Hector and Cat Water Games
Who put it in Hector ’ s furry head that he HAD to have running water ? He got on the bathroom counter in September and tentatively put a paw into the water for brushing teeth . Now , he was always playing in the water left after a shower , rubbing his head along the side of the stall , but in the sink , the water was still running . The next morning , he did it again , waiting for the faucet to be turned on . It became a daily ritual . Within a month , he was sleeping in the bathroom basin , so that he was there for the first water drips of the day . As far as he was concerned , I didn ’ t run that faucet enough , or long enough . He was vocal about that . I would let it run a bit longer , then let it run while I got dressed . Sometimes , he would have had enough and leave the faucet , but more often , he stayed there as long as the water was on , and yowled when I finally turned it off .
We have always played water games at my house , mostly involving a red ceramic bowl that held about two quarts of water . If it got too low , either Hector or Jasper would tug on the rim of the bowl , spilling the water onto the floor . It was a mess to clean up , and it wasn ’ t long before a silicone tray was under that bowl to catch all the water that cats spilled and drank from the floor or the mat . But as fall went on , it seemed that the cats were tipping the bowl when it was nearly full .
Too much water , and too much wasted water . Water in the mat , water running into the drain . It was time for a piece of equipment that , not too long ago , I would have said was silly for cats . I bought a circulating water fountain . These come in different sizes and in plastic and metal . For my large cats , prone to knocking over the water bowl , I chose a stainless steel fountain , with a container that held over a gallon of water . Hector is a very furry cat , so I selected a design with two filters for his fur and a carbon filter for the water . The motor was strong enough to move a good stream of water out , into the pool that drains just fast enough to keep water to drink in a pool on top of the container without overflowing .
It arrived in January , and it only took a few minutes to set up and get running . I was pleased . Hector was a little less pleased . Being a cat , he hates anything to be different in his world , and this was a change to his water . He was interested in the stream of water but did not connect that with a place to get a drink . It took about a week for him to adjust and like the new fountain , and when he discovered that he could put his head on the spout and spray water around , he was sold on the new gadget . He has learned to put his paw on the spout and get his buddy Jasper wet and annoyed . He has learned how to get his entire head wet . But he has also learned how to always get a drink of running water .
He still joins me for tooth brushing but doesn ’ t yowl for more . Jasper and Mrs . Brown use the fountain , though both drink from the pool and don ’ t mess with the spout . That joy belongs to Hector , alone . And Hector has returned to sleeping on the bottom of the bed , knowing that his water stream is now always there .
- by Linda Roller , Bookseller , writer , and owner of Liberty Book Shop in beautiful downtown Avis , PA .
LIBERTY BOOK SHOP Linda Roller
Hours : Thursday & Friday 10-6 , Saturday 10-3 , or by appt .
“ Where yesterday ’ s books are today ’ s treasures .”
LibertyBookShop @ comcast . net www . thelibertybookshop . com
570-753-5201
Pawsitively Pets -- March 5