Hi everyone. Let me first introduce my cat.
His name is Ingemar and his is a 4-year-old Devon Rex. He's the best cat I've ever had and I love him to death. You can have a look at him at this address:
http://www.bruno-c.com/lautreamax/st...emarwarhol.htm
That's the only picture of him I have online at the moment. He looks kind of creepy on it, but he's actually very friendly.
Alright, on to the problem.
He has always been very curious about water. I am told this is common among this breed of cats. Wherever there is running water - bathtub, shower, kitchen or bathroom sink - he has to check it out. He also insists on drinking from the tap instead of in his bowl, even though I keep the bowl next to his food with fresh water in it at all times. Every once in a while, I notice him taking a few drinks from it, but it's obvious that he prefers to drink from the running tap in the bathroom. As soon as he sees me head in the direction of the bathroom, he runs in it and jumps to the sink, waiting for me to open the tap. He even tries to turn the tap himself with his paw, but of course he can't manage that.
Recently, my roommate suggested that we should make an effort to get him to drink from his bowl. She doesn't like that he leaves paw marks all over the bathroom sink all the time and she says I've been spoiling him. So I've started to restrict his tap-drinking privileges. When I see him jump to the bathroom sink, I take him to his water bowl, bring it to his attention, and he usually drinks from it.
However, I have a feeling he doesn't get enough to drink. It's like he is always thirsty and he doesn't realize that his waterbowl is always there for him if he needs it! Instead, he has become obsessed with water. He's constantly running to the bathroom and meowing to get our attention so we will give him some water. Sometimes, even though I bring him to his bowl, he doesn't want to drink from it and returns to the bathroom sink.
Worse, we can't leave glasses unattended anywhere in the house for more than a few minutes. He tries to drink from them, which usually results in him tipping the glass over, spilling the content all over the table (or desk, or whatever). Two out of three times, the glass then rolls off the table, falls on the floor and breaks into pieces. He's broken three glasses since the beginning of this week.
This has to stop! I don't know what to do. We try not to leave glasses anywhere, but we often forget. I'm not sure how to discipline my cat. I can't use a water bottle, as many people suggest - he would only enjoy it!! I usually just yell at him and sometimes tap him lightly on the head. I don't want to traumatize him or break the bond that we have. But I don't want him to keep breaking glasses.
Please help. Any suggestion on how to handle this situation would be greatly appreciated.
(Sorry for writing such a long question! And congratulations to those who managed to read the whole thing without falling asleep.)
His name is Ingemar and his is a 4-year-old Devon Rex. He's the best cat I've ever had and I love him to death. You can have a look at him at this address:
http://www.bruno-c.com/lautreamax/st...emarwarhol.htm
That's the only picture of him I have online at the moment. He looks kind of creepy on it, but he's actually very friendly.
Alright, on to the problem.
He has always been very curious about water. I am told this is common among this breed of cats. Wherever there is running water - bathtub, shower, kitchen or bathroom sink - he has to check it out. He also insists on drinking from the tap instead of in his bowl, even though I keep the bowl next to his food with fresh water in it at all times. Every once in a while, I notice him taking a few drinks from it, but it's obvious that he prefers to drink from the running tap in the bathroom. As soon as he sees me head in the direction of the bathroom, he runs in it and jumps to the sink, waiting for me to open the tap. He even tries to turn the tap himself with his paw, but of course he can't manage that.
Recently, my roommate suggested that we should make an effort to get him to drink from his bowl. She doesn't like that he leaves paw marks all over the bathroom sink all the time and she says I've been spoiling him. So I've started to restrict his tap-drinking privileges. When I see him jump to the bathroom sink, I take him to his water bowl, bring it to his attention, and he usually drinks from it.
However, I have a feeling he doesn't get enough to drink. It's like he is always thirsty and he doesn't realize that his waterbowl is always there for him if he needs it! Instead, he has become obsessed with water. He's constantly running to the bathroom and meowing to get our attention so we will give him some water. Sometimes, even though I bring him to his bowl, he doesn't want to drink from it and returns to the bathroom sink.
Worse, we can't leave glasses unattended anywhere in the house for more than a few minutes. He tries to drink from them, which usually results in him tipping the glass over, spilling the content all over the table (or desk, or whatever). Two out of three times, the glass then rolls off the table, falls on the floor and breaks into pieces. He's broken three glasses since the beginning of this week.
This has to stop! I don't know what to do. We try not to leave glasses anywhere, but we often forget. I'm not sure how to discipline my cat. I can't use a water bottle, as many people suggest - he would only enjoy it!! I usually just yell at him and sometimes tap him lightly on the head. I don't want to traumatize him or break the bond that we have. But I don't want him to keep breaking glasses.
Please help. Any suggestion on how to handle this situation would be greatly appreciated.
(Sorry for writing such a long question! And congratulations to those who managed to read the whole thing without falling asleep.)
