Why Don T Cats Like Water

Cats from cold climates would prefer to avoid getting wet.

Why don t cats like water. Some domestic cats actually enjoy the water particularly if they live in a region that has a hot dry climate. This is because those bigger cats live in a much warmer climate compared to our domesticated felines. Cats coats get heavy when wet the top layer of a cat s coat generally has some water resistance. Some cats don t even like to drink tap water because of their sensitivity to its odor.

However house cats usually live in much cooler conditions. The water is cool and refreshing and the cat may swim or soak in it. Cats are all about grooming around 30 to 50 percent of their day is spent licking and fluffing their coat. Cats are afraid of water due to their evolution and biological instinct most domestic cats are the descendants of desert felines who wouldn t have come across big bodies of water.

Some of them also go to the water to hunt for fish. Petful offers another answer noting cats are also sensitive to odors and it is speculated that your cat may not like the scent of chemicals from tap water the situation gets even more overstimulating if you factor in shampoos full of unfamiliar smells. Behaviorally cats are generally less tolerant of change and new experiences than say the dog. Don t be deterred however from giving your cat a bath if she needs it.

Some wild cats from more tropical regions such as tigers love to bathe in water to regulate their body temperature. Cats can smell the chemicals in tap water much more acutely than humans can. So besides their water dish cats aren t exposed to larger bodies of water. They go to the water to keep themselves cool.

A cat that has never been exposed to water probably won t like the feeling of having their body drenched in it. What we do know is that certain large species of cat do in fact like water. Cats are as adept at fishing as they are at hunting mice and some cats will sit in the water or at the edge of a source of water to catch fish.