Many cat parents have returned home to discover their feline companion’s favourite toy heaped on top of the food bowl or drowned in the water bowl. Scientists and cat behaviourists are just as perplexed as the rest of us as to why cats put their toys in their food or water bowls, despite the fact that it’s a rather frequent behaviour.
Your cat’s feeding or water bowl is unquestionably a special spot for her. If she likes food as much as we do, she will link the food bowl with positive emotions.
Furthermore, the meal bowl is a special spot for her. It is, in her opinion, the epicentre of her domain.
As a result, when she relocates her favourite toys to the centre of her domain, she is just keeping her most treasured belongings in a location where they can be easily tracked.
The food and water bowls in your home are the closest thing kitty has to a safe haven in their territory.
However, if you’re discovering toys in the water dish, it might simply be the consequence of a lively game of fetch. Cats enjoy fresh, flowing water not just for drinking but also for play.
Some cats will sit and look at a fountain or running water, while others may dip their paws in to see the ripples. So it’s possible that when it comes to ‘drowning’ toys, cats are combining two of their favorite things.
If you want to learn more about your furry friend’s weird and quirky habits, keep reading!
Give Your Cat the Perfect Day
Get the Free Ebook!
Why Do My Cats Put Their Toys In The Water Bowl?
Your cat puts her toys in the water bowl due to the following reasons:
1. Safekeeping
Researchers believe that a cat’s territorial instinct is the most credible hypothesis. They think that cats view their food and water dishes to be private and secure spaces.
They keep a valued object, in this case, a beloved toy, secure by depositing it in one of their bowls or the other.
Leopards, wildcats and other species of domesticated cats, have been observed to store their food in a protected area known as a cache. Because indoor cats lack caches, their food and water bowls make excellent replacements for hiding their own ‘bounty’.
2. Hunting
Two hypotheses exist, both of which assume that your cat links her toys with food or prey. When a toy is placed into her water dish, it suggests that she is comparing it with hunting and is attempting to drown her prey before consuming it.
The second idea proposes that she’s attempting to teach you to hunt, similar to how a mother cat teaches her kittens by bringing back the prey she’s captured. She has left the toy for you to locate because you’re a frequent visitor to her water dish.
3. Playing
Many wild cats are at ease in and near water, and will frequently play in it. Similarly, some domesticated cats may toss their toys into their water bowls and fish them out as a kind of entertainment.
4. Happiness
Your cat’s feeding bowl is a joyful spot for her, a source of all things wonderful. She certainly links her food dish with those joyful sensations since she enjoys eating. Theoretically, she’s simply bringing items she likes, such as one or more toys to a place she enjoys, which is her food bowl.
Should I Stop My Cat From Putting Things In Her Bowl?
Dropping items in the water dish shouldn’t be an issue in most situations, and it’s simply another charming thing our cats do. There’s also the fact that it’d be very hard to prevent your cat from getting his or her dose of dunking objects.
After all, you must provide water to your cat. It would never be worthwhile to restrict water to prevent your cat from having fun in the water dish. If they can’t use their own water bowl, they may have to find a different alternative to it.
However, if your cat is a frequent scavenger of home goods and toys, there are two things to consider:
1. See If The Items Are Water Resistant
Make sure whatever your cat chooses to throw in the water is safe once it’s there. While there are some objects that you wouldn’t want your cat to meddle with, you should make sure that whatever your cat is dropping into the water won’t break down and poison your cat.
2. Make Sure Your Cat Isn’t Eating It
Cats will occasionally decide to not only collect items from about the house, but also to consume them. Pica is a disorder that may be quite hazardous for cats.
Most common home products aren’t designed to be eaten by anyone, let alone your cat. These objects will become lodged in your cat’s GI system and will very certainly require surgical removal.
How To Stop Cat From Putting Toys In Water?
While some cat owners may not mind their cat throwing toys or other things into the water, other cat owners may find this annoying or troublesome.
In order to stop your cat from putting toys in water, follow these steps:
1. Provide Extra Toys
Start providing more enrichment in the form of extra toys and enhanced interactive playing to prevent your cat from placing things and toys in the water.
