Thread: Suggestion on how to deal with water...

Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Pictures please of proud mums showing their babies how to use a water fountain,I would never doooo anything like that,with the curtains open that is....!
Gives you a giggle just imagining bottoms up in the air {mums of course}& lapping away !

Sadly, no wide angle lense in my house. Trust me, I don't have the kind of posterior that should ever be posted on the internet, especially when it's pointed skywards from the kitchen floor...

I have to admit, I did get a fit of the giggles when I realised JUST how ridiculous I would look if my neighbours glanced in!

I'm on my second Maine Coon. The first died just after 5 months from a birth defect. :( Fortunately our second, Martian, is quite healthy, despite a pollen allergy. ANYWAY, both of these Coons were and are total nuts with water! When little Moxie was alive we had to use a giant glass mixing bowl. Even though it was quite heavy he'd still knock it around. It almost seemed like the goal was to see the water move (???). Now with Martian we have a Drinkwell fountain. Every single time, without fail, he paws at the little waterfall, then paws the floor around it, like he's shuffling. It almost looks like a little dance! Then after this initial insanity, he'll finally drink from the water spout. Adding to this hilarity, he drinks really loudly and sounds like a Great Dane or something.

It's fascinating to me that odd water habits could be so breed specific. I'd always had Siamese and only once had one that scooped water and drank from her paw. All the others drank normally. But these two Maine Coons, and these are my only experiences with this breed, were/are both very peculiar with water.

I read somewhere that they're reverting back to a fishing instinct from their ancestors. Apparently hitting the water and making it move gets rid of reflections so they can see fish better. I have no idea if this is true, but it's a fascinating theory!

Hiya, they paddle around to clear 'leaves' from the water, one of ours paddles, the other stands on the edge of the bowl untill it tips a bit and that seems to satisfy his urge to clear the water. Ours very rarely manage to splash outside the bowl because our trick is.... A piece of large clear perspex on the floor (means you don't notice it) this prevents any splashes making it to the wooden flooring (just incase), and as for the bowls we have a large straight sided ceramic dog bowl inside a large metal sloped sided bowl, the water only makes it as far as the second bowl, hey presto!!! Although this means there is a lot of water to be drank we do obviously still change it through out the day. Hope this helps.

I am no longer feeling so smug Roxy has discovered the delights of playing in the fountain. She came in and jumped onto my knee for a cuddle and the back of her head was wet, also her feet front legs and various splashes all over. Methinks a certain Welly has been sending vibes to her!