Why do cats hate water

Many inquisitive pet owners are generally faced with this question, most frequently when they observe their pet cats shying away from the bath tub. However, there if a great possibly of the question being based on false premises, and it might as well be true that cats are actually not inherently afraid of water at all.

All pets, like the human babies, can be controlled so that specific reactions and behavioural patterns develop in them. And the supposed fear among cats of water could well be a result of the owner’s own actions, rather than any characteristic feature of the pet itself. It might even come as an eye opener to many that many cats who live in especially hot and arid territories are simply in love with water, rather than being averse of it. As a matter of fact, the fishing cats, a species from Asia, is actually suited to swimming and diving in water in order to be able to catch fishes and frogs, which make its diet. The assumption that cats are afraid of water is actually lambasted through such examples.

However, there is no denying the fact that the usually tamed cats exhibit an undeniable hatred towards water. There have been many suggestions aimed at explaining such behaviour. Animal research specialists claim that cats develop a dislike to water as they are generally squirted with a spray of water between the eyes as punishment for naughtiness. This results in the development of a regard for water as a means of pain infliction, the result being that cats simply fear water. Moreover, cats that are used to living on their own in the open do not have frequent encounters with water, which results in a strange sort of behaviour when they are made to face the bubbly bath tub.

The above suggestions seem logical enough, considering the fact that many pet cats that have been domesticated right from birth do not show any inhibitions while splashing through the bath tub. Ultimately, it all boils down to as to whether the cat is used to water from a young age or not.