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Cats are intrigued by water
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by: Russell
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Word Count: 568
Cats: everybody knows how much they dislike getting their fur wet. Yet, many people that own a cat
can claim that they have often found their kitty with its paws inside their water bowl or playing with the water dripping from a faucet. As odd as it is, many cats love water, they are attracted to it and many spend hours just playing with it.
Things appear to change though when the cat's fur gets wet. For some reason, cats seem to hate getting their fur wet. Yes, they seem to do very well with licking their fur but water being poured on their precious fur? No way! Just a few drops on their fur will make their skin spasm and they will readily lick it off with their tongues.
Why is that? Why do cats dislike so much getting their fur wet? An explanation may be the fact that cats originated from desert regions where of course, water was a rare event.
There are however, variables between cats and water. Among the feline family, tigers appear to enjoy spending time in the water to cool off whereas panthers and lions try to avoid water as much as possible, unless getting a dip will take them on the other side where there is prey.
Oddly, there is one domesticated cat that actually enjoys water and will jump into your pool as well without making much of a fuss. If you love water and spend a good day immersed in it, then the Turkish Van is the breed for you.
This cat breed originated in Turkey and was well accustomed to living near the Lake Van in Eastern Turkey. This interesting cat breed has the characteristic of loving water set deep in its genes and its fur is made for this purpose: ultra soft and dries quickly.
If you cannot afford to get a Turkish Van Dam, some cats may be taught to enjoy water and even swim in it at times. The secret is to teach them when they are kittens. Kittens are generally less fearful than cats.
With a kitten you can start early to desensitize and teach him not to fear water. Start by running the water faucet daily, playing recordings of water, passing water on its fur with a wet sponge, filling a pan with shallow water and allowing the kitten to put its feet in it.
With time, toys can be added to the shallow water and the kitten can be enticed to play in it. With time, the kitten will learn to enjoy water and eventually, may accept to get wet in deeper waters. Of course, the kitten must be held so not to traumatize it from sinking down, and sooner than later, the kitten will naturally start paddling and hopefully swimming.
The kitten or cat should always be carefully supervised in pools just as you would do with a child. While many kittens and cats can be taught to accept water to some extent, some may be particularly fearful of it and should not be forced.
As seen, they myth of cats hating water can be put aside if you know how to teach your cat to accept it from an early age. There are various owners that testify this as they swim in their pool along with their beloved feline friends.
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By alexadry
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