Our feline friends have an ambiguous relationship with the liquid element ... They have long had a reputation for not loving water at all. Yet you have probably already surprised kitty fascinated by a tap that flows or watching at length the small pond installed in your garden. Maybe your favorite hairball even likes to play with water or even bathe! We reassure you about this behaviour : as you will see, cats do not actually hate the water that much.
Cats and water : reasons for disenchantment
Let's be honest, for most cats the water is still a hostile element. There is an explanation coming from their origins : most of the ancestors of our current cats came from semi-desert regions. They were therefore little confronted with water. All the more so because they did not, as now, need to bathe to wash themselves and that their main means of hydrating came from the prey they ingested.But there are other reasons, which also explain that our feline friends do not have a great sympathy for the water. Put yourself in their place : this one presents rather as a negative experience when it comes to rain, or when they get sprinkled because they made a fool! Imagine also that your coat is wet, that it can not easily dry because of your thick undercoat and that as a result you very quickly feel cold ...
Some breeds of cats enjoy water
These reticences, however understandable, are not shared by all the cats. Some are even known to appreciate water a lot ! For example, the Fishing cat, which lives in the wild in Asia is used to find his preys (fish and crustaceans) in the water. But there are also examples among domestic cat breeds.Cats of the breed "Turkish Van" in particular have the reputation of loving water and even enjoy swimming. Not surprisingly, they originally lived near Lake Van, east of Turkey, and also found some of their food in the water. Other breeds of cats, coming from countries rich in forests and waterways are also known for not to being afraid of the humidity : the Siberian, the Maine Coon or the Norwegian. Note that this is also the case of the Bengal and the Abyssinian.
What if you taught your cat to love water ?
Your cat is not one of the breeds that we have just presented ? Know that you can nevertheless teach him not to be afraid of water. This can be an opportunity to share new moments of play with him. Your cat can even surprise you by swimming (knowing that you will not have to teach him : cats know how to naturally swim !).You can get used to water by trying to put him in a basin (or a sink, a tub) with first just a thin layer of water. Then gradually repeat the experiment by increasing the volume of liquid. But traumatising kitty is out of the question : always use lukewarm water and end the experience as soon as you see that he does not like it. Moreover, the more your cat will be young and the more likely he will be to enjoy this type of new experience. So, if you were to take advantage of the last beautiful days of summer to try ?
You are not convinced that cats can love water and even swim ? Watch Sasha’s video, a cat which is really not afraid to get wet !
Vous n’êtes pas convaincu que les chats puissent aimer l’eau et même nager ? On vous laisse regarder cette vidéo de Sasha, un chat qui n’a pas peur de se mouiller !