When I was growing up, I always wanted a cat despite the fact that half of my family is allergic to them. I recently saw a video of a guy trying to bathe his extremely reluctant cat and it made me wonder if all cats really hate water as much as we think they do.
This article discussed why cats aren’t big fans of water. A lot of people are under the preconceived notion that cats automatically hate water so they don’t often expose them to it if they don’t have to. A lot of times, a cat’s first experience with water is a bath they are being forced into or getting caught in the rain so it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t like it. Scientists believe that a cat’s dislike of water comes from their ancestors. The wild cats of Europe, Africa, China had limited experience with water and didn’t have to adapt or evolve to deal with rain or water.
According to another article I found, a possible reason that cats don’t like water is because their fur becomes waterlogged and weighs them down. It causes the cat a great level of uncomfort due to its coat being drenched. Cats can also be sensitive to odors so it’s a possibility that the cat may not like the smell of the chemicals in tap water. Here’s an actually highly amusing video that I watched of a guy trying to give his cat a bath: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFk0kAwLiEk#t=114
http://animal.discovery.com/pets/healthy-pets/do-cats-really-hate-water.htm
http://www.petsadviser.com/behaviors/why-do-cats-hate-water/
I never thought about cats hating water before. I always see dogs swimming and love being in water, but I have never noticed that cats do not act the same. I am not a cat person so maybe that is the reason why I never paid attention enough to realize they do not like water. I found this article on a breed of cats that love water. Turkish Van cats actually love the water. Even their ancestors were water people often going into the lakes to cool down on a hot day. Another type of cat that does a lot of swimming is the Asian fishing cat. Like the name suggests it has skills to catch fish so it a good swimmer.
http://animal.discovery.com/pets/healthy-pets/do-cats-really-hate-water.htm
I never really understood why cats hate water. It’s not even that they hate it, it’s that their scared of it. It doesn’t make any sense to me because simply standing in a sink and feeling water on their paws makes them uncomfortable. I’m not a big cat person because I love dogs. So, I decided to see if dogs have the same fear. My first dog absolutely hated water. She would only swim in it if we pushed her in (I know, my brothers and I shouldn’t have done it). The point is, she swam. She knew exactly what to do, so why was to scared to do something that was so instinctive she didn’t even have to think? According to petwave.com, dogs who fear water most likely have anxiety. Like humans, dogs have a psychological mind and when they have anxiety they develop fears. This anxiety can come from their parents, abuse from their owners, or simply just sensitive emotions. I never thought about dogs having such a psychological mind, but it all makes sense now.
I never knew if it was true or not that cats dont like water. you see domestic cats avoiding getting wet, but watch on tv wild cats like tigers casually taking a swim. Maybe it is just an issue of domestic cats being sheltered? Check this awesome article out on why tigers swim
http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/swimming-tigers.htm