Monday, September 22, 2014

Caught Red-pawed


Each day, when I leave for work, and each night, before I go to bed, I place a small bowl in the basin of my bathroom, and fill it with water. This is so that Tungsten will be able to drink from her favourite spot, even if I am not there. She has almost never drunk from the other water-bowls scattered about the house. She almost never drinks from the bowl in the bathroom basin - when I am home. She always gets me to turn on the tap for her, sometimes waiting a long time for me to do it, often calling me to come in and turn it on for her.


But I leave the bowl because I know that, if thirsty, it is to the basin that she will go. I have come home more than once to find the level of the water in the little vessel reduced. Someone has been drinking from it; evaporation could not account for so much loss. Kola, who also resorts to the tap in the bathroom, is locked up in the parlour while I’m absent, to spare him Tucker’s depredations. The other cats drink from more conventionally placed receptacles. So Tungsten must be drinking from the bowl.

Until the other night, I did not have proof of this. Woken by a commotion between Cammie and Kola (who is free to roam at night, when most cats are sleeping), I saw Tungsten lapping up water from her little bowl. She continued to do so until after I made sure the troublemakers were separated. I suppose the orange one decided that having been caught in the act, she may as well drink her fill.


But be assured that having caught Tungsten this once will not mean that I will be relieved of my duty of turning on the tap when she wants a drink in the future. Just because I witnessed her drinking in this manner does not mean she will admit ever to having done it. Logic and reason have never made much progress when arguing with a cat.

Especially this one.

10 comments:

  1. This is a really great idea. Our Buddy used to come to visit with a wet-head and it took me a while to understand I did not turn the shower tap off all the way. I will leave him a dish and see if he likes it as I really like to keep water consumption up. (My Inky who is now an angel never ate much but love love loved his water and lived to 22)
    Kudos from Dad Pete and Timmy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tungsten's water intake is very important because she has border-line kidney problems. I am also giving her oral injections of 12 mL of water thrice a day (four times on my days off). Anything to keep them well.

      Delete
  2. Flynn will not drink from any of his conventional drinking bowls. Indoors it has to be the bath tap so we leave it slowly trickling for him. Outdoors I have to leave the watering can topped up in the greenhouse for him. He also likes to drink from the bird bath.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder what it is that makes some cats do certain things and others do other things. The personalities they have...

      Delete
  3. Oh Tungstan. You are so clever. Why help your self when you can get human to do it. From Jessica and Eileen

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well, that's an interesting way to drink! We rarely drink from the sink and are kinda boring in that we drink from our water bowls and fountain.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hehehehe! I know how you feel :) Even when I had an automatic waterer Ralphie still insisted that I run the tap in the bathroom for him even if he had just finished drinking downstairs. He does it every time we go upstairs as if he hasn't had a drop all day. No arguing or I will hear his Highness complain until I run the tap!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the look on her face in the second photo. She seems to be saying, 'just because you know I can, doesn't mean I will!". Funny cat.

    Hope Cammie and Kola get past the spats.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an excellent idea! Well done.
    You're a good cat dad.
    I'm going to give the little bowl idea a try.

    ReplyDelete