Video which debunks the notion that all domestic cats hate water

I know that I have said this more than once but this video is outstanding in the way that it debunks the notion that all domestic cats hate water. There is still a belief by some (promoted by internet articles) that domestic cats hate water. But this is an individual cat characteristic. They don’t necessarily hate water and some like it. It is a reminder that domestic cats have their own characters. The video shows a Siamese cat sitting in a tub of warm water, drinking and luxuriating in it. He or she is completely at home and clearly enjoying the experience. It’s unusual I agree but it isn’t that unusual to see domestic cats in baths up to their necks in water.

Cat in submarine. A bit of fun. Image: Burn the Internet.

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I know where the idea comes from that cats hate water. When it’s raining outside they might scamper out and then quickly come back in again. They hate being bathed normally. But you can’t generalise. Lots of cats simply go out in wet, cold weather (if they are allowed outside) with a complete disregard for getting wet. My cat is almost one of those.

Laziest cat I've ever seen!? pic.twitter.com/txWf6GgPyQ
— Cats With Unexpected Auras ? (@CatsWithSkill) January 11, 2021

At sometime in the future this video will stop working. If it has happened I apologise but I have no control over this.

Ironically, there’s a cat breed that people think likes water and this is the Turkish Van. This is a misconception as well. Turkish Van cats are just like any other domestic cat both purebred and random when it comes to liking or disliking water. The misconception comes from the fact that the original Turkish Van cats, when they are imported into England as kittens, were allowed to swim in a river on their journey in a car. These cats were taken from the Lake Van area of Turkey. There is a picture of them doing it – see below. But it doesn’t mean that all subsequent cats of this breed love to swim. And we don’t have the full story as to why these cats ended up in the water.

Turkish Van kittens swimming on their journey to England — Turkish Van kittens swimming. Picture: The lady, Laura Lushington, who imported the kittens from Lake Van to England in the 1950s.

Perhaps it is fair to say that, in general, domestic cats tend to shy away from water because, as you no doubt realise, the original domestic cats, the first ones on the planet, were domesticated wild cats and they lived and still live in very dry conditions. They’re used to an arid landscape and this genetic predisposition has been carried forward into the modern age some 10,000 years later.

SOME PAGES ON THE TURKISH VAN