water bowl issues-strange

Hey everyone Been a LONG time since I have been on here..computer issues Anyway..our "newest" kitten is about 8 months old, a rescue (found us), and I am assuming had been "tossed" out the vehicle (jaw deformities, etc..). Question is this..when he drinks out of the water dish he paws at it until it is off the pet mat and out in the middle of the floor! He also laps at the side of the dish for long periods at a time instead of drinking from the actual water. His bottom two teeth (all he has thus far) are protruding forward-(we refer to him as the "redneck" cat, because he looks a bit goofy) and I don't know if this is why he drinks the way he does, or if it is merely a quirky thing he has. We have taken him to our vet, had his shots, neutered etc..so other than being goofy he is perfect..but the water thing is so strange..anybody know why he does this??

Don't know why but Wickett doesn't drink out of the bowl either. Instead he plays in the water then lickes it off his paw. Needless to say, the walls near the water dish are all water spotted.

Could you maybe get a water bowl that doesn't move as much? Maybe he doesn't like the water bowl on the mat? Just try different things with him regarding the water. You may be able to find a way that will decrease his habit of wanting to move the water bowl all the time. Although, he may just like moving the water bowl. Have you tried putting ice cubes in his water dish & see how he likes that? Our cats love that - thought you could try it with yours Hopefully you find something that works for him

Zara plays with the water fountains, shoving them around, like your kitten does with a water bowl. I used to think she did it because if you shove a PetMate water fountain you can get it to make a gurgling sound. Now I think she just does it ... cuz she wants to!. Which is why cats do most of the weird things they do as far as I can tell.

I put the water fountains on a rubber mat to keep her from moving them (and dumping the water out).

Jassie and Macy will only drink water from my night stand. I put water there for them because they were always drinking out of my glass. Now, it is the only water they drink!

Stimpy had problems telling the water level until I bought some kitty bowls with pictures on the bottom. We have a fountain, but he doesn't drink out of it. He prefers his bowl. He still paws before he starts drinking, he has done that since we got him.

Cali likes to drink out of the petmates when I first fill them and then she will stick her head under the faucet trying to get some water that way also when I am filling the pitcher for the petmates. I ended up putting another bowl of water on the floor so that she could drink from that also. Turns out they all like the bowl on the floor today for some odd reason as it was almost empty when we got home from work today.

My Romeo does the same exact thing, I have tried every kind of dish in the world and he still does it....I just got one of those kind that have the square well sort of on top and the water comes out into the bowl, he is a little better wit that one. He used to dump them, any water dish I put down he would dump them right over. Big, small, light, heavy, full, not so full, he puts his paw into them and moves them until they spill. This one won't spill though but he still tries. Has anyone heard of a cat that paws the ground before drinking my Loco will stand there and just go crazy pawing for nearly a minute or two before he will touch a drop!

Our cats "prep the bowl" too. It has lessened but occasionally there is a lot of passionate pawing before actual drinking. They also prefer the cups with pictures in the bottom. And they also like to push the cups around, so I have gotten them some heavier cups to avoid spills. They particularly like to push around the fountain container, and I do think it has something to do with the gurgling!

To the OP: Our boys also like to drink from their cups that are meant for their carriers, ie the ones that attach to the grid of the carrier and hang off the floor (they will paw even under those ones while drinking). Those cups can't be moved about, so sometimes I fill them and attach them on the outside of the carriers even when we are at home. Maybe having the cup higher or in different position would help your cat if the jaw is hindering the drinking a bit?

It could be because of your cat's mouth deformities, or it could just be the odd drinking behavior that some cats display.

The important thing is to check that your cat is peeing a normal amount, so you know he's getting enough water to drink. As long as he's getting a lot of water in, it doesn't so much matter how he gets it.

My cat Kody will drink close to the edge of the water dish if his water is too cold. Maybe if your cats bottom teeth pertrude a little they are sensitive to the cold and thats why he drinks this way. Aileen

Thanks guys for all your advice! Problem Solved!! I went to PetCo and forked over the $18.00 for a rubber bottomed,deep, aluminum bowl, and also a rubber backed place mat and viola'-no more rearranging by Lucky!! He still tries, but no luck! Thanks again, have a great weekend! Shell