Is your cat a quirky water drinker like mine?

Before Phoebe came along, my cats drank water from basic bowls. We gave them fresh water every day, but the bowls were nothing fancy. Nine years ago, Miss Phoebe joined the family and we soon found that the ease of simple bowls was a thing of the past. You see, as Phoebe got older, she developed certain quirks around self-hydration. We found we had to fill the water bowl more often because she continually pushed the bowl against the wall until water splashed onto the floor.

We decided we needed a heavier water dispenser. We found a basic, inexpensive one with a tank to hold the water. We figured the weight of the dispenser would prevent her from moving it. Not so much. She head-butted the thing and water still splashed all over the floor. Oh, and she also decided she liked it better as a perch.

I was excited when offered the opportunity to review the Drinkwell 360 fountain for my blog. It was huge — certainly Phoebe wouldn’t be able to head-butt the thing. It arrived, I put it together, and the beast was immovable! Oh, happy day!

She was still, however, obsessed with the water. She liked to hold her paw under the stream and curiously cock her head, kind of confused by the whole situation. She did eventually enjoy drinking from it, but mostly by way of her paw. She’d let the water wash over her little mitten, and then lick the moisture.

That was several years ago, but I happened upon an old video I took right after we presented the cats with the new water fountain. It’s a little dark, but it clearly demonstrates the aforementioned paw-under-the-water quirks. Oh, and I love how towards the end Cosmo showed up, looked utterly confused, and then walked away.

A few years passed and the well-used Drinkwell 360 finally died. It had been a great fountain, but it was time for something new. Thankfully, another fountain review opportunity came knocking on my email inbox. This time it was for the ceramic Drinkwell Pagoda fountain. It was beautiful and seemed heavy enough to dissuade Phoebe’s antics. Of course she was all up in its business as I was assembling it.

As you can see from the photo, there are several pieces to the fountain. The pump fits inside the tower-looking piece, and then the tower-looking piece sits on top of the tall column sticking up from the main bowl. I assembled the pristine Pagoda, filled it with fresh water, and placed it in the water-fountain spot. Phoebe immediately began her examination.

She ran her paw under the stream of water, and licked some of the droplets, giving it her seal of approval. The immovable Pagoda was a success! Sometime later, we heard a clanking noise coming from the corner of the dining area. Then the peaceful, bubbling sound of the fountain stopped. Uh-oh. You see, although Phoebe’s unable to move the entire fountain, she can push the tower piece with her paw, disconnecting the flow of water. Yep, she’d found a way to interrupt the usage of a perfectly good (and pretty) water fountain. She doesn’t do it very often, but it’s clearly a hobby.

It’s time to get a new one. I think we need to go back to the behemoth 360 fountain, but this time in stainless steel. Maybe I should seek another one to review — if it can withstand Phoebe, it can withstand anything.

Is your cat a quirky water-drinker? Tell us about it in the comments!

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About the Author: Angie Bailey is an eternal optimist with an adoration of all things silly. Loves pre-adolescent boy humor, puns, making up parody songs, thinking about cats doing people things and The Smiths. Writes Catladyland, a cat humor blog, Texts from Mittens (birthed right here on Catster) and authored whiskerslist: the kitty classifieds, a silly book about cats wheeling and dealing online. Partner in a production company and writes and acts in comedy web series that features sketches and mockumentaries. Mother to two humans and three cats, all of which want her to make them food.