Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hello!

I thought I knew a lot about cats, but my little girl ,who is 5 YO, just sits in front of her water and takes a long time to actually drink. Should I be concerned or is she just quirky?
Thanks

No matter how much we know there's always a cat to teach us more.

I don't know if it's classed as normal but mine have always approached the water with a little ritual before starting to drink, and even then it's a couple of delicate small laps before starting to tuck in properly. Sit and think about it, step forward, sniff, sit back, sniff again, try it, sometimes a snuffly sneezy choking splutter. Sometimes walk away and go to a different water bowl. One used to have to dip his paw a couple of times. Funny little critters!

Thanks , Mollycat!

My male cat does the paw-dip. Amazing how sister and brother are so different. I enjoy watching their diverse approach to life.
Thanks again---they are Just Cats doing their own thing.

My old Ragdoll used to dig for his water, no matter how full the bowl or what surface it was on. Outside you would see him pawing and 'digging' the patio slaps before he would drink, we had one bowl upstairs on carpet and ended up with a spare offcut under it, after he left us and we took it up there was a beautiful circle around where the bowl would have been where he had scratched the carpet until all the fibres were lying in a circle radiating outwards. Of course no matter how many nice fresh clean bowls there are about the house, the outdoor fish pond is always a favourite with all my cats.

perhaps the cat's original Egyptian ancestry prompts them to pause over their water bowls in case a Nile crocodile is lurking just beneath the surface of the water

I laughed but you never know! After all the hiss and spit are meant to be a mimic of a snake. And the paws go into situations first to avoid a bite on the nose.