Why do cats seem to avoid water like the plague? What makes cats the most unlikely land mammal to be seen in water?
What we do know is that cats may simply dislike the inconvenience of water. After all, many great cat observers have noted that cats hate inconvenience.
But here are a couple of reasons that might inform why cats seem to avoid getting in the deep end.
This isn’t a reaction exclusive to cats. Humans sometimes are overcome with shock, too, especially if they feel they’re in distress.
For example, if they were involuntarily bathed as kittens, the idea of being submerged in water may not be your cat’s notion of a good time.
We might think that even ordinary tap water is perfectly odorless, but cats have the ability to really smell the chemicals and additives in food and water. That’s why they sometimes prefer not to get too involved with baths.
Most cat breeds do not possess coats that do well when they’re wet. Instead, it becomes cloggy and weighed down, meaning a cat cannot move as easily as it likes.
Have you ever tried swimming in a heavy, waterlogged coat? It’s not pleasant. For the same reason, a cat is not going to particularly enjoy being dragged to the bottom of a body of water while struggling to stay afloat.