Paws water out of dish

wonroc

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My 6mo old kitten constantly paws the water out of his bowl. The floor gets soaked all around the bowl and he gets soaked as well. Anyone else ever hear of this? BTW he does not do this with his food bowl.
 

zissou'smom

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Hi Wonroc,

Welcome to TCS!

Yes, I also have a play-in-the-water-dish kitty. Is the problem that he is tipping it over, or almost tipping it over, and the water sloshes out, or is he splashing in it without moving the bowl at all?

The best solution (and the only one that works on mine) was suggested to me by someone else here, and that is to velcro the bowl to the floor (or the foodmat/placemat if you rent as I do) so it is untippable. Many people have also had luck using a bigger and deeper bowl as well, but Zissou just made louder, heavier noises with it. She was determined to have a bath in the kitchen I guess.

Another pretty good idea to fix a lot of water-dish issues it to buy a pet water fountain. Cats like the running water and drink more, usually quit hiding toys in the water, and they're heavy and wide enough to be untippable.

I'm getting one soon!

Good luck!

What is your kittens name?
 

cheylink

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I use a heavy pottery bowl for Maia's water, for the same reason....they also have the water bottle dish, its a small water tank that feeds water into a bowl keeping a constant amount of water , but the drinking area is drink size, not play size, less tempting!
 
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wonroc

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Actually, The bowl is the one which looks like a "water cooler" with the barrel on top of the dish. NO, he doesnt tip the bowl, thank god or there would be a serious problem.
His motion is very soft and slow, like hes testing the water or something, however very sloppy and ends up getting himself soaked and the floor wet. He scoops the water lol. Takes about 5 bounty paper sheets to dry it after hes finished drinking.
 

zissou'smom

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Originally Posted by Wonroc

Actually, The bowl is the one which looks like a "water cooler" with the barrel on top of the dish. NO, he doesnt tip the bowl, thank god or there would be a serious problem.
His motion is very soft and slow, like hes testing the water or something, however very sloppy and ends up getting himself soaked and the floor wet. He scoops the water lol. Takes about 5 bounty paper sheets to dry it after hes finished drinking.
Ah, you're lucky then. At her worst, Zissou was spilling a cup of water on the floor seven or eight times a day.

Have you considered putting a towel under the water bowl?
 

tru

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I think Hissy had the best idea for something like that. If you can spare the room, put the water dish in a baking sheet that has sides. That will contain any water that is spilled out of the bowl.

My Magic likes to hold his paw under the stream of water from his fountain and then lick the water from his paw.
 

clixpix

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Oh, I've had water dish bathers!
My personal theory is that they have trouble judging where the surface of the water is, and they use their paws to create turbulence so they can see the surface. That's why I think they like the cat fountain...there is turbulence, so they can see where the water "starts".

Of course, that's just my theory


If you don't find a solution to your problem, you may want to consider investing in a cat fountain.
 

mamakitties

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One of my cat does use one of her paw to "test" the water out before she drinks it. Right after her paw touches the water, she shakes her paw a little right over the bowel and drinks it. I have this water dispenser which is probably similar to what you have. He maybe just testing the level of the water before diving right in so maybe the pet fountain is what you need.

If you have a shallow large pan, you might be able to put the water dispenser onto that so the large pan can catch the water your cat spills out.
 

vik61

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This sounds adorable. My kittens like the water too; I keep them entertained simply by running water. I also keep a water dish in my bathroom sink so that they stop drinking from the bottom of the sink where the water drains--ick. I cover it with clean water in a bowl and they love to go "steal" it from there.

Also, I put bathroom rugs under their feeding area, especially now that it's winter--just to take the chill off the floor. That would help absorb the small amount of water your kitten is dispersing. Or buy a few cheapo kitchen rugs from the dollar store and keep changing them...
 

jean44

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All the water dishes in my house sit in high sided plastic drawer dividers because Palekana has to move them before she drinks her water. Any spillage ends up in the drawer divider. Torty tests the water level and licks water off her paw before she drinks.

Clixpix, I believe you are correct about cats having problems judging the water level. At least that is what one of my cat books says- maybe it was "Cats for Dummies".
 

natalie_ca

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I read in another thread that they stick their paws in the water dish because they can't determine the depth. Someone put marbles in the bottom of the dish and that seemed to help them with the paws in the water dish problem.
 

lorina

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I knew someone who used to keep her cats waterbowl on top of puppy weewee pads. They're very absorbant, and would protect her floors from the splashing.

I just use a very large, very heavy bowl, and keep the water level at least an inch from the top.
 
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