life flow, young grasshopper kitten..(Meshach teaches Verity the Secrets of Life)

The cats love winter, because I often leave the water trickling to keep the pipes from freezing. This doesn't make the stampede to the bathroom any less though, when I head in that direction. Go figure.

See, grasshopper, you must concentrate and stare hard then the water will flow...

So this is what Grandfather Cat told me...you have to concentrate and stare really hard....
(Verity tries to teach Tempe the Secrets of Life....)

There was one near 'drowning' Incident. I didn't see it happen, but I heard it. I had taken a shower, and was getting dressed for work. My tub is pretty slow to drain so there was probably three or four inches of water still in it. And, well, obviously curiosity did something to the cat. I heard a ker-splash, desperate scrabbling on the side of the tub. Very desperate. You could feel the quiet desperation in the air. I heard purchase gained on the shower curtain, and arrived at the bathroom door to see a rather wet missile shoot out of the room. In between laughing unseemly-ing hard I managed to corral the drenched kitty and towel her dry. Little heart was beating triple time. Poor Trinity. The one who is good and sweet and shy--of course it happened to her. It hasn't stopped her though in participating in the continuing infatuation with water affair.

However, with the impatience of youth, they resort to taking action...Verity demands the water to flow and Tempe works on the magic handles...

Cats are not very happy when the faucets aren't turned on in a timely fashion for their use. During the long power outage from the ice storm a few years ago, the cats thought I was a big meany. Why wouldn't I turn on the water? The pitiful looks and prolonged meows didn't melt my cold cruel heart. All my explanations to them fell on deaf ears. When the water came on the cats were besides themselves--they acted like they had had nothing to drink for a week!

So far nobody has figured out how to turn the water on. But I am a little worried.

How about your cat(s)? Do they love, hate or are indifferent to water?

Word spreads....Concentrate and stare hard, but still the magic water does not flow... (Tempe, Verity and Trinity)

Chaco, who wants to be just like Sage when he grows up, drinks only out of the sink faucet....

Cat myth # Number One: Cats Hate Water.
False. Not all cats hate water!