We live in Atlanta, and if you have been paying attention to the news, you know we have no shortage of water lately. We were having a drought (for two or three years), but after rain on and off continually during the months of September, October and November, Noah himself might feel comfortable here. Given this plethora of water, I have had the opportunity to make a few observations about our fur-children’s like/dislike of the stuff.
Everyone knows cats don’t like water. It is a fact that is so established it has become the fodder for email jokes, cartoon calendars and doggie dreams for decades. Despite this established fact, cats sometimes do things that increase the possibly if them getting wet. Our cat is no exception. She hates water. I am assuming this based on her reaction when accidentally splashed with a thimble’s worth of the fluid. Since I value my skin, I have never tested this theory. That said she places herself in positions likely to increase the chances of getting wet. The most prolific of these is her love of the bathtub. She will frequently jump in immediately after one of us showers and start licking the tub from top to bottom. Sometimes she is in there for as much as 20 minutes, getting her paws, legs, head and sometimes even her belly wet.
Back in my "new cat mom" days she also took a liking to the toilet. She would jump up on the rim, stick her head in the bowl and try to drink the water. I realize cats have the balancing abilities of Cirque du Soleil acrobats, but I thought for sure she was going to go a$$ over tea kettle and plop right into the toilet once or twice. So I started keeping the lid down. (As a side note, this habit came in VERY handy when we got the dog - I can think of nothing worse than a gross toilet water kiss.)
Her other water usage is typical of most cats. She drinks water, enough, but not a lot; she does not take baths (however, her cousin has and I have to say that is a very bold move); and she stays away from open doors when it is raining. She would be pretty happy in Arizona.
The dog is another story. She was not a fan of water at first. Giving her a bath required giving the neighbors ear plugs and cookies (to apologize for the screams of torture). During the rain she would stand under the cover of a bush for her potty breaks. When her favorite toy rolled into a pond, she turned and looked at me expectantly. But all of that changed. She hurt her leg and as part of the recovery process, she did underwater treadmill therapy. For those of you not insane enough to put your dog through physical therapy, this is just what it sounds like. You ask (make/drag/trick/physically place) your dog to enter the tank, close the latch, fill it with water to the dog’s chest and turn on the treadmill. The dog did this for 20 minutes at a time once a week for a few months.
At first, she hated it. But week after week, she grew to like it. And now, she is a fish. OK, that is an exaggeration. She does not swim. When it rains, she walks outside as if nothing were different. She will throw her toys into the pond now so she has an excuse to wade in. We look for dog parks that have a creek or pond for her to cool down in. She took a page from the cat’s playbook and now jumps in the shower after we are done (sometimes before we even get out of the tub) and licks up all the water. We find trails and hiking paths that have water so we can let her jump in. On a hike the other week she spent more time running around in the FREEZING water than she did on the trail. And she loved it. She even fell and went under water. Didn't phase her one bit.
I am not suggesting you invest in an underwater treadmill to help conquer your dog's fear of water. But I will tell you this, on those stormy nights when everyone else is dragging their dogs outside and begging them to "please go potty," while the dogs turn and look back at them with these pathetic, tortured looks on their faces, I turn to my dog and smile as we happily trot out the door and quickly "do our business."
Everyone knows cats don’t like water. It is a fact that is so established it has become the fodder for email jokes, cartoon calendars and doggie dreams for decades. Despite this established fact, cats sometimes do things that increase the possibly if them getting wet. Our cat is no exception. She hates water. I am assuming this based on her reaction when accidentally splashed with a thimble’s worth of the fluid. Since I value my skin, I have never tested this theory. That said she places herself in positions likely to increase the chances of getting wet. The most prolific of these is her love of the bathtub. She will frequently jump in immediately after one of us showers and start licking the tub from top to bottom. Sometimes she is in there for as much as 20 minutes, getting her paws, legs, head and sometimes even her belly wet.
Back in my "new cat mom" days she also took a liking to the toilet. She would jump up on the rim, stick her head in the bowl and try to drink the water. I realize cats have the balancing abilities of Cirque du Soleil acrobats, but I thought for sure she was going to go a$$ over tea kettle and plop right into the toilet once or twice. So I started keeping the lid down. (As a side note, this habit came in VERY handy when we got the dog - I can think of nothing worse than a gross toilet water kiss.)
Her other water usage is typical of most cats. She drinks water, enough, but not a lot; she does not take baths (however, her cousin has and I have to say that is a very bold move); and she stays away from open doors when it is raining. She would be pretty happy in Arizona.
The dog is another story. She was not a fan of water at first. Giving her a bath required giving the neighbors ear plugs and cookies (to apologize for the screams of torture). During the rain she would stand under the cover of a bush for her potty breaks. When her favorite toy rolled into a pond, she turned and looked at me expectantly. But all of that changed. She hurt her leg and as part of the recovery process, she did underwater treadmill therapy. For those of you not insane enough to put your dog through physical therapy, this is just what it sounds like. You ask (make/drag/trick/physically place) your dog to enter the tank, close the latch, fill it with water to the dog’s chest and turn on the treadmill. The dog did this for 20 minutes at a time once a week for a few months.
At first, she hated it. But week after week, she grew to like it. And now, she is a fish. OK, that is an exaggeration. She does not swim. When it rains, she walks outside as if nothing were different. She will throw her toys into the pond now so she has an excuse to wade in. We look for dog parks that have a creek or pond for her to cool down in. She took a page from the cat’s playbook and now jumps in the shower after we are done (sometimes before we even get out of the tub) and licks up all the water. We find trails and hiking paths that have water so we can let her jump in. On a hike the other week she spent more time running around in the FREEZING water than she did on the trail. And she loved it. She even fell and went under water. Didn't phase her one bit.
Comments
Post a Comment