Reasons Why Cats Hate Water

First of all, it’s important to note that not all cats do hate water. However, if your cat tries to go out the cat door and ends up running right back inside, that’s a pretty good clue that he or she has no interest in getting wet. While there are no firm answers to this question, there are a lot of theories as to why some cats flinch from water as if it would light them on fire. As you may have guessed, the majority of the reasoning is based on survival and evolution.

What’s in the Water?

One reason that many felines avoid water is because of the smell of it. You may not notice any odors, but your cat has a very proficient sense of smell. Many chemicals have odors that will seem naturally unpleasant to cats or other animals that can smell the odor. In part, this is a survival mechanism that prevents animals from eating or drinking things that might harm them.

Balance and Weight

Cats rely heavily on their sense of balance. Their whiskers and tail are two main components that allow them to almost always land on their feet. Water can change these elements so that a cat isn’t able to be as nimble as usual.

Consider how you feel when you have wet clothes on or your hair is wet. For a cat who wants to be swift and climb different things, this can be upsetting. It not only impacts how their whiskers and tail feel, but the rest of their body as well. The unusual weight and lack of ability to balance as well as usual are just a couple of potential issues they might have with water.

Evolution

Cats have long been admired and even revered in some cultures. This means that people have changed the way that cats behave. Domesticated cats aren’t used to being out in the weather anymore, so they naturally shrink away from different elements of the weather, like rain. Of course, this is just one theory of how cats have evolved.

The other side of the coin is that cats are so good at taking care of themselves that they avoid anything that might impair their abilities. Being caught in a rainstorm when you live in the wild can cause not only slowed movements and a lack of agility, but also a loss of body heat. For a cat in the wild, this can mean dangerous health issues, so they just avoid it entirely.

Cats spend much of their time cleaning themselves. They don’t really need any assistance from humans in this area. The exception is when they have gotten into something that might be dangerous for them to ingest or might dry too quickly for them to clean it off of themselves.  So, no, your cat might not be overly anxious to run out the cat door even if it’s just sprinkling a bit outside. Not to worry, though, he or she has a lifetime of self-cleaning to help keep itself healthy.