Cats prove that not everything on earth has a purpose

I think all animals like water as it is part of all living things diet.

I had a persian cat once and was told that the reason they are not frightened of going into water is because of their fur, its not double layered compared to feral cats we get in uk and therefore they don’t get water logged and drawn under the water.

I also seem to remember a myth about a persian cat being dipped into a river held by a gods hand (thus the pure persian being white with a deity’s thumbprint on the back of it’s neck – the scruff) which allowed it to be able to swim…true or not it’s the stuff of good legends

And I heard a similar thing about Tiger’s fur and thats why they swim too, mind you their Golf goes to c**p when they’re spotted in another Harem

There are cats and then there are ‘big cats’ so I’ll first comment on domestic cats which in general do dislike water but that is not to say that all domestic cats dislike or even hate water.

My guess is that they actually fear it rather than dislike it and after finding out that they can swim, some of them end up liking and enjoying a wash or a swim.

In contrast to domestic cats, a great number of big cats that come from hot areas where there’s water seem to love it, and the ones that enjoy it include tigers, lions, jaguars, ocelots and jacarundi.

There’s even one big cat called the fishing cat, that lives along rivers and in swamps from northern India to southeast Asia, and it catches catches fish by scooping them out of the water, and what’s more it even has partially webbed feet and dives for fish!

Please don’t splash water on your cat’s face as it can hurt their sensitive ears and potentially cause an infection as well.

That said, there are some domestic cat breeds like the Bengal and the Turkish Van that are famous for liking water, and they will play with it and sometimes even swim.

It’s quiet likely that these cats got used to water because of the areas where they evolved, since they may have been forced to swim in order to find food.

As I know cat hate much of water. I think there skin is not that thick that easily get cold when they drop into water. Thanks for this.

Lol, they really hate water I guess. I didn’t even saw them get wet aside from they got wet with the rain. Don’t know the reasons for this though.

Yes, if forced to. However, most cats severely dislike it, and they are not going to do it voluntarily. There is one breed, called the Turkish Van, that swims and even fishes on its own. However, as a rule cats will try to stay high and dry. It is probably not a good idea to test out whether your cat can swim unless you have some good reason to and you do it in a controlled setting.

oh, is that so ? I thought cats really hate water .. they always bathe their selves by licking their entire body. But thanks for sharing this post .. it’s good to know!!!

I thought cats are afraid of water…Maybe there are some cats loves water..Well anyway, thanks for the information.

@Samuel. I agree with you Sam. I really don’t think that cat likes water.

I agree that cats can swim. When I was a kid, I saw a man throwing the cat to the river and I witnessed that the cat is swimming back to the land. I was really amazed that time!

Even though the cats are afraid to water, they can really swim. Great article you have here!

@Kathleen, I tried throwing my cat to the swimming pool but sad to say, my cat is now dead. He can’t swim.

@Zoe: Your so fool Zoe. Why did you throw your cat to the pool? Just to prove that cat likes water. You know what? It’s actually depends on cat.

“Do Cats Really Hate Water And Can They Normally Swim?”

It depends on how you train your cat. Normally cats can’t swim… you need first to teach him/her how to swim. ^_^

@ Zoe: What? Why do you need to do that in your cat? Looked what happened? Now his dead. Next time to make a joke with your cat zoe if you got one. Majority of the cats don’t like water and that is the fact.

@Barry. Cat is domesticated animal and not aquatic animal! It is really awful if someone try to teach them to swim.

Great post! Thanks for sharing this site and also the video. So great information and very knowledgeable.

“Do Cats Really Hate Water And Can They Normally Swim?”

I think it depends on the cat because not every cat have the same attitude, habit, and etc. In some other places, cats do love water and in the other, cats hate water. They are the same to us human. They live in different way.

I strongly agree with you. Based on my experience, Cat’s Training is not as easy as you think. You have to be patient and knowledgeable. So better to ask someone who you can rely on.

@Regine Sweet. I agree with you. It can consider an abuse if somebody teach their cats to swim.

And if you do have one that you’d like to get rid of, well …

There’s always the push-flush technique