I'm new to this forum, and am wondering if anyone else has had a Maine Coon who's tried to train them to turn on the taps so he/she can have a drink? My Bugsy...a longhaired, bigboned Tuxedo boy around 7 months old who picked me out when he was up for adoption at the pet supply store...is obsessed with the sink. Any sink. He even wakes me up, knowing it will prompt a trip to the bathroom, where like all well-trained a humans, I'll wash my hands when I'm finsihed using my porcelain litter box. To discourage him, I've started leaving a wet washrag out so I won't have to turn on the water. Bugsy's one goofy critter...he'll stick his entire head under the tap, and try to catch the stream as it pours off his ear. Water beads up as soon as it hits his coat. He's waterproof. And of course that means avoidance training with water's a washout. He routinely gets behind the liner while I'm in the shower and drinks the water. He's even gotten into the tub and zoomed around under the water. Talk about entertainment value! So has anyone else experienced this behavior? My female Maine Coon wants no part of water.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

Answers

My 11-month-old Maine Coon kitten, Buster, never drinks out of his water bowl, even though I fill it with fresh water daily. He hangs out at the kitchen sink, licks at the tap until I turn it on, plays with ice cubes(this is messy but I put one on the floor and he scoots it around), claws at the bathtub tap for me to turn it on, plays with a running shower nozzle and pats around in buckets of water. He doesn't mind baths at all. I think I will teach him to swim.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Hi Molly-

My five month old Maine Coon Bailey does the same thing. He loves to drink out of the bathroom sink. He still loves his water dish, allbeit water in general. He wants to be in the bathroom whenever any of the humans are in there. He loves playing in the bathtub after showers and also sitting on the back end of the shower when we are showering. I just let him play because it's all harmless fun with him. Good luck with Bugsy!

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

Molly, I've only had my new Maine Coon kitten for a month and at 12 weeks of age he is displaying a lot of these same behaviors. Mr. Worf rushes to get into the bathroom sink every time I turn it on, and he loves to tramp around in my husband's shower stall while it's still wet in the morning. He's still horrified by the sound my bathtub shower makes when I turn it on, but he'll probably overcome this in time and stop running away. He "helps" me load and unload the dishwasher by climbing onto the rack and trying to reach the puddled water in the bottom of the machine. Shooting him with a water pistol as a deterrent worked okay for a few days but now you have to get him right in the face or it does not phase him. He has not had another bath since the one he got from the breeder the day I picked him up, but I hope he will tolerate it without too much fuss. I splash a little water on him when he's in the sink to try to get him ready for the inevitable bath. Sounds like we're in for a lot of fun!

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

My Elmer ( now 2) spent so much time on the bathroom sink he got the drain clogged with hair. I bought him a water fountain for Christmas. It recirculates the water and splashes it gently back into the bowl. He loves it! Found it advertised in the back of a magazine, but they probably sell them in pet stores, too. This way he doesn't get his head wet trying to lap the water from the running faucet

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

My Maine Coon cat, Newman hardly ever drinks our of his water bowl, even with fresh water given to him every day. He loves to drink out of the faucet in our bathtub (it doesn't turn all the way off). He also loves to drink water out of the bath tub while I am bathing (before any soap is in the water, of course). He is a very funny cat!

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2001

Rhubarb is always in the sink. I have resorted to filling a "dixie cup" for her and putting it in the bottom of the sink. She can't handle it if it is on the counter - she ALWAYS knocks it over. I tried buying her one of those fountains that recirculates the water, but she still loves her sink. I think she likes playing with the water as much as she likes drinking it.

-- Anonymous, March 02, 2001

Hi Molly,

My six month old MC "princess" is another water baby. She loves to get into the tub after my husband or I take a shower, help me unload the dishwasher ( so she can play inside in the residual water)and play in the sink every time we turn on the water. We give her a bath once a month. After her initial retreat, she has a ball and afterward she feels like silk and smells wonderful, and she prances around like her name implies!

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2001

My year old Maine Coon male cat "Lightning" is a smart critter. He only drinks from the water faucet. He even turns on the water faucet for a drink. The trouble is that he doesn't turn off the faucet. My problem is how to prevent him from doing this. Otherwise, he is a pretty good cat, very good natured. Anyone know how to stop a cat?

-- Anonymous, March 14, 2001

My Maine Coon mix loved to drink from any source of running water, like faucets, etc. No matter what I tried, couldn't get her to drink out of her bowl, though. Fortunately, found a Web site that sells the type of cat water fountain that someone else mentioned on this board, and it solved the problem. It appears that many cats just prefer fresh, running water - and with this type of fountain, that's what they get. The URL to their Web site is below, where you can read more info about it.

http://www.vetventures.com/

Diane

-- Anonymous, March 15, 2001