Cats : the great unwashed be intimate them , but few understand them . From chill out in bathroomsinksto having theirtonguehang out of their mouth , felineshave certain behaviour that can be puzzling to owner . One plebeian CT habit is to flummox a paw in a bowl of drinking water . Is the cat afraid their possessor is poison them ? Do they realize this is not hygienic behavior ? Why do cat do this ?
Accordingto guy behavior expert Pam Johnson - Bennett , cats have a number of motivations for wetting their paw . One relates to the sensitivity of their whiskers . If a qat dips their drumhead into a arena before sampling how shallow or deep it might be , they endure the risk of feel imperativeness on the hair from the sides or bottom of the arena . To debar the soreness , kat will assess the bowl ’s “ finger ” or just apply their hand like a spoon , slurp water from it to avoid irritating the hairs .
Cats dislike recondite water bowls for another reason . If lowering their head inside one stand for they can no longer visualize their environment , they might feel vulnerable , especially in a multi - cat household . If the bowlful is too close to the wall , this may motivate them to use the mitt - as - utensil trick as well , otherwise they ’d have to keep their back turned toward the elbow room so as to wassail from it .
Cats may also dip their paw because itcreatesripples in the water . This may be of interest to them for two ground . One , cats may have an inherent aptitude from an evolutionary standpoint to select water sources that are flowing rather than stagnant and potentially harmful . ( If they prefer move water , you might catch them salute out of spigot . ) Two , the cat may be doing it for entertainment .
If you ’re displeased with your quat ’s habit , you could examine using a wide , narrow water bowl to relieve any whisker discomfort . If you guess it might be for personal security measure reasons , stress make multiple water bowls for the cats in your home . If the cat is doing it for stimulus , then maybe more recreation time is in order .
In rarefied cases , cats might be interact with their water bowlowingto poor eyesight due to age or a health status . you could always get them check out , but in most cases , bozo pawing at their stadium is typical cat behavior — somewhat weird but mostly justifiable .
[ h / tCat Behavior Associates ]
