Do You Know Why Cats Don't Like Water?

One of the known characteristics of having a cat is its aversion to water. While we see cats licking or playing with the dripping water from a faucet, the contrast is seeing cats fearful of getting near the bathtub or fighting their way to get out of the bath.

Cats are okay with water to drink or to play with but they get anxious if water gets into their fur as they spring out of fear or hide somewhere you can't see them.

Why Cats Hate Water?

Not all cats hate water but in general, most cats would defend themselves not to getting wet. We have come up with the reasons to help us understand why and what triggers their fear of water.

1. Its ancestors don't live near water

There's none in their past to prepare your cat for the bathtub. Cat's ancestors big or small live mostly in dry places where they hunt their prey and they never need to fish or swim just to get their food so, part of their evolution repels the presence of water. That is why your cat will fight its way out if you try to take it for a bath because there is none much in its background that deals with bodies of water.

2. It feels uncomfortably heavy for them

Cats are agile, springy creatures and they don't want anything that weighs them down. Water adds up to their weight and drags them down like a soaking wet blanket wrapping around them. They feel uncomfortable when their fur gets drenched and it feels hard for them to navigate, also they need more effort to dry themselves after.

3. Cats are intolerant of change

Cats are more sensitive than dogs in terms of changes in their environment and they don't like sudden changes like raining and or having their body drenched in water. Cats needed more time to adjust and become tolerant. A kitten that has been exposed to water regularly since young may enjoy baths than cats who were distant to water since young.

4. Cats are fastidious animals

Cats spend most of their time grooming and they don't like anything that invades their fur even just a hint of a smell. Getting wet will have them tediously dry themselves plus they will spend another time grooming until they neutralized the condition of their fur to their preference. Wet fur will take some time to dry and it gets cold very quickly and cats don't like that.

5. It hinders most of their natural abilities

Cats secrete pheromones from their fur and they use it to communicate or mark territories. Drenching themselves in water will disable this, making them helpless, icky, cold, and heavy. It also hinders their agility as water adds to their weight and it slows them down and they feel a loss of control as they are naturally nimble and quick animals.

6. But... there comes an exception

Not all cats hate water, we can even see big cats like tigers getting a good swim. We can also see some household cats who enjoy their bath while getting soaked with soap and water and some cats don't have a problem taking a bath or playing outside in the rain.

It is just a matter of adjustment and exposure to water while they're young or never have them a traumatic experience with water by forcing them to have a bath if they haven't adjusted to it yet. Let them learn to love it until they are accustomed to getting themselves wet, but of course, it will take time and a lot of patience.