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One of my new MC's drinks with her paw. She dips it in the water bowl then licks it, if she drinks with her tongue she doesn't seem to lap the same as the others and it goes everywhere. She will sometime do a scratching movement at the side of the water bowl when she is trying to drink, then in goes the paw??? anyone else's cats have strange habits like this??
Most of mine have odd habits. Malia dips her paw in and also drags the bowl across the floor. She prefers to drink off the surface of the bath too!! Ruby empties the bowl with her paw so is a very messy drinker and the rest are just as bad! We constantly have upturned water bowls and puddles all over the place - its definately a Maine coon trait!
My do the same sometimes. Food and water tapping with the paw. Sometimes Idy is kicking some peaces of dry food into the waterbowl and is then trying to catch them... well, guess you know how the floor looks like afterwards :LOL:
Yes I found this very strange when we first got Mufasa. I started a thread about it here:
http://www.maine-coon-forum.info/mai...ing-water.html
We purchased a water fountain a couple of months ago and all digging, scraping and paw dunking ceased! The only annoying thing Mufasa does now is try and lift the whole thing up to retireve an escaped piece of kibble! He seems to find drinking whilst standing up more comfortable and normally uses the highest point to drink.
Our 2 were just the same and we solved the floor mess by putting the water bowls in the bathtub! They don't mind in the least and they do say they prefer their water not to be in the same area as their food. <3
Coonies prefer to drink from moving water, We have water fountains for all of ours and the only time they dunk now is if I forget to switch it back on after cleaning it. Mopping up the water is certainly a good reminder to switch the fountain back on lol.
Oh yes! Pina does this too! She laps the water from her bowl but she is notorious for wanting to try what we have so she will dunk her paw in our glass when we aren't looking Lol. We call it "Dip, lick, repeat" :koolkat: She also scoops her food out of her bowl with her paw onto the floor then eat it...I guess it tastes better when it's on the floor. She also like to drink from the faucet. I turn it on while I'm working in the kitchen and she will sit on the edge of the sink an lean over and drink. I think I'm going to get her a fountain :AddEmoticons00915:
2 of our 3 scratch around the bowl, dunk paws, flick water all over the place while lapping - it's so funny. Also drag the food bowls to them and eat with their paws while lying down. Very lazy :LOL: Moonlight loves to pull over glasses - usually when they're full with sticky Coke - she seems to think it's funny. Gotta love em!
Even at eight years old paw is still best,Merlyn just a few minutes ago.....
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She is the cutest furball I have ever seen..love her..it is cute even if she spills the water all over there..she is such a cutie..My warm pats...
thank you for the photos of Merlyn..
I've read that the digging/scratching at the water bowl goes back to their ancestors. In the wild they'd drink from standing pools of water & it was a way of cleaning any debris away that was floating on top. Our guy digs at his bowl which in turn spills all the water. He also loves drinking from the running faucet. He is obsessed with trying to drink from the toilet. He loves to watch when one flushes.
HI, have you tried the road refresher water bowls on ebay for about £11, they are virtually spill proof and allow the coonies to move the water for drinking but without soaking the floor. We use them all the time and they are brilliant for coonies drinking habits.
Myke :)
I bought the road refresher bowls and my lot had removed the lids and tipped them upside down within 2 days!! Am thinking of trying the heavy ceramic dog bowls as hopefully they won't have the strength to tip or drag them!
We had the same problem - the kitchen floor was awash most of the day - every time we refilled their bowls they were tipped over. In the end (about 4 months ago) we bought large stainless steel ones with a rubber ring around the base (Zooplus) and (so far!) they haven't been up-ended!
As Myke said the road refresher bowl has been fantastic for our two. No water spills, occasionally get flicked with some water but they have never flipped the bowl :) It also has velcro bits on the underside so wont move if placed on carpet :)
Pina has a bowl with rubber on the bottom. She can't flip it of slid it around.
Last night she decided she wanted the milk in my husbands glass...that was in his hand! Walked up and started pawing at his hand! He lowered the glass for her and let her have it...she's not spoiled or anything. He held the glass while "dipped, licked, and repeated" dripping milk all over the sofa as she went. Finally he said "oh honey get her a saucer, she's having a hard time." So of course I jump up and get her a saucer.
What a life life this fuzzy little girl has :AddEmoticons00940:
My two have very different methods! Moshi drinks like a normal cat. Moto, however, is a real water baby and used to empty the water bowl with his paw (just like Ruby does, who is his sister!) and it would be everywhere!
He digs for it too, just before he drinks and he drinks lying down! All his balls go in the water so he can play fish :-)
My way around this was to get a small litter tray, half fill it with water, then there's enough to play and drink for both of them. It resolved the issue of no water coz Moto emptied it all out ;-)
Also, if Moshi wants to wake me up in the morning, she dumps both her front paws in the water, hops up on the bed and sits back on her back legs and shakes her front paws, so I get a shower! Gotta love their creativity lol ;-)
Sian
x
My boy Toby does exactly all that you describe. Plus, he loves to sleep with his chin resting on the rim and his paws hugging the bowl. He made such a mess dragging his bowl, we bought him a big, heavy coonie size bowl and he loves it.
