can cats swim?

i've never seen one so i'm not sure...i'm asking because, though i keep an eye on her as best i can, my kitty has started to gain interest in the large turtle tank i have in my living room that i've witnessed her jump on top of (there's a small area of plastic she can stand on)...i don't plan to leave her unsupervised but if she should jump in while i'm turning my back one day..would she drown? i know there's no guarantees and i keep discouraging her from doing it..but i was wondering what her chances would be if it happened one day..so anyway, can they swim if they need to?

They can swim, but if it was an accidental fall they could panic and drown. The tank is in your living room? I'd put a sturdy board or something on top.

BTW I don't think I'd want to mix turtles and cats in the same room - the cat could get sick if he/she drank the turtle's water!

They can swim, but for the safety of both animals, I'd invest in a hood or glass top for your tank (I actually made a custom plexiglass lid for my 20L tank, if you want pointers or ideas, send a PM!)... I know when I'm cleaning my aquatic frog's tank, Oliver likes to sneak a drink from the tank water - I don't know if it's bad for him, but I know if the tank didn't have a hood he'd do it all the time and my frog would be high and dry! Best to try and keep tank critters seperate from the free range ones, haha

Not sure about frongs but turtles do carry salmonella! They are warning again about the increase on the risk with pet turtles.

Depends on how big your cat is. I made a plexiglass top for one of my tanks and my big fat cat Waz (12 lbs) broke it when he sat on it! I now use glass

well, today i found out SHE CAN SWIM. we had some plastic plexiglass type stuff on top and she must be gaining weight cuz this time it gave way and collapsed. luckily i was sitting in the armchair watching tv and saw the whole thing. she treaded water as i rushed to the tank full of water and scooped her out..then she acted embarassed like she meant to do that and i grabbed her a towel to dry her off to which i got the reaction of an accusing stare....LOL!!!

Originally Posted by Tink80

well, today i found out SHE CAN SWIM. we had some plastic plexiglass type stuff on top and she must be gaining weight cuz this time it gave way and collapsed. luckily i was sitting in the armchair watching tv and saw the whole thing. she treaded water as i rushed to the tank full of water and scooped her out..then she acted embarassed like she meant to do that and i grabbed her a towel to dry her off to which i got the reaction of an accusing stare....LOL!!!

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Why is it that cat's can look embarrassed when they do something silly?! Well, now you know. I'm glad she's ok and I hope you find a top for your tank that can withstand a kitty's weight.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Not sure about frongs but turtles do carry salmonella! They are warning again about the increase on the risk with pet turtles.

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All animals carry salmonella, even we do. You're more likely to get sick from a strain that's in your food then from one of your pets.

The problem with letting cats drink water that other animals live and poop in isn't so much salmonella as it is the possible contamination of parasites and protozoa that turtles can catch and carry.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

The problem with letting cats drink water that other animals live and poop in isn't so much salmonella as it is the possible contamination of parasites and protozoa that turtles can catch and carry.

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Yeah, I try to keep him out of the frog water when I'm changing it out, but Oliver's a pretty sneaky kid.... it's not like he doesn't have 800,000 other appropriate places to drink from around the house

But cats only ever drink from the place they're not allowed to. They're hard-wired that way

They can swim. Not well from my experience and it is very stressful.

My old kitty snipes once fell in the pool, he swam about a meter and climbed out, it was very stressful for him and he was scared for days after.

My cat HRH hates water and once my brother thought it would be fun to give her a swimming lesson, poor thing. I cried for hours and i still get teary eyed when i think of it. Poor old lady.

I would not want to be the one trying to fish a wet cat out of the pond. From my experience they have no compunction against using their claws on you to drag themselves out faster.

X

it's not a pond, it's a turtle tank in our living room that's about a foot and a half deep with water...she does not drink the water as she cannot reach the water until she's fallen in..LOL.