why do cats hate water so much?

[SNOWBALL]

Does anyone know this? Do their ancestors also hate water? I am assuming it is an evolutionary reason. Maybe it has something to do with lions being so vulnerable to certain water based predators like alligators.

[Nielsio]

Because they can't swim ldo

[Farfenugen]

Cats can swim.

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]
Because they can't swim ldo

[/ QUOTE ]

why can't cats be free?

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats can swim.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh ok so cats can be free.
Why don't they wanna be free?

[tame_deuces]

Cats can love water if you start to bathe them and make them used to water when they are very small.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats can swim.

[/ QUOTE ]

in fact, they're much better natural swimmers than dogs.

[Nielsio]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats can swim.

[/ QUOTE ]


Ok, well then it's a nurture thing, not a nature thing.

[Phil153]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cats can swim.

[/ QUOTE ]


Ok, well then it's a nurture thing, not a nature thing.

[/ QUOTE ]
lol, you're on a hat-trick now.

[Nielsio]

wtf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5JI4xCf7kA


also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U0dSxVCiKc

[vhawk01]

Better question, why do cats hate Arrested Development so much? That show rules but cats could basically take it or leave it, what gives?

[tame_deuces]

You know we will figure out the universe before we figure out cats.

[joes28]

because they are pussys.

[Anadrol 50]

Not all cats hate water...

[billygrippo]

some cats enjoy swimming. the bengal cat for example, but they are like small tigers.

[Piers]

Don't they get cold as their fur no longaer acts as insulator?

[BigBuffet]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats can love water if you start to bathe them and make them used to water when they are very small.

[/ QUOTE ]

Older cats can learn to at least tolerate water. My wife and I adopt adult cats from shelters. I run warm water in the tub with cat bath soap) and then turn the faucet off. The I slowly place the cat in the water.

I believe the sound of the water running is scary to them. And cold water does not feel good.

I would recomend clipping their claws before giving them a bath the first time...

[tame_deuces]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cats can love water if you start to bathe them and make them used to water when they are very small.

[/ QUOTE ]

Older cats can learn to at least tolerate water. My wife and I adopt adult cats from shelters. I run warm water in the tub with cat bath soap) and then turn the faucet off. The I slowly place the cat in the water.

I believe the sound of the water running is scary to them. And cold water does not feel good.

I would recomend clipping their claws before giving them a bath the first time...

[/ QUOTE ]

The clipping claws things is probably a good idea, though I have never done it. I don't think there are curse words invented yet that can catch the meaning of the look you get from a unhappy soaking wet cat looking at his bather.

[JammyDodga]

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone know this? Do their ancestors also hate water? I am assuming it is an evolutionary reason. Maybe it has something to do with lions being so vulnerable to certain water based predators like alligators.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ ]House cats are descended from lions
[ ]You get alligators in africa

Fail.

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
I am assuming it is an evolutionary reason.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1139518

"Further analysis revealed that cats were domesticated in the Near East, probably coincident with agricultural village development in the Fertile Crescent. Domestic cats derive from at least five founders from across this region, whose descendants were transported across the world by human assistance."

So yes, if this study is to be believed, domestic cats are the direct descendants of the African Wildcat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felis_silvestris_lybica), which evolved in arid climates of Africa and the Middle East.

So there might be some kind of evolutionary reason, but I would tend to doubt it. As other's have mentioned, I don't think it's a normative trait of cats that they hate water, and the fact that people think cats hate water is probably due to the way that humans try to bathe their cats (which almost certainly frightens them), like some other posters have said.

[uDevil]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't they get cold as their fur no longaer acts as insulator?

[/ QUOTE ]

Plausible. Water has much larger thermal conductivity than air (~23x) and transfers heat to the environment as it evaporates, so they lose body heat quickly. This would be more of a problem for small cats (larger surface to volume ratio) than for Bengal tiger sized kitties.

[soon2bepro]

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe it has something to do with lions being so vulnerable to certain water based predators like alligators.

[/ QUOTE ]

Cats do not descend from lions.

[andyfox]

Fish f*ck in it.

[PLOlover]

someone with cat and webcam (cam set to snapshot every 60 secs or something) fill up bathtub good so doesnt drain, when youre away preferably for a while during hours cat is active observe with cam then report back.

maybe put tuna or something far side of tub so cat has to cross water or something.

[Tweed _Man]

Cats hate water because they're scared by their own reflection.

There may be other reasons too but this is certainly one of them.

[BigSoonerFan]

Causes grooming issues with them obv.

[BigBuffet]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats hate water because they're scared by their own reflection.

[/ QUOTE ]

All the cats I've ever had were never frightened when they saw themselves in a mirror or glass door.

Your cats must have poor self esteem /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats hate water because they're scared by their own reflection.

There may be other reasons too but this is certainly one of them.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. If you show a mirror to a young kitten, it will try to play with the "other kitten" in the mirror. It can be quite entertaining to watch them bat at their reflection, poke their paws behind the mirror, etc. It usually doesn't take them too long to figure out that the "other kitten" isn't real, and adult cats usually ignore mirrors.

[furyshade]

tigers and jaguars swim on a regular basis to cool off, don't know if this proves anything but i saw it on animal planet just now. also one of my cats will spend hours in the sink, but thats just cause it is stupid and an attention whore.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cats can swim.

[/ QUOTE ]

in fact, they're much better natural swimmers than dogs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't really seen cats swim much, but some dogs, especially retriever breeds, are very strong swimmers. I used to have a lab mix that could make headway against pretty strong river currents. Some breeds, like pugs and bulldogs can't swim, or, more accurately, they can swim but can't keep there nose above water, so they will drown if they can't get out quickly.

[CORed]

[ QUOTE ]
Cats can love water if you start to bathe them and make them used to water when they are very small.

[/ QUOTE ]

Several years ago, I went swimming at a hot springs pool. There was a resident cat there who was very friendly and outgoing. She would come up to people at the edge of the pool to be petted, and didn't mind at all that you were petting here with a wet hand or that she was standing on the wet pool deck. She would get pretty wet in the process, purring the whole time.

[BigBuffet]

[ QUOTE ]
If you show a mirror to a young kitten, it will try to play with the "other kitten" in the mirror. It can be quite entertaining to watch them bat at their reflection, poke their paws behind the mirror, etc. It usually doesn't take them too long to figure out that the "other kitten" isn't real, and adult cats usually ignore mirrors.

[/ QUOTE ]

A friend had a cat that would try to 'fight' big cats on animal planet by tapping the tv screen. When he saw that was futile, he would try to attack them from the back of the tv.