food and water away from each other?

I read somewhere that it's better to keep food and water away from each other.
Is that true? What's cat behaviorist say about it?

A cat behaviorist deals with behavior, not feeding habits, maybe you meant nutritionist?

Was there any reason given for this practice of keeping food and water separate?

Mazy's dish is right next to the water bowl it doesn't seem to bother her any. (she is my only cat who eats kibble) She doesn't drink immediately after eating her kibble.

Perhaps the thought is that if they eat a bunch of kibble then drink a bunch of water right away, they will regurgitate, as the water causes the kibble to swell too fast. So if you had a cat who was doing that, you might want to move the water, or better, ration the kibble, but other wise.....I see no reason for it.

My advice on water is to have a bowl in every room in the house to encourage the cat to drink as much as possible.

My cats generally will not touch the water that is beside their food. Cats love to seek out water, so I keep a bowl in almost every room of my house, too! When I go away and need someone to check on the cats, I always feel bad because they have to run around the house looking for bowls of water! LOL