2. Limit Her Access To The Bowl
You may also try leaving the food and water dishes out for a specific amount of time each day and then picking them up in between feedings. If you do this, make sure your cat doesn’t become dehydrated and drinks enough water.
3. Ignore Her
Another effective technique is to cease rewarding your cat with your attention after they have placed more toys or other things in the water bowl.
You can wait until your cat is preoccupied, asleep, or in another room before cleaning up the mess. This will convey the message to your cat that this activity no longer interests you.
4. Change Water Frequently
When a cat refuses to drink the water and instead plays with it or dumps toys in it, water hygiene might become a problem.
This may contaminate the water, making your cat even less likely to drink.
To determine whether this addresses the problem, try more frequent water changes. Add some ice cubes for colder water, or switch to a moving cat water fountain.
Why Does My Cat Put Toys In Food Bowl?
After playing with their toys, cats typically put them away in a “safe” spot. Cats see their feeding area as a secure portion of their territory.
This behaviour is comparable to that of wild cats, who frequently return to their nest location to hide their meal from prospective predators.
Why Do Cats Put Food In Their Water Bowl?
There are a number of reasons for your cat putting their food in the water bowl:
1. Keeping Their Prize Safe
To understand why your pet cat thinks their water bowl is the ideal spot to hide valuables, it’s important to go back to your cat’s wild beginnings.
Caches are special places where wild cats keep food they wish to conserve for later. Your cat is fed on a regular basis and does not need to hoard food for later. However, the impulse persists.
Your pet cat may also wish to save other cherished belongings, such as toys or stuff that smell like you. Researchers think that the same impulse is at work here, whether the item in question is a toy mouse or your hairband.
2. Presents For You
Similarly, it’s conceivable that your cat is putting treats in their water bowl for you since they know you come to replenish it every day.
Your cat may “drown” its toy mouse in the water dish and leave it for you as a symbol of devotion, just as some indoor-outdoor cats may locate and kill small prey and leave it for you on the front porch as a “present.”
While you may not be as excited to receive this present as your cat is to give it to you, it is nevertheless essential to recognise that this unusual giving may be your cat’s love language.
3. Live Prey Hunting
Another fascinating possibility is that your cat is attempting to teach you how to fish correctly by putting drowned food in the water bowl.
4. Playing With Water
Many cats appear to have an interest with water. However, it appears to be more about playing with it than drinking it.
It’s possible that your cat enjoys throwing objects into the water and then fishing them out again. This is especially true if you have supplied a drinking fountain with constantly flowing water.
5. Scents
Strong odors, such as the scent of prey or a cat’s own pheromones, can be effectively disguised with water. This is why your feline keeps drowning her toy in the bowl.
6. Trying To Get Your Attention
There’s another reason why your cat could be placing toys or other things in the water that is less instinctive. This is a conduct that consistently draws your notice.
Your cat realises that if she drags your favorite objects to the bowl and drops them in, you have to go back and pull them out.
Cats may be rather inventive when it comes to attracting your attention, and if the trick succeeds, they’ll keep doing it!
7. Boredom
Cats are intelligent and energetic creatures that may easily become bored.
If a cat is bored, it is possible that they may create their own amusement, which might have unintended and even destructive effects.
While placing toys in water isn’t the most dangerous thing your bored cat might do, it’s still essential to investigate what could be a request for more enrichment and exercise.
Your cat may require new toys on a more regular basis, as well as more playing time with you, so they don’t have to occupy themselves by throwing everything you offer them into the water.
8. Health Issue
While the majority of ideas regarding why cats put toys in water do not indicate to a health problem, it is vital not to rule it out.
Cats with developing health issues such as thyroid imbalance, renal difficulties, etc, may develop an unusual affinity with water.
Excessive drinking, sloppy drinking, splashing water about, a change in appetite are all symptoms that your cat may be suffering from a health problem.
