Cross Breeds

Why does my Maine Coon cat paw at water before drinking?

My Maine Coon cat seems to be brushing away something on the water surface with her paw before she drinks. She does this whether drinking from her own clean water bowl or from a dirty puddle outside. I've never seen another cat do this.

Public Comments

1. Maybe she wants to check the temperature first :-D
2. Does she have a metallic bowl? She may be pawing to check where the surface of the water is. Cats prefer metal bowls, as it's easier for them to see the water due to the reflective surface.
3. My kitten does this too and makes a heck of a mess. I've been wondering why she does it, but apparently it is something to do with gauging the water level. I found this slightly odd list online, but it does seem to suggest that this is entirely normal behaviour for your cat: http://barb.velvet.com/anarticles/mcwater.html
4. Freshness! Cats - like most other animals - prefer their food and water fresh, and running water is most appealing for that reason. Too, the motion of water coming out of a faucet is probably appealing to their sense of hearing and sight. Some cats will even put their paw into their water dish and "swirl" it around so they can drinking "running" water. (This isn't unusual and your cat is perfectly normal. My girlfriend's Manx, Lily, does this.)
5. she may just be playing with the water but the first thing that come to mind was if her eye sight is ok she might have to check where the water starts so she doesnt get her wiskers wet hope your cat is ok i get real up set when my animals are sick coz you cant ask them whats wrong and you dont know if your makeing things worse
6. I've seen lots of cats do this. I had one cat that drank FROM his paw. He dipped and licked and would never put his face in the bowl.
7. Maybe she's testing the temperature......Could be she wants to take a BATH!!!!
8. She's checking the water surface. My cat doesn't like to get his face wet, so he tips the bowl, water spills onto the floor, and he licks it up.
9. Hi, Your cat is checking the level of the water, my cat Charlie does this everytime he drinks.
10. my cat used to do that, not sure.... but it shouldn't be anything serious.
11. she probly likes the waves and she doesn't have to bend down so low
12. OMG! Finally, ppl who have that same problem, well, not a problem. it may make a mess, but put a towel under the bowl now, the reason this cat does this is to make sure its safe. They make sure its the right temperature, They also make sure the surface. I dont know if you remeber, but cats dont like getting wet.. My cat does this we went to the vet and thats wat he said so, just put towels under it :)
13. My sister had a cat that did this. It was because my little brother played a stupid trick on the cat by putting Tabasco sauce in the water bowl one time. After that, the cat ALWAYS did that thing with her paw to check for temperature.
14. First of all the cat shouldn't be outside at all, let alone outside drinking water from a dirty puddle. I've had cats all my life and every one of them has always put their foot in the water before they drink...in fact it's very common for cats to do this. I asked my Vet about it and he told me that cats sometimes have trouble with depth perseption...so they can't really tell by looking at the water bowl if it has water in it or not or how deep the water is...so they put their foot in in to test it.
15. Some of my cats do this too. Apparently it's because they're checking the temperature and to see how far down it is. Very odd. Personally, I think they're doing it to stir it up so that they don't drink the dust that may have settled on the top. Mind you, one of my cats will ONLY drink out of the toilet bowl or the running bath tap.
16. My Main Coon cat does this too. Our breeder told us it was a natural born instinct from when they would have had to break the ice to get the water. She suggested we brought him a water fountain - it should stop the mess. We did and he drove us mad scratching the dome. It worked for the breeder though. :
17. My Bengal kitty does this too,he also lifts his water bowl up and tips the water out,he likes to watch the movement of water.He always sits on the side of the bath and puts his paw into the water,it's obviously something that some cats find interesting.
18. im not sure but when you find out feel free to email me. i have 2 maine coon cats and was wondering the same thing
19. Maine coons just LOVE water. This is very common behavior for them. A lot of times they'll do this then dip their paw in the water & drink it. My coon cat sits in the sink for hours and watches the water drip! They're very entertaining kitties!
20. My british shorthair cats do that from time to time, think they are just checking that there is water in the bowl! Funny arent they!
21. we have a boy maine coon who actually scoops water into his mouth with his paw, instead of just licking it up. he loves sitting around the water bowl and is pretty obsessed with water (unlike all our other cats that aren't maine coons). maybe its just a maine coon thing.