I know A lot of people think all cats hate water, but that’s not true. Cats are natural swimmers! I’m sure you have seen pictures of Tigers cooling off in a body of water. Some say cat’s don’t like water because when they lick themselves clean they can cover up their own scent so they can sneak up on prey – when they take a bath it makes them “smell”. Some cats don’t like water because getting their fur wet affects their ability to keep warm.
When Harley was just a Kitten I would take him in our backyard on a harness leash and let him play in the grass. Of course he would always manage to find the one muddy spot and roll around in it. I would eventually carry him back inside and rinse him off in the bathroom sink. He never minded, I guess because he just didn’t know any better. He also hated when we would go in the bathroom and shut the door leaving him outside. He would head butt and scratch the door until we let him in. He was always so curious as to what we were doing in there, especially if he could hear water running. He often would sit on the edge of the tub as we were showering or taking a bath, just watching.
The kicker came when Tony’s DD was taking a bath about 3 years ago. Tony was in the hallway and the bathroom door was open so he could keep an eye on DD. Harley waltzed right in the bathroom and jumped right in with her! She screamed because she wasn’t expecting it which scared Harley so he came running out soaking wet and me and Tony just started cracking up. Harley hasn’t jumped all the way in with someone since then but he will lay on the edge and dip his front paws in if someone takes a bath. He loves smacking all the bubbles if I happen to be taking a bubble bath.
Harley also seems to know when he stinks and will jump in the empty tub and meow. Harley has gotten a little on the large side as he has gotten older and for a while was having trouble draining his anal glands so sometimes they would leak and he would REEK! If he wasn’t already in there I would tell him he needed a bath and walk in to the bathroom and he usually followed me. He is so good getting a bath. For the most part he just stands there making a sad face while I’m sudsing him up. Its not like I’m holding him so he could jump out if he really wanted to. Luckily since gradually cut him back even further on the food he hasn’t had any gland issues – not even a fart!
These days he rarely goes in the bathroom with Tony, he will just wait by the door. Harley ALWAYS comes in with me though. If I’m at the sink getting ready in the morning he has to sit on the toilet watching. As soon as I get out of the shower he rubs on me so I sit down. He feels the need to rub on my face so I smell like him again. He also likes when I let him roll around in the towel I used to dry off. On a side note, he also REALLY loves to roll around in Tony’s boxers but I guess that’s a whole different story.
How about your cat’s? What are their feelings about water?
