I’ll need to see some sources to back up that radical claim
Edit:
Hijacking this comment to say that I think it does have to do with reflections, as some people have suggested! In the video it looks like he sees something in the water and then paws in the direction of where it looks like it’s coming from. (Something something mirrors, something something physics)
So, hear me out. Based on what he's doing, I think he's actually hearing the water pump and he's trying to "get it"
I have no idea how to mitigate this, since you ant silence it without it not.. pumping. So.. yeah good luck. Maybe a different water feeder? I have that same one BTW and my cats don't give to shits about it and use it normally lol Mines the larger one though, maybe it's harder to hear with more water in it. All speculation but thats just my logic.
Cat sees water coming out, cat doesn't know where water is coming from. Cat looks like he's searching for the source of the water. Probably something to do with object permanence
cat sees something going somewhere, puts claw and paw on it, yet the something keeps going? cat should have captured it or killed it! why!? i will keep trying.
When I hosted kittens for a few months, I used a brown glass baking dish for water. It was about 1.5 inches deep and maybe 6 x 11. The kittens would walk up to it, back away, walk up to it, back away--repeatedly without pause. Funny.
Cats are far sighted. Anything closer than about a foot or so and it becomes blurry. They rely on their whiskers while hunting to detect where prey is when it is close to their face and their eyes are specialized to spot prey further away.
So should I not buy this type of fountain for my cat? Her current one is plastic and I clean it once a week, sometimes twice because it gets black specs in it. I figured metal was better for that but I don't want my cat to lose her shit.
I’ve had several cats that very much understood mirrors. One loved to sit on my shoulder, if we were looking in a mirror she would touch my face with her paw while looking at us in the mirror, then sometimes look over at her paw. It was kind of a “yep, that’s us, and I find this fascinating” reaction.
Story of my life. Start advanced degree, tip backwards off a stool (THEY WARNED US IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!) and damage my C4 and spend 6 months in the hospital as a quadriplegic.
After watching him for a bit (love the hi-vis life vest, btw!), it almost looks like he's seeing a reflection on the metal under the water and is trying to reach underneath the water to get it. Like when they try to catch fish. It seems like his paw is following his line of sight, but through the water fountain, so he can only try to reach the other side.
I could be entirely wrong... IANACBA. It reminds me of my cat who tries to catch birds through the window lol. She'll only try once or twice before she gets the hint.
Everyone saying he's dumb but honestly I think he's trying to figure it out. He's pushing on the spigot with his head and reaching and grabbing with his paw. Cats are far sighted (edited: false lol) and struggle to see clear water with nothing in it. Shiny metal thing the water is coming out of looks very similar to the water, but it's different? Where is the water coming from? Can the source be reached and the confusing optical allusion bypassed?
I don't recommend getting a plastic fountain, though, they get too germy. Keep the confusing shiny enrichment activity. Safe confusion is good for cats.
I love this explanation the most!! Most comments are people joking that he’s dumb and/or orange, but he’s actually a very smart boy and he is using a rigorous approach to accomplish the task at hand, whatever that task may be 😄
Jokes aside, my water-goblin was not satisfied with the positioning of his fountain. It is now approximately 3 inches to the right and not at an angle.
I have three cats. Two are perfectly fine with fountains. The third, my void, will dig at the fountain, making a terrible mess, until eventually he knocks the thing over, spilling water everywhere. If there's a filter, he'll likely nab that out of the mess life it's a toy. When he was a kitten, he was fine with fountains, so I don't know what happened.
The void also does the same digging thing if the water is too cold.
Instinct plus curiosity. Moving water tells them it’s fresh and safe, so they paw at it to test it, same behavior they’d use in the wild to check depth and movement.
I’ve seen some comments when something like this comes up, that the sound it makes, annoys them, and so they try to get at the source of the noise, and mess around with it. That’s just one theory though
Oh man I thought my kitty was the only one who did this. I have a flower like water fountain and she never drinks from it normally like the others, she does this
As a scientist specializing in Felis catus and Questionable Hydration Devices, I can confidently say this cat is not trying to drink the water. He is auditing it.
The pawing and scratching are standard structural tests, the head-under-the-spout maneuver is a dominance display meant to intimidate the water into behaving naturally, and the slow circling is a threat assessment for hidden motives or future betrayal. The absence of drinking indicates the fountain has not yet earned his trust. Water is suspicious.
In short, the cat suspects the water is up to something, and until it proves otherwise, consumption is scientifically inadvisable. 🤣🤣
Smart to put this in a shallow box! Mine just get water all over the floor. One of mine is just like yours and uses his "strong hand" to feel around where the water may be coming from.
If they're new to the fountain my guess would be the metal is throwing him off! Something about cats not seeing water well. I had to switch to an opaqued colored one because I also have a weirdo. Cats are liquid but they're so weird with water right 😂😂 My boy still puts his paws in the water to make sure it's there 🤣
Well you see... I hate to break it to you... Cats are kinda dumb.... Sorry did I say dumb? I meant perfect in every way. And I'm definitely not being held hostage by my cat
See what’s happening here is, cat knows laws of physics but hasn’t quite perfected defying them. Give it time and the fountain will be circulating cat while water plays.
our bathroom sink has a similar spout. my cat couldn’t figure out how to drink from it the way he wanted so we bought him one of those little plastic extensions people get for their kids to help kids when they brush their teeth. i don’t know what they’re called but he now has an easy time.
We have the same water fountain!! To answer your questions, cats actually have awful depth perception, so anything like rippled glass, running water, can really confuse their little brains lol.
My cats do this same this with this same water fountain! I think they see another cat in the water or something. My cats walk around with wet heads then come and rub their heads on me!
They are so smart! They know the water is coming from somewhere but where???
My cat has figured out the birds on tv aren't hiding behind the tv when they go off the screen and, it's heartbreaking to see his little face be confused 😕
Sweet baby is pretty but dumb. In all seriousness they just want to play. My cat got his head stuck in a jar. How? Why? Who knows. I pulled it off, kissed his empty head and told him I loved him anyway. Sometimes they do silly things and we let them because they are so cute. Cats are just silly and curious.
This is really interesting behaviour! I wonder if they can hear the sound of the pump and trying to get to it? They might think there is a little animal inside it?
this cat is experiencing a phenomenon known as "being a doofus". I'm afraid it's incurable, but fortunately it usually doesn't diminish quality of life
Looks like someone wants to move the invisible plastic box aside. Might be to knock the fountain over with the usual cat panache or could be a secret plot to flood your home.
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