My cat, paws at the water, and then licks it off his paw, he has a hard time drinking out of the dish,?

Question

He has a problem with that, he also will not eat food out of the dish he has to paw it out on to the floor, any suggestions as to why he does this? He also tries to get water out of the tub facet. My other cat has no problems eating and drinking.

Answer 1

I have the same problem with my male cat. I even bought a drinkwell cat fountain but he still paws at the water. When I watch him, seems like he is just checking the depth of the water but then he always loves playing in the water. lol Some cats just prefer to use their paws to drink/eat. I knew of couple cats that did that even thou they got a clean bill of health from the vet.

Answer 2

My cat came back from the vet and had a hard time getting over the anesthesia. She couldn't eat, but would look at the bowl then meow at me, like I'm hungry!

I took some wet cat food and put a little in her mouth. She could swallow it. Not too much, just a little. After a week of that, she could eat regular food again.

If he's getting some water, thats good. Keep the water dripping, to make sure he'll drink.

Answer 3

Many cats enjoy licking water off their paw or trying to get it from unorthodox sources (like toilets or sinks). If you think it might be related to the dish, try setting out a large ceramic bowl -- older cats don't like to lean their heads down to drink. The behavior is probably just a game for him though.

As for the food on the floor, I have seen cats do that when they are uncomfortable with the people/pets nearby, but almost never when they are alone. I do have one Siamese-mix that likes to bat his dry catfood around, so he will scoop it out of the bowl to do that (again, it is for entertainment and not because there is a problem).

Answer 4

Cats have very sensitive whiskers and do not like putting their heads into small spaces that allow their whiskers to come into contact with anything. For some cats this even includes food dishes! The most cat-friendly food and water bowls are wide and shallow - allowing kitty to get at the food and water without touching the whiskers to the sides of the dish.

I had a kitty who had just this problem. I couldn't figure out why she was taking so long to finish her meals. Then one day I read about kitty whiskers and it dawned on me - maybe I should try shallower dishes. That did the trick! She began eating with renewed vigor! hehe!

Answer 5

It sounds like you have a weird cat with a weird habit. I wouldn’t worry about it, it’s not like it will make him sick or anything. Cats are like people with personalities and quarks. It’s like my dad insisting on eating pizza with a knife and fork. Not how I would do it, but a perfectly ok way to eat. Even the drinking water out of the tub facet isn’t going to hurt him in any way. I would just recommend looking out that he doesn’t start drinking out of the toilet if you use any of that toilet water treatment stuff. I don’t know what all they call it, but some of it turns the toilet water blue and can be bad for kitties. Good luck!

Answer 6

I have one cat that does this with the water. He eats food out of the bowl though. It sounds like just a weird behaviour thing, but if you are worried there is a physical problem it may be worth a trip to the vet.

Answer 7

I think this is just something that some cats do. My little female kind of does that with her water too. Sometimes if you just let the faucet drip, they are fascinated by the dripping and like to get their water there. Also the same with cats eating, my cat also takes some of her food out onto the floor and then eats it.....oh well whatever it takes to keep them happy,we will do....right?

Answer 8

That is awesome. He is simply trying to use his paws like hands. Some cats like to do this behavior. There is nothing wrong with him. I had a cat who did the same thing. He would dip his food in the water and then eat it. Very Awesome! Praise him.

Answer 9

Some cats are very fussy about the type of dish they have. Certain sizes/types of dish mean cats have to bend their whiskers to eat out of and they don't like doing this. Try one of the cat watering fountains, like the Petmate that are around $25; my kittens love those. For the food, maybe try a larger dish, like a dog dish that he doesn't have to bend his whiskers to eat out of and see if it makes a difference.

Answer 10

The only time my cat done this is when there was a bug in her water and she was playing, its fun watching things they do, I don't think there is anything wrong with your cat, cats behave in many different ways everyday, you just gotta laugh at them their so funny.