Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Cats and their ways.

Why is it that cats think Forbidden Water tastes so much better than the water in their bowl?

You know Forbidden Water: It's the stuff that drips from faucets, or is left in the tub after you take a shower, or sits in a bowl in the kitchen sink. Seriously, turn off the shower at Roseholme Cottage and almost faster than you can open the curtain, there will be a cat up on the edge of the tub, licking the spout. "Mm-mmm! Forbidden water!"

This, of course, makes it doubly important to keep the lid down on the cat jacuzzi...

35 comments:

The Duck said...

Yours too, huh I thought it was just the weird ones living here

John said...

My dog is the same way.

TheMinuteman said...

We have a fountain that the cats love to drink from. Part of it I think is freshness, leave water sitting out for a while and minerals will settle; not to mention how dirty the water can get.

At the same time though cats constantly search for the door into summer. We don't allow our cats outside else they become coyote food, but growing up in an urban area during winter they would go out one door, turn around and want to go out another. Until summer, then they'd just go outside.

doubletrouble said...

I leave carefully stashed small Forbidden Water vessels around the place.
It's much more deliciouser.
God forbid he should have to drink from his water dish.

Anonymous said...

Mine comes and gets me to turn on the bath tub faucet for his FW fix... Don't know where he picked that up.

Anonymous said...

Years ago I tried something with our idiots: ice cubes in their water bowl every couple of days. The girls thought ice water and "cube bobbing' was a great treat (here in FL it's summer 8 months a year), the boy fished them out and batted them around the kitchen. But it did reduce the interest in faucet slurping.

Newbius said...

ROFL...Yes, I have opened the door to the privy and had a cat standing in the bowl (with dry feet due to very careful placement), looking up at me with a look that says "what's YOUR problem??"

Of course, the feet do get wet when they bolt...

Anonymous said...

Our vet once told us it's because the fresh tap water reeks of chlorine. Left to settle for a while, the chlorine evaporates off somewhat and the cats prefer it, hence why the mad fascination for Forbidden Water.

I can't be bothered to Google the properties of chlorine, (and no doubt there's about five-hundred chemistry/biology/cat-ology geeks here who will argue the point, ad infinitum,) but I presume that explanation has some merit.

MJ

Tam said...

"Our vet once told us it's because the fresh tap water reeks of chlorine."

Yeah, but that doesn't explain the preference for licking the spout; tap water doesn't get much fresher than that.

(And their bowl is one of those powered waterfall thingies...)

Shane said...

Our cats prefer to drink from any available container regardless of the contents provided there is a drinking straw in use. The straws seem to work like a cat magnet as long as they are still in the container. Once the straw has been remove by the cat and dropped on the floor, the liquid has been reserved for continued feline consumption. The drinks lacking straws are ignored.

Anonymous said...

Jeez... I just blew hot coffee out my nose reading the term "cat jacuzzi". Damn that smarted. Give a fella a warning next time

og said...

Nothing quite like having the dog watch you pee, cocking an ear as if to say "Hey! I drink out of that!"

WV: caties

1911Man said...

What with you being a girl and all, you are presumably unfamiliar with the nimble-knee defensive technique employed by standing male owners of cats whildst making the Ultimate Forbidden Water.

Joanna said...

What with you being a girl and all, you are presumably unfamiliar with the nimble-knee defensive technique employed by standing male owners of cats whildst making the Ultimate Forbidden Water.

I dunno about that. When I wash my face in the morning/evening, it goes like this: 1) Run water to wet hands and face, then turn off. 2) Cover face in soap, blinding self. 3) Run water again to rinse, soaking cat who has climbed into the sink to lick the faucet and sending her scrambling away.

Kristophr said...

http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/crazy-water-cat/GU73WrelDjZMiLEhu67x3A

Just My 2¢ said...

I like "forbidden water"! That works for dogs, too. We keep all the lids on our toilets down for good reason. On that subject, "Hey, did you just see what that human just did in my water dish? Yech!"

Keads said...

