There are many videos of domestic cats drinking running water from faucets (‘taps’ in the UK) but there aren’t many videos of cats turning on the faucet to get the water running. Allan is one of those cats.
It’s a bit hard to see because of the angle, but here is Allan Armadale demonstrating his faucet skill. He is very proud of this accomplishment. #AcademicLifeWithCatsWhoLikeTurningOnTheFaucet pic.twitter.com/N2onPWgru7
— Miriam Burstein (@MiriamEBurstein) November 20, 2018
Miriam Burstein, Allan Armadale’s human guardian, thinks that turning on taps requires opposable thumbs. Humans have opposable thumbs. They are described thus because they can be moved to touch the fingers which provides the ability to grasp objects. It looks like she is wrong 🙂 .
We don’t see how Allan turns on the faucet but it looks like he is pushing the lever. The problem is that cats don’t have a regard for the value of water or that someone is paying for it so they don’t bother to turn off the faucet. This irritates Miriam 😉 .
I don’t mind because I like this little video. It reminds us how smart cats can be and determined. They learn by observation. I suspect that Allan watched Miriam and gradually picked up the idea of turning on the faucet. And he loves fresh, running water.
Miriam says that she places a plastic container over the taps to stop Allan. Ah, shame but I understand. Miriam is now worried about the kitchen faucets. Those are turned on by pulling them. Allan did it once accidentally so he is one step from doing it on purpose.
Miriam is about to get an increased water bill next month.
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I hope their sink isn’t clogged, and the plug is in the open position.
Otherwise, they’ll end up with half of their place flooded the way I had when my 88-year old father with Alzheimer’s forgot to close it …. Water can do a lot of damage.
One thing I did after that – might be useful for people whose cats are a little too smart – is put little water detectors on the floor around sinks. This way, if there is water on the floor, they’ll start beeping.
Miriam will eventually learn because cats are very persistent, effective teachers ?