Why do cats paw at the water bowl before drinking?
Shemar Crona
2025-07-01 13:04:07
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Your cat’s whiskers are very sensitive. They’re rich in nerve endings that aid your cat’s vision and help them sense the environment around them. If your cat’s water bowl is too narrow or deep, their whiskers squash against the sides. This is uncomfortable for your cat. The constant stimulation of those nerve endings overwhelms their senses, resulting in your cat to use their paws instead to avoid discomfort. Inconsistent Water Depth can also lead to this behavior, as cats are very fussy and any change to the status quo can lead to strange behavior, such as paw dipping. If you’re inconsistent in how much water you pour into your cat’s bowl, your furbaby might use their paw to test the depth of the water, checking to see if you’ve topped it up to the level they’re used to. Water Bowl Placement is another factor, as many cats dislike being backed into a corner, which can make them feel vulnerable if they lower their head to drinking normally. They use their paws instead so they can still keep an eye out.
Broderick Tremblay
2025-06-24 22:40:58
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Pawing at, playing with or even splashing in a water dish is not as unusual for cats as you might think. Though the conventional wisdom might dictate otherwise, some cats love water –– as long as it’s not aimed at them, as it is during a bath, and consider water a fun toy. They love its reflective surface and the way it splashes when they hit it. To some cats, that means moving water is preferable to the sort that sits still in a dish for hours. So it is that some cats prefer to drink aerated water directly from the tap, a fountain or even the toilet. Cats who splash their water before drinking may, in fact, be attempting to achieve a similar effect.
Charley Schroeder
2025-06-14 10:33:18
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Many Cats Prefer Moving Water
When your cat bats at the water in her bowl, she might be trying to get it moving.
That's because, in the wild, cats evolved to learn that still or stagnant water isn't as safe to drink as running water.
Puddles of unmoving water are more likely to have harmful bacteria growing in them.
Slapping at the water dish is a way for cats to get their water moving a bit, which makes them feel more comfortable about drinking it.
If your cat bats at the water in her bowl before getting a drink and likes to climb on the counter to drink water out of the tap when you turn it on, this might be the reason.
If you think your kitty prefers running water, get a water fountain.
They have charcoal filters to get rid of yucky tastes and smells that might turn cats off from drinking, and the water is continuously moving.
Water fountains can encourage more water drinking in cats, and that's a great thing because they often tend to run dehydrated, which may exacerbate or cause specific medical issues.
Winifred Kozey
2025-06-07 06:10:13
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It's possible many cats do this as a form of enrichment. Just like people, cats need enrichment in their lives and find ways to create play and fun. Playing with their water could be one outlet from this. But Brooks also notes that some cats do prefer drinking from moving water, which could be why my cat gets his water all sloshy before he starts sipping. Offering your cat the chance to drink from a running faucet can sometimes be enjoyable for them, assuming it's safe to drink from your faucet. Many people have those constantly-running water bowls for their cats for this very reason. Sometimes cats are just cats. And much like their need to knock everything off of a table if they want to, they may just want to slosh their water around and make a giant mess before they start drinking it.
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