"(And their bowl is one of those powered waterfall thingies...)"

Well of course it is! I had no doubt!

Robin said...

There is nothing more fun that giving a cat in the cat jacuzzi a flush.

Put the end to that.

Crucis said...

It's a bit hard to shave, brush your teeth and fight for the furball at the same time. Fur on the toothbrush is a no-no.

Before we got a cat water-fountain (yes there is such a thing) we'd let the faucet drip for the cats when we would be gone all day.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to put the kibosh to MJ's theory of chlorine avoidance...wifey's two fuzzbutts will invariably walk past the three(!) conveniently placed water bowls she puts out for them in preference to taking their fill of pool water once they get out of the house and onto the porch. No ill chemical effects, but it has been hilariously entertaining when the water level is down a bit and they take an impromptu swim while trying to reach it.

And as to 1911Man's Ultimate Forbidden Water...yeah, that's happened to me, and far from getting pissed :), the sick little bastards seem to like it. Ugh.

AT

Anonymous said...

mine is perfectly content as long as she gets an ice cube or ice chips in her fresh water... go figure...

verification= 'contat'...

Jennifer said...

Emerson will stick his entire head into an unattended glass of water.

Jennifer said...

Also, my cats use the cat jacuzzi for the same purpose we do. Since they do their business there, they don't drink it.

Anonymous said...

Hey y'all:

Kittehs drinking from "moving" water is hard-wired in their brains. Drinking from moving water helps to keep the little mouse-assassins from getting sick/dying from drinking stagnant bad water in the wild.

BoxStockRacer

Anonymous said...

Well, shit; BSR seems to have a plausible explanation. In fact, the area of the pool where our little freaks quench their thirst is next to a jet where the surface water is moving pretty quickly.

Explains the fountains, the faucets, even the pee. Toilets? Not so much in static mode, but when the jacuzzi kicks in? Hell, yeah.

Well, VFTP does have an expert in virtual residence...'Rat?

AT

Tam said...

AT,

"Well, VFTP does have an expert in virtual residence...'Rat?"

Yup. Unless LabRat shows up and says otherwise, I'm going with BSR's explanation. :)

Anonymous said...

...So why then does one of mine prefer to dip her foot in her dish and lick the water from it? Screwy little varmint.. :-)

Jim

Nancy said...

We have made peace with out cats drinking out of the fish bowl. The fish seem pleased, as the kiss the cats, and I guess the cats like it as much as we like water with a twist of lemon

Jon Shed said...

hahaha so true. my dog does this too, and the worry is that some people have a wee while they're showering...

http://hyperpringle.blogspot.com

Justthisguy said...

Mah Kitteh seems to think that puddles in the street have the best water.

Justthisguy said...

Oh, Minuteman, around here, it's "The Door to Where It's Not Raining. My cat hates summer, being quite furry and living in Flarduh, as he does.

And yes, I think that is one of the two or three best Heinlein novels.

WV: emilio. WTF, I thought we were all Nordic folks, here!

Robert said...

My feline charge started drinking out of the outdoor recirculating-water yard art as soon as I installed it. Then promptly contracted giardia. When winter ends (if ever), I'll have to construct an unobtrusive cat-proof cover. OR infrared-triggered yard sprinklers aimed at the slurping cat. AND it'll teach the neighborhood brats to stay the hell out of the yard.

Drang said...

Jim said: ...So why then does one of mine prefer to dip her foot in her dish and lick the water from it?
Is she a Maine Coon? Fluffy Kitten (pbuh) did that.

We have had a succession of table-top fountains, the kind that are marketed for fang shooey.
Hint: Don't get the battery operated kind.

Anonymous said...

We have 3 unemployed mouse catchers (unemployed because we don't have mouses). Only one has to (or try to) drink from any cup my wife is using. He hates it when she's having OJ.

Mark

Anonymous said...

I think my idiot cat (long passed on) might refute the moving water theory. He would totally ignore his water bowl to go drink the water under the refrigerator.