Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My cat keeps putting food in his water. Why and how to stop it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Aegean | Male | neutered | 7 years and 7 months old | 22 lbs

my cat scoops his food into his water, and i really want to know why. him and i had to move into a new house and he had not scooped his food into his water weeks before, and he had a history of doing so but simply moving the water away helped, now i don't know what to do, or why he does it. can someone tell me why he feels the need to do this, and what to do to stop it?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 5th, 2019

Maybe the water tastes funny to Buddy, and he's adding food to make it taste better. It could have a metallic tang to it. Try giving him water out of a ceramic bowl or water fountain to see if that helps.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Why does my cat keep knocking his water dish over?
There are several reasons cats like to "knock over water dishes" or play in their water bowls, including (1) it's fun - they enjoy splashing the water and making it move, seeing the reflective surface, (2) they prefer to drink from a moving water source (because moving water is more aerated and generally tastes better/fresher), (3) the bowl isn't to their liking - too big, too small, too deep, etc., so they splash water out and drink from the floor, (4) you give them fresh water whenever they knock the dish over so they have learned that this a successful method of getting your attention. Some things you can do include: (1) purchase a water fountain for cats (water moves continuosly); (2) get a heavy cermic bowl or a bowl with a wider base than top, (3) put a placement or plastic tray under the bowl, (4) offer more shiny, sparkly toys, like Mylar balls, to catch your cat's attention, (5) changed the water at least twice per day so your cat doesn't need to ask you for clean water.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
My cat began moving her water bowl to the middle of the room. Why would she keep doing this?
The close up vision of cats is much weaker than their long distance vision and so, when they are right at their water dish, they can’t see the water level. In order to check where the water starts – or if there is even any water in the dish – they will move it to cause the water to ripple and splash. Once they are satisfied they know where the water is, then they will commence their drinking. That is my best guess. If you are not happy with this change in behavior you could always get her a drinking fountain to drink from. Most cats prefer to drink from running water so this may help. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/cat/cat-feeding-supplies/cat-waterers-fountains-and-accessories/catit-flower-cat-water-fountain )
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Why does my cat drink from the toilet when I provide her with fresh drinking water every day?
This is just a personal preference. For some reason she may feel like it tastes better there. You can try switching her water bowl to a ceramic water bowl to see if it makes a difference. Also, changing to a water fountain will also sometimes help. She isn't the only cat that does this. A lot of cats also require to leave a sink dripping so they can drink from that. Silly cats!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat tends to drink my dog's water or the toilet water before drinking his own water. Both bowls are floor level and he has no issue eating cat food out of his own bowl. Both water bowla arw stilo water and are refilled at the same time so rhe wate
It maybe the dog bowl is bigger or the edge of the bowl is different. I’d try a different water bowl for him to find one he likes better. Cats can be fussy but I’m sure he’ll drink out of a different type of bowl. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Oliver.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
My cat is about nine months old. She loves to dip her paws in her water bowl, she also likes to dump it over. I have tried all sorts of bowls even suction cup bowls. In the end she always find out how to dump it. Why does she do this, how can I preve
Have you tried a kitty water fountain? They are pretty solid, so it's hard to tip over. It won't solve the problem of her putting her paws in it, but I would be surprised if she could tip it over. You can get kitty water fountains from a pet store. I hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat has recently started splashing all the water out of his water bowl. Its one of those bowls with the tank on the top that automatically refills when the water level gets low. He splashes it with his paw until it's empty leaving water everywhere
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! I have seen this before. I think he likely does not like the water bowl. I think it is possibly because of how tall it is. I would recommend you consider a small bowl perhaps one that is not an automatic bowl. I think this is likely going to improve this situation. Good luck and have a great day!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
My kitten has really recently started trying to cover food. It looks like how she covers in litter box but I read it could be some type of survival instinct. We also have another older cat in the house if that helps in anyway. I'm just curious as to
Some cats tend to do that. Mine do it when they do not like their food. So you may want to try some other brand of canned kitten food. Or canned kitten food if you have been feeding dry food. You should also put the water fountain/bowl a few feet away from the food as cats do not like to drink water that is near their food.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Hi, I have two young cats, both around 9 months old, when I first got them I never had a problem with them urinating outside of their litter box, but recently one or both of them (not sure which one) has started urinating all over their food mat and
There are a large number of reasons that a cat will inappropriately urinate (urinate outside the litter box). I am attaching a handout below which discusses this in detail. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951508 The first step in figuring out why a cat is urinating outside the litter box is to have your veterinarian do an examination and get a urine sample to evaluate for a medical reason. This is a little challenging since you're not sure which cat is doing it. There are some options to determine which cat is the problem, so it is worth speaking to your vet about that or you can get urine samples on both cats. If that is normal, then we need to look at other possibilities. The handout above discusses litter box issues that can play a role. Make sure you have at least 3 litter boxes (since the "correct" number of boxes is the number of cats plus one), they are not covered or lined, and are cleaned daily. You may also want to try products like Cat
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I add a capful of Arm and Hammer Fresh breath to my cat's water bowl every day and I thought he liked it. But I have caught him drinking out of the toilet several times this week. Does this mean he doesn't like it?
Cats are very picky with different "flavors" in their food or water. You can leave a bowl of fresh water out and a bowl of water with the Fresh Breath added in. If he ignores the treated bowl and drinks from the plain water, then you will have your answer.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat refuses to drink from his automatic water fountain and is only interested in the toilet
I am afraid you may have to live with this....automatic waterers are great, but often the water gets warm and then the cat does not like it anymore. Also when the water is too close to the food, cats will not like to drink from it. Toilet water is cool and pretty much running water, and many cats prefer that. So it is likely that your kitty will keep preferring that. You can try moving the waterer at least 6 ft away from his food and put ice cubes in it to keep the water cool in summer.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Cat Food Wet Cat Food Cat Supplies Canned Cat Food Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories UTI Cat Food Cat Bowls & Feeders Cat Broths & Toppers Cat Food with Grain Cat Food Toppers Cat H2O Cat Bowls & Feeders Bowl Boosters Cat Food Cat H2O & Dog H2O Cat Bowls & Feeders Pet Life Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories Pioneer Pet Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories Petmate Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories Cat H2O Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories Cat H2O & Dog H2O Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories Tastefuls Cat Food PetSafe Cat Water Fