My "Maine Coon Type" cat Teddy Bear also "digs" while she drinks. She prefers to eat on a rug instead of out from the dish, also. Any ideas why. I understand Maine Coons like lots of water, but she prefers to drink Ice Water out of a cup than to ice water in her bowl.

-- Anonymous, October 13, 1998

Answers

Digging on the floor or touching the top of the water before drinking is common behavior. Some people think it's a hold-over from the wild, where cats (big and small) would paw mossy water to get to clear water, or agitate the surface by digging next to the water so they could see where the water began.

-- Anonymous, October 14, 1998

Not only does my coon,Lacey, paw at her water dish, she has now taken a liking to stirring up the toilet water! These cats are nuts.

-- Anonymous, October 15, 1998

My MC digs when he drinks, too! So glad he isn't nutty!

-- Anonymous, October 15, 1998

Joe, my 18 month old Maine Coon loves to empty the automatic water bowl. I thought he just like to see it gurgle, but I guess it has to do more with this digging to get to the bottom thing. He also loves ice. He is so stuborn when he naps, the only way we can find him is to tempt him with ice pouring out of a glass in the sink. He could be upstairs under the bed asleep and he will come running lickty split for the ice in the sink. His nick name is ice-ice baby joe. He bats it around, picks it up with his mouth, bats it some more until it melts. He also likes to hide or explore every nook and cranny of the house. You can't open a cabinet without him going inside. He is everywhere, and into everything, and on everything; refrigerator, computer, microwave, t.v. "everything". We love him so much.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 1998

J.Bolivar, our MC "Type" also "digs" when he drinks, but additionally, he "dips" his paw in the water and licks it off repeatedly, all the while "talking" with many varied vocalizations.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 1998

That is a Maine Coon!! Most of them will either "dig" when they drink, or pat the water's surface, dip paws in and lick, etc. Mine loves to get in tub after I take a shower!

-- Anonymous, November 03, 1998

My year old Maine Coon not only paws the water, but after drinking, she wants to dump the rest of the water out of the bowl! Now why would she do that?

-- Anonymous, December 02, 1998

So does mine, in addtion he feels the urge to jump in the shower with me, and dig in my cerel.

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1998

thank goodness I have found this page my Maine coon loves to drink out of my glass. He is all ways pawing the surface or digging at it he knocks over the water alot too. I put up with it because he is the best cat great with people and other cats all he acts like a dog .

-- Anonymous, January 31, 1999

Thank goodness for this Q and A forum. I thought that Brutus, my 11 month Maine Coon was mad. He likes to dig around his food and water bowls, will only drink his fat-free milk out of a glass, and likes to sit in the empty, but damp bathtub or kitchen sink. He is sleeping with his head on the edge of the computer keyboard as we speak. But i wouldn not be without him. He is my "handsome boy".

-- Anonymous, March 06, 1999

Mine loves to attack the water in the toilet, especially when I flush it for him.

He also attacks ice cubes in drinks. I cannot set a drink down without him getting into it.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 1999

My 10 year old Maine Coon has been scratching around her water and food bowls ever since I got her as a 5 month old kitten. It used to bother me at first since it looked just like the scratching she did in her litterbox. After a couple of years of trying to stop the behavior, and finally realizing it was not "litter-related", I gave up and let her scratch away. I decided it must be an instinct to cover up her food and water, or that maybe she was just weird. Good to know she has some relatives out there who do the same thing.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 1999

I have 2 maine coon cats and my mother has 2 maine coon cats, and they too will dig at their water dish and put their paws in the water, and splash around in puddles of water they spill. My maine coons also like to drink MY WATER in a glass more than their own fresh water in their dish, but they are far too adorable to get mad at. Otto my male cat also likes to jump in the bath tub after I have had a bath or shower. I now understand it's just part of the characteristic of their breed. Thank you everyone for letting me know that my big angels are just doing what comes naturally for them, and they are not weird how I first thought.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 1999

Whew, thank goodness Ranger's not a freak. He digs at his water, so much (while letting the whole world know he's doing it) that I had to get a very heavy ceramic bowl, which he still manages to move a few feet, while splashing water everywhere. Next bowl I'm gonna glue to the floor! And he also likes to get into the tub, my last house he figured out how to open the shower doors, now I've got a curtain he just pushes aside.

-- Anonymous, September 05, 1999