Regular examinations with your feline veterinarian are essential. This is necessary for establishing a baseline of health to compare to later and to discuss any changes in behaviour that may be cause for worry.
Observing your cat drink might help you determine whether the dish is the issue. If that’s the case, try switching to a fresh bowl to see if the water behaviour improves on its own.
Why Do Cats Put My Hair Ties In Water Bowl?
Cats are drawn to stringy, bouncing things that they can chew. Rubber bands and hair ties may appear innocuous when played with, but if eaten, they can cause damage to your cat’s digestive tract and may require surgical removal.
As a result, it’s critical to keep a careful eye on your cat or provide other toys. Your cat may keep putting your hair ties in her bowl for the following reasons:
1. Instincts
What many people don’t realise about cats is that while they play, they engage in predatory behaviour, which is necessary for their survival. Cats in the wild feed on tiny creatures like rats and birds that they can bring home or eat on the spot due to their size.
That’s why most cat toys are made to look like the same sort of prey that our feline companions prefer. These toys are tiny, easy to toss about. Also, if they’re interactive, they generally resemble mice or have feathers.
Rubber bands may not appear to be prey, but their small size, chewy texture, and jumpiness make them very appealing to cats. Rubber bands and hair ties are clearly amusing, and removing them from your cat’s possession may make the hunting game much more thrilling.
2. Hoarding
Some cats may consider hair ties and rubber bands to be prized possessions.
So, although you might see a hair tie or a rubber band, our cats see an opportunity to catch prey and possibly keep it for later. This food storage or caching tendency can explain a variety of odd feline behaviours, including this.
3. Material
Rubber bands’ chemicals may also be a factor in your cat’s fascination with them. Cats have a strong sense of smell, which means they might be sensing things in rubber bands or hair ties that we can’t smell.
Other compounds in some plastics have unique scents that cats are attracted to. It’s conceivable that cats sense a pheromone-like odor.
This might explain a lot of feline behaviour when it comes to synthetic materials like rubber and plastic including why cats love to play with hair ties and rubber bands.
Along with the intriguing fragrance, your cat may love the texture as they chew on it, as well as the sound it produces when they chase it. A hair tie with your smell on it may also draw your kitten, either because they want to retrieve it or because it reminds them of home.
4. Stress
Playing is in a cat’s nature, but different circumstances might cause your cat to engage in excessive activities such as hunting and chewing on various things. If you see your cat chewing on rubber bands and other similar things excessively, it’s an indication that she is anxious. This is their way of self-soothing.
The owner should look for environmental or societal factors that might be contributing to the fear and behavior. If a source of stress or conflict can be identified, a particular solution to address the issue may be necessary.
If you’re not sure what the best option is for your cat to feel secure again, talk to your veterinarian They can help you figure out what’s causing your cat’s anxiety and what the best remedy is for her.
Why Does My Cat Put Clothes In Her Water Bowl?
Putting clothes in a water bowl is a natural inclination felines, albeit it’s not as powerful in some cats as it is in others.
It’s just that she likes her toys and wants to keep them secure. Many cats consider their bowls to be their domain and a secure location to store their prized possessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is My Cat Chewing Rubber Bands?
If your cat is bored, she may turn to chewing and eating rubber bands for fun.
Why Do Cats Drag My Clothes Around?
Your cat is dragging your clothes around in an attempt to impress you.
Where Should I Put My Cats Water Bowl?
Your cat’s water bowl, like their food, should be kept somewhere quiet.
Final Words
Some cats are seldom seen without a toy in their mouths, and when they can’t hold the toy and eat or drink at the same time, they just drop it into their food or water bowls.
You might be wondering how you can prevent your own cat from putting her toys in her food or drink bowl.
This odd behaviour may be innate in nature, despite how strange it appears to you. If this is the case, it may be impossible to prevent her from doing what she was born to do.
Even if you were successful in stopping her, any resourceful cat would immediately find a new safe haven for her favourite belongings, such as your bathtub or toilet bowl.
We request that you drop down your doubts and queries regarding your furry friend’s quirky habits in the comment section below. We will answer them soon!
