Female cat using her paws to eat and drink...why?

Our cat is 1 year old and she has strange drinking and eating habits.

Bella grabs her dry food kibbles one by one, drags them onto the floor, then eats. She also tries to,topple over the water bowl, leaving puddles all over the floor. I refresh her water 3 times daily.

Any suggestions on how to break her of the water bowl habit? I simply cannot understand this behavior.

Welcome to TCS!

One of my cats will splash the water if it's in a bowl too.  I believe when I read on here is that cats can have a difficult time seeing up close; so they move the water so they can see it.  I've heard of putting clean glass beads in the bowl to help; but I never tried it.  We purchased a cat fountain for our 2 and it's worked beautifully.  Someone still paws the water some; but not outright splashing like before.  It also holds more water so I only have one fountain for my 2 cats.

I've had cats that will pick up a kibble of dry food and drop it on the floor before eating.  I just assumed it was similar to the water thing about not being able to see as well.  I will have to check back here later to see if someone else has another explanation for it.  I do wish they'd stop...stepping on a half piece of dry kibble with bare feet hurts more than I'd have thought...

Thank you for that suggestion. Bella is only a year old--I wonder if she has vision problems at this early age. Do vets provide eye exams for cats?

She is a lovely creature in every other way, so I don't complain too much about this. I just want to be sure that this behavior is not hiding another more serious issue.

Thank you very much for responding!

Bella's Mom

Both are very common cat behaviors. Many cats eat with their paws and many more play in their water bowls all their lives. Use a heavy square glass pyrex baking pan as a water bowl so she can't tip it over. To contain splash, place the bowl in a tray that has slightly raised edges. Make sure the tray is large enough for her to step into to get to the water dish.

Sassy used to do this also....I had her from age 3-7 something that might help is a set of bowls that are held in a wire rack slightly off the ground. Sassy was never able to tip her bowls over, since they hung over inside the rack. the only mess she made then was the removal of food from her bowl so that she could eat a few pieces at a time.....but she always ate any pieces that were out of her bowl before eating food from her bowl, so it kind of made up for itself lol. i used a doggie feeding mat to contain the mess, since I fed her in the bedroom away from all the noise

This is all great feedback. We found a dish with a very broad base, and filled that with water. Works like a charm!

Should we be concerned about her eyesight and have it checked, or is this normally just an eating and drinking "disorder?"

I appreciate everyone's input!

Bella's Mom

most cats can't see things directly in front of their faces. Blindness is said to be common in pure white cats, but unless white or she shows other signs of blindness, this sounds more like a quirky behavior. if concerned, you could mention it to your vet next time you're in, and they will likely look at her teeth too given the delicate way that you  describe her eating.

Given her age though, it's unlikely to be anything more than a funny habit 

Cindy will drag her kibble out of the bowl onto the mat and eat it, she's always done that.  I was kind of thinking maybe she didn't like putting her face in the bowl because of her whiskers or something.  She will also drink by putting her paw in the water and drinking it off her paw.  I've seen Swanie when he goes to the bowl that's down here (as opposed to the fountain I have upstairs) tap it a couple times with his paw before he starts drinking.  He's never spilled it though.  I have both water bowl and food bowls on plastic mats.