Feb 17 2003
Cats & water
It is a truth universally acknowledged that cats dislike water. Rarely, if ever, do you see a cat jumping off the rope swing at the swimming hole, or setting a new record for swimming the Channel, or cluttering up what little beach space is available on the Riviera. The only baths they like to take are sun baths, and they are pretty much unparalleled in their ability to sit in the sun for extended periods of time. Their fur makes them immune to skin cancer and wrinkles, so really, they have no motivation to cut their sun baths short or reduce them to utilitarian sun showers (“I’ll just get my fur warmed up and then get on with day’s business of napping and playing.”). There is no sunscreen for cats.
Despite this well-known distaste for the aquatic, our cats insist on sitting in the still-wet kitchen sink after the dishes have been done, and in sitting/lounging/playing in the bathtub after the water has drained away. Sometimes they are so eager to get in the bathtub that they actually get in it while there is still some water in it, and this does not, for whatever reason, lead to their immediate ejection from the wet surface. They just watch the remaining water go down the drain as if they were watching TV.
I think they must be attracted to the heat retained in the century-old cast iron bath tub, and the heat retained in the considerably younger cast iron kitchen sink. The need for heat must outweigh the distaste for dampness, at least temporarily. I once read that cats were originally desert animals, hence their lust for heat. My sister Megan once had a cat who singed her fur by sitting too close to the space heater. The singed fur smell alerted Megan, who separated cat from heater while cat complained. About being removed from the source of the singe. Our cat Jack routinely sleeps on a part of the stove where the pilot lights make it too hot for me to comfortably rest my hand on for longer than, say, 30 seconds. Amazing.
9 Responses to “Cats & water”
One of our cats does the same thing with the bathtub – he’s fascinated by the water. It’s very odd.
Apparently very white cats can get burned by the sun – poor things. I’m sure that doesn’t stop them from seeking the sun out though.
My Father and I think his cat has pyromaniac tendancies. He will sit and watch the fire for hours. He also seems to think the best path is walking in behind the stove while the fire is going.. ouch.
One of our cats is fascinated by the water as well. She won’t get in the bathtub, but she’ll jump up on the ledge of the shower and watch the beads of water drip from the shower curtain after the shower stops. She’ll just sit there until the shower curtain is dry. Very strange.
A cat of my ex wasn’t fascinated with the water in the tub, but the try tub itself (though I’m not sure how much heat it retained since it was a run-of-the-mill tub with nothing but an apartment underneath it). I’d find her playing in it, or sometimes sleeping in it. Nothing more disconcerting that wondering to the bathroom in the middle of the night with the lights off, only to have a big black furball scury from the tub at top speed.
We have to hide the bathplug from our cat or it’s hours of thunk-thunk-thunk down the staircase.
Our cat, Playful, also likes the wet leftovers from a shower stall or tub full of water. He’ll race into the bathroom and crowd past our legs to get into the tub or shower stall. And, he favorite way to get a drink of water, is from the slightly running faucet. He’s an odd duck.
I had a kitten who absolutely HAD to be in the shower with me.
And then couldn’t understand why the consequence was getting very wet, and a little later, very cold.
It was pathetic, but also hilarious.
Similar to yours, my cat enjoys sitting in a wet sink or tub. The other thing I can’t understand is her need to sleep in the dryer when the dryer door is left open. She is such a wacky cat 😉
hehehehe – I couldn’t imagine the poor kitten in the shower Pascale!
My cat, Saffron, also likes to be in the tub right after a shower to lick the water and catch the drops from the faucet or down the shower curtain too. My other cat, however, is a lot more lady-like and wouldn’t dream of such a thing!