Bad behavior with the water dish

by Melissa S.
(Nashville, TN)

I have an 18-month old cat who is constantly splashing the water out of her water dish. I can't get her to stop making a mess!!!
I tried a regular small dish that holds only a little bit of water refilling it often, a waterer that was really heavy and held a lot of water - she would splash out the water until it was empty enough that she could tip it over and spill out about a liter of water all over the floor. I currently have a recycling, filtered water bowl that acts like a fountain, and she still splashes the water everywhere.

At first I thought she was doing it because the water was getting dirty, but I clean the water bowl every day, none of the different water dishes discourage the splashing. Her water fetish is such a problem now that we had to move our beta fish bowl to a closed off room because she splashes water out of that, too, and the counters and floors are getting water damage. She does not splash in the toilets if the lid is left up. And I never see her in the sinks. Any thoughts?

Answer by KAte
Hi
well my first thought is I think you are just unlucky to have a cat who has a thing for water. I know my cats make a mess when eating and I have to clean up after them, they seem to like to drag their food from their bowl to the floor.

I really don't think there is much you can do apart from keeping the water level very low in a deep dish and make sure the dish is heavy enough that it cannot be easily tipped.

If anyone else here on the site has had a similar problem and has found a cure then I'm sure they will psot there own comments to you. I must admit i can only ever remember one other person asking me a similar question. So as i say you may be unlucky to have a cat with a rare issue with water.

best wishes kate

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Bad behavior with the water dish

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Mar 02, 2010
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Cat spill water
by: Anonymous

My cat was doing the same thing. I noticed that when my daughter gave him milk, he didn't do it. So, I thought that he just preferred milk over water. I did a test to see if my theory was right. One day, I put water in his bowl and watched his behavior. Sure enough, he spilled the water out of the bowl. Then, I gave him milk and he just drank it up.

Spill problem is gone because we just give him milk. Rice milk is preferrable.

Jan 21, 2010
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spashing water
by: Anonymous

Hi, I too have a 11 yr. old cat that loves to drink water from the bowl -should I say, from his paw. He scoops up the water out of his water dish and makes the biggest mess. The water dishes are in different locations and he does it anywhere. But I have learned to just be patient, enjoy the fact he is drinking water and I keep a small towel on the floor or bathroom countertop to pick up the spilled water. I also place a washcloth under the water unit /bottle dish set and it helps me to know that he spills allot of water. This is his character and though he makes a mess it is part of caring for animals that you love . Be happy he /she is drinking water. When the cat stops that behavior it might be a signal of something else, like stress!!!

Oct 07, 2009
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Water bottle
by: Anonymous

My kitten was doing the same thing and making a huge mess. I bought him one of those water bottles designed for hamsters or rabbits and mounted it to some furniture. He got the hang of it pretty quick and he can't make messes anymore!

Sep 16, 2009
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Splashing water!
by: Anonymous

Ha! This is not really funny but I had to laugh when I read your comment. I have two cats (of my six) that love to play in the water. I feed my kitties on the dining room table since we have a dog and he likes their food. They splash and splash. One is a Main coon and the other is a munchkin. Larry the Main Coon jumps in and out of the toilet and tries to get into the sink when I brush my teeth. Anoying - but what can you do? I just live with it. I have a friend that has a bengal and they are known to love water. She puts water int he tub and her Sheba just loves to play in it. I think this behavior is more common than you might think!

Terry in Pennsylvania

Sep 15, 2009
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bad behavior with the water dish
by: glenda

There are water and feed dishes suited to large breeds of dogs that are raised off the floor. You will need to secure them so that she can't tip them over but I think if you can give her a bowl that requires her to lift her paw above her own shoulder height, she is less likely to use her paw. If you place the bowl at mouth level this may help to discourage her from pawing the bowl. Kittens often display this behaviour when first starting to eat and drink. I have always curtailed the behaviour by raising the bowl up to the level of their mouth. I think your little girl was never trained out of this when young and now it's a habit. When introducing a new behaviour/habit allow at least 21 days before reassessing.