Sophie likes to "drown" her toys!

My cat Sophie is a shelter rescue and slightly over a year old. She does the weirdest thing with her toys! She likes to pick them up in her mouth and drop them in her water dish. I've actually seen her in action doing this and it's hilarious to watch. Sometimes she'll leave them to sink or float, and other times she'll fish it back out with her paws and carry it around the room, dripping water in her wake.

Usually she does this to those mini catnip mice, as those are her favorite toys, but she'll put other things in her water as well. Today she found and was playing with a folded up paper receipt that fell out of a pocket somewhere. After biting and kicking and chasing it for a bit she carried it over for a water dish dip, then pulled it out to dry on the floor. Once I found a used band aid in her water dish that she managed to get out of the garbage bin! I threw it away, only to find the same bandaid floating in her water dish again later that day!

I've never heard of a cat who likes to put things in water before. Playing with the dish is one thing but this seems to be another level up from that! Why do you think she does it? The only thing I can think of is that she's trying to "drown her prey" but I didn't think cats did that.

Has anyone else seen this kind of strange behavior before?

hahaha The first time I heard it was in this forum. People think its instinctual and its to keep them safe from predators but nobody knows for sure.

LOL! I thought my Charlie was the only cat that did this! I dont mind so much when its just his little stuffed mice,but he likes to drown the little electronic squeaky mice as well.
Oh well, he's just too darn cute to get mad at!:hobbes:

Bonnie does that with one of her catnip mice. She always fishes it out and then stops playing with it. Clyde just sits there and watches like she's nuts. lol

LOL![emoji]128514[/emoji]
That's hilarious!!!! Id love to see a video or picture of that!

My Monster used to do this with his little stuffed kitten. He doesn't do it now that I have a fountain for them though.

Funny!! Bella will bump her head against the water top part to get more water out and then she paws at the ground like she is burying her water dish. Then she paws just right above the water level, all of which she does in order, then drinks feom it!

Bellacakes said:

Funny!! Bella will bump her head against the water top part to get more water out and then she paws at the ground like she is burying her water dish. Then she paws just right above the water level, all of which she does in order, then drinks feom it!

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Oh Sophie will paw at it too! She'll do a "digging motion" in the air up agents the outside of the bowl, sometime just watching and other times while drinking. She'll also splash her paw in the water, like she has to make SURE its water before she can drink it.

She's fascinated by water. Always makes a mess of her dish. We got a boot tray to keep it all contained but she manages to still splash water outside of it! I've also caught her a few times licking the inside of the bathtub after someone takes a shower. And we always have to keep the lid of the toilet down, otherwise she'll drink from it and play with it and make a big mess!

Once I caught her in the act and said "Sophie no!" I didn't yell but you know, said it firmly. Well I startled her, and she jumped and fell into the toilet [emoji]128557[/emoji] She flipped out, pulled herself out, and ran off to hide in shame somewhere until she dried off.

You'd think that would teach her a lesson but no! She still kept going back to the toilet! She will actually wait outside the door when someone is in there, and when they come out run inside to see if we forgot to put the lid down. [emoji]128580[/emoji] That silly cat of mine, such a trouble maker!

Too funny! We have an aquatic frog and Bella would dip her paw into his tank and lick her paw. What is up with kitties and water? She hasnt drank from the toilet though but loves to sit on it when someone is in the shower or bathtub! Then we resuced a baby snapping turtle. Hubby caught her sticking her paw in its tank of water and licking it.
He said he hoped the turtle bit her and maybe she would learn. Ive put a cover on turtles tank so she cant do it anymore. But she is very protective of the frog and turtle. I cant feed them without her running over by them and jumping up on her cat bed!
Well I am glad my kitty isnt the only one that paws at her water!!