Why do cats hate water?

My Cat hated being bathed,but had absolutely no problems whatsoever in going outside into the rain or snow...

I have had cats that like water and cats who don't. When I was a small child we had a long hair tortie who would go swimming in the creek with my brother, sister, and I. When I was older we had a cat(another longhair, only pure black) who loved water. She would play in mud puddles in the yard( I have pictures of her doing this) and she would lie in the water basin, curl up and go to sleep. I have had cats who wouldn't go near anything with water in it, also. I think cats are like people-some like to get wet and others of us don't.

kI wanted to read what others had to say about this, but my computer did not give me that option. I've never had a cat that liked water. The have always kept themselves clean, and didn't need to be bathed. At a cat show, I saw some "Turkish Fishing Cats". They looked pretty much like ordinary short hair house cats but maybe, were slightly larger. Supposedly, they like to swim and catch fish, but I didn't get a chance to see them in action.

I think it's the house cat's instinct not be in water or maybe because they're body can't stand cold temperatures. I've observed kittens got wet and they look so cold even if they're body is not entirely wet. They're vulnerable to cold I guess that's why they're staying away from water whenever possible. But I don't think it also applies to wild cats like tiger and lions. I don't think they're afraid of water. I saw videos of them hunt fishes on rivers. Hehe. shadow41

hi, rod, I think that's not every cats fear of water my aunt's cat take a bath once in two or three days and my aunt or my nephew did it.the cats never get afraid because it have been treated as well since the first time.it's like another habit for it, and even when my nephew in bathroom, his cat always follow into bathroom and seems like have no afraid of water.my aunt's cat is really clean and have smooth fur if your cat is afraid, you need to patient or doing another trick such as don't directly flush water to it but just wipe it with wet cloth

Yeah I wonder why cats hate water. There's only 1 of my cat that didn't afraid of water so much. I can even bath him. But I guess it's true if you do it since it was little kitten it will get use when it grown up. The rest of my cats are just hate of water and I hate it bcoz they're smell funky but want to get near you. Wow you have Russian Blue cat? How is that can u upload your cat's pic?

Nearly all cats hate water. You definetely don't ned to wash your cat. They are very good at bathing themsleves. The natural fear of water must be genetic. The water itself doesn't make them sick. It must have been the cold that made your cat sick, or maybe any chemicals you put in the water.

well, not ALL cats hate water. my husband's little brothers cat? he LOVES to take showers! when he hears the water running in the shower he hops right in!

We bathe our cats once in while, we just make sure it's with lukewarm water and on a sunny day because they tend to shiver afterwards. I don't know why cats are scared of water, but I guess it's okay to bathe them every once in a while.

Lol!!! Cats are very funny about water. I have 3 manx (tailless). The mama, son and daughter. I keep a spray bottle around. I marked it: Cat Repelant- Ingredent: Water. Its used for disipline. Most the time all i have to do is grab that bottle and they run and hide. Suddenly forgetting whatever bad thing they were attemping to do. I dont know why but Bubba (son) has a tendicy to get dingleberries. I often have the dunk his hinnie in the sink to wash them off. He acts as though he is getting drowned from the bottom end. I have to have the sink filled with water before i take him there or he will freak out at the sound of running water. I have i friend that is alergic to cats but she loves and has a cat. She bathes her cat. I do not know how she does that.

Not all cats hate water..lol our cat loved it. Especially in the yard when anyone would turn on a hose he would go running to it and try to drink it. He didn't care how wet he got, he kept trying. He thought nothing of walking in the rain too..he was a character.

I think most animals have this issue they hate water. Animals are not suppose to get washed they clean themselves by licking they fur.

I have both, some cats will allow you to wash em, but will not like it. However, it is good to start it when they are babies. If not they will not allow it when they are older.

I'm not sure about it. I know some cats don't hate water. But I think if the cats afraid of the water maybe they have some allergies or something else like disease. LOL. For instance, not all humans ate the same foods has no effects on them. Some are having allergies with the kind of foods they eat. So if the cats take a bathe then it means the effects shows no sign of symptons on their body that reacts to allergies or unusual behaviors. I hope my thoughts does make sense and relates to your research development. LOL

I think most house cats come from cats who were desert dwellers in the wild. Desert animals know that free running water is a great danger in the wild. We have had many cats and very few of them liked water. Most you could bath if you made sure the water wasn't cold. But they didn't like it.

It strips their fur of essential stuff, much like shampoo does for humans, I believe. Not all cats hate water, though - tigers love it, if I remember right, and some housecats aren't bothered by it. Washing cats is almost always a bad idea. They can manage it themselves and it's important to their fur and skin - the licking process stimulates the skin to exude essential stuff for the fur and cat spit contains enzymes that are important as well (I think that's right). Our cat hates water, too (she's half Persian and half European shorthair).

I'm not sure why, but I'd like to know myself. Maybe it's because most haousecats don't have the instinctual ability to swim, and so it feel dangerous to them. Maybe it just makes them feel cold or dirty? I don't know... but they sure freak out don't they?

Hi rod, I think there should no problem with cat and water.Its just like the relation of human and water.Like we can be ill in cold if get wet but sometimes it doesn't affect.So I think your cat was not in mood of having a bath at that time.LOL. So just try to observe their behavior towards water when you take to wash.