please help my cat is slapping the water in the dispenser

[floridachickhatcher]

im having to refill it all the time it seems he only does it and when he was a little kitten he would slap at the food i guess to make his litter-mates back off and let him eat first and its just him and his brother now his sisters had to be put to sleep due to mated eye and dying from a cold they were abandoned on the side of the road and walked across the street into our yard its a miracle they survived that cause we have idiots speeding up and down the dirt road like a bat outta hell they are such morons and i really think he is slapping at himself in the water so tonight i grabbed my spray bottle and when i caught him doing it i started spraying him ^_^ cause i want him to stop i dont need mold growing on my carpet

 

[dainerra]

He's probably playing. I've had dogs (and cats) who dump their bowls so that they can chase the dry food around the floor. Others like to play in the water.
Try putting a mat with water-proof backing below the bowl. I wouldn't want to take the chance that he will associate the spray with going TO the water bowl. Then he will have no where to drink.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
Good advice, also is he really carrying off enough water to wet the carpet (a fluffy footed breed might), my cats will go this to drinking glasses

but whatever they walk on next (couch, mat, floor) only has one paw print or two and drys within 10 min. I have two long hairs and a short hair so the longhairs do make a biger mess (usually in the glass first).

 

[dewey]

How old is your kitten? Sounds like he might love a drinking fountain with running water (one can be homemade for about 1/3 the cost of commercial ones). Those are not easy to tip over and only a small amount of water is ever in the bowl, so there's not much that could be splashed out even if they slap at the stream. My cats would slap food & water and even stir water in bowls....they liked playing in water & drinking from moving water. Agreeing it's just part of normal behavior for lot of cats.

The mat under his bowl idea is a good one, also, the little plastic lipped trays work good to contain any spilled water. (Here's my big boy cat as a kitten when he was still very much recovering from illnesses after being rescued several months before that.)

 

[HappyPlace]

My girl cat does this A LOT. She just likes to play in the water. Whenever I take a bath, she even bangs on the door until she's allowed in so she can play on the edge of the tub. Even with falling in a few times, she still does it.

As to her drinking water, she likes to dip her paws in and drink that way. Can't figure that out, but I've noticed that when she's bored, she likes to actually push her dish around and watch the water go everywhere. Since I know she's bored, I usually distract her with petting or play. Neither of my boy cats play with their water...

I would definitely follow the suggestions of not using the spray bottle and using the tray underneath.

 

[stone_family3]

My parents have two cats that do this, one is playing and the other is checking to make sure there is water in the bowl. They moved the food and water into the bathroom away from carpet. They also put a kitty litter mat down to catch extra water.

 

[dewey]

Quote:
Hahaha, yep. My son's cat would get IN the shower with him every day...that cat loved water. All my cats have been tub sitters. As soon as they'd hear the water start they'd stampede the door. If they caught us collecting shower items they'd be waiting tubside by the time we got into that room, lol.