Budweiser drowns his toys....why?

Bud is my 20 mo. old neutered boy. He was born in a barn, stolen from his mom by another nursing mom and picked me to be his forever mom when he was 6 wks. old. He's all boy (still a mama's boy...) and is the light of my life. However... He has two favorite toys (from PetSmart-Duck & Cow with velcro openings for catnip) that he'll carry around (meowing the whole time) and eventually drop in water. Any unattended water is good; sink, tub, dog dish. He loves water & spends a lot of time in the sinks asking any passerby to please turn the faucet on. Cowtoy & Ducktoy stay wherever he dumps them until I fish them out. I quit putting catnip in the toys after the first drowning (10 mos. ago). Friends and family think this is cute. The dog & girl calico are not amused.

My cat Rebby always loved to play in his water and when he got a new toy the first thing he would do is put it in the water dish then try to fish it out. Sometimes his playing in the water was a stress reliever but mostly he just liked playing. Since he was a Persian it was good sometimes because he even loved baths. Gosh I really miss that little guy! Aileen

This is very common, especially with young cats. It's simple. They do it just for fun. They like to splash in the water and like to play in it. No worries.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem! Almost everyday I come home to a toy in the water dish. One of my cats favorite things is just a crumpled up piece of paper and they will play with it a while and without fail, it'll end up in the water before the end of the night.

My friends cat likes to drop them in the water bowl first, then in the food bowl... I guess she just likes them to have a little extra flavor ...

As lokii147 mentioned, this is very common behavior. One theory that I've read states that cats consider the toys to be their prey, and they are bringing their prey to the safest areas of their territory --- food dishes and water bowls --- to hide it from predators, to replicate what they'd do in the wild with actual prey.

Of course I have no idea how accurate this theory is, but it does sound plausible.

That prey theory makes a lot of sense to me. Bud has deposited his toys in his and the dogs' food dish on occasion....90# Blk Lab never touches Bud's toys and will wait for the offending item to be removed from his dish! Thanks for all the response!

Ok....I gotta put my two cents worth in on this...I think they do it because they love their "babies" so much, they just want them to have something to eat and drink like they do! Call it their "mothering" instinct. Yeah...I know I sound crazy, but that's what I think!

Originally Posted by taterbug

Ok....I gotta put my two cents worth in on this...I think they do it because they love their "babies" so much, they just want them to have something to eat and drink like they do!

Call it their "mothering" instinct.

Yeah...I know I sound crazy, but that's what I think!

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I wouldn't be suprised! Our little Loki gathers all of he plush/felt mouse shaped toys into a little nest. Her fave one is the one she got in her "kitten care pack" which we've named Klaus Mouse, he's very well worn now and has had many a ear/tail replacment surgery. She'll carry it in her mouth gently while calling to the others and hide them in little safe places. Suzie ate her fet mouse within a few days. Lokie has hers 2 years on, I dred to think what she'll do once he's too far gone to sew!

If I had a nickel for everytime I found a furry mouse, pom-pom or ball in the water dish I'd be rich!! Lately it's the white pom-pom that is getting the soaking everyday

I'm going with the prey theory too. My male cat, Willy, used to put his toys in his water bowl and in the toilet if I forgot to close the lid. Ewww! Anyway, I asked our vet about it and she said he was drowning his prey. Kind of makes sense.

How strange is that!!!! It would be so funny to watch though

Leya likes to play in water, but that's because she's blind and running water makes noise, therefore it's easy to play with.

My kitties put their balls in their water too...in general, they do have a stash by their food bowl - toys and some of my things that they steal...they hide some things under their placemats.

none of my girls do that, but callie likes to join me in the shower or sit on the egde of the tub and stick her tail in the water. I always assumed this was because when i rescued her (she was born to a stray under the funeral home and the directors 14 dogs all like to eat kitties) she had a major flea problem so we did fequent baths. 4qw2 <<<<< that was callie on the keyboard, i guess she wanted to say hi! lol