Cats playing with water bowl

13 years ago

We have six cats. As a result, we have a big water dispenser with a big bowl.

Unfortunately, two of the cats are very playful and very particular about cleanliness. If there is one hair, one piece of food, or anything else in the water, they will sit there and swat at the water trying to get it out.

The unfortunate result is that since our floor isn't exactly level (I guess that's good right now), the water which puddles outside the bowl runs across the kitchen floor and ends up in front of the sink. My wife actually slipped once, but usually she just winds up with wet socks and has to change them.

I'm just checking to see if anybody else had this problem, and what they came up with. I'm thinking if maybe one of those water bowls with a recirculating pump would work.

The one we use now gets filled and cleaned about once every 6 days. I suppose I COULD simply just use a smaller bowl and clean it and fill it every day (or more) but I'm just checking around. Thanks!

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Comments (8)

mazer415
13 years ago
I just hafta say eeewwww to 6 day old water. I dunno maybe it is from working in the field but we ALWAYS provided fresh water every day for our animals..The recirculating water bowls are great but they dont always get rid of debris. You might want to get a small welcome mat from the store and put a towel between the mat and the bowl to keep any excess water from floating on the floor. Good luck
sue36
13 years ago
Get a stainless jelly roll pan (like a cookie sheet with a 1" edge) to catch the water.
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murraysmom Zone 6a OH
13 years ago
Yeah, my friend uses a cafeteria style plastic tray for her water bowl. She has splashers too!!
calliope
13 years ago
After my Mama passed away, I took in her little orange tabby. He just liked to play in water and spent hours with his paw splashing in the bowls and it had nothing to do with him being neat or fastidious. She had another cat who dipped her paws in the dish and licked the water off her paws, and several more who would only drink from a faucet.
quasifish
13 years ago
Okay, I've just got to know... criticalmass, are either of your splashers orange tabbies? Calliope mentioned her orange tabby being a splasher. My orange tabby was the party guilty of this offense, and DH grew up with an orange tabby who also did this.

I personally don't think this is about being cleanly, I think it is about something in the bowl that is fun to play with as you try to fish it out.

When orange tabby Gus was an old guy, he had great kidney function. I don't know if it was because he was always playing with or drinking the water, but I didn't consider it the worst thing in the world because of that. We put the bowl on a towel, on hard floor, and just refilled the bowl and replaced the towel daily. We often threw ice cubes in the bowl for that cat, because he especially loved that. We still do it for the cats we have now, and they enjoy it, though not as much as Gus did.

You could always put the bowl in the bathtub or shower and show the cats where it is- no muss, no fuss that way. All mine seem to spend a lot of time in the bathtubs anyway for some reason.

I would not recommend a circulating bowl though. We have one now and the two, non-splashers, still like to stick their paws in it. This bowl gets more particles in it than the regular bowl ever did- but it does encourage our sick kitty to drink extra water. I have no doubt that if we had had the circulating bowl when the orange tabby was around, we would not have been able to pry him away from it!
pamghatten
13 years ago
I use the bowl below ... my big cream colored tabby loves to play in the water. This catches the water.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cat Bowl
funyellow
13 years ago
hopefully this will help someone...

I use a small petco water fountain for my two kitties, and i place it on a "boot tray" that I bought from Linens and things. It has a really nice tall lip that catches all food and water splashes & spills. i actually put the cats' food bowls down on it as well. It's rigid enough that i can pick the whole thing up, with food bowls AND water fountain, carry it to the sink, and do my daily cleaning routine of everything, then go back to the feeding area and place everything down at once. Perfect solution.

Here is a link that might be useful: Boot tray
carmen_grower_2007
13 years ago
My cats are indoor/outdoor, but I can't imagine changing water only once every six days! I change both indoor and outdoor water every day and often more if a dog drinks out of one of them. The cats won't touch water the dogs have slobbered in.

When changing the water the containers have to be cleaned also, otherwise you are just adding to polluted water. The cats very favorite water is a rain puddle.

Cats playing with water bowl

Comments (8)

mazer415

sue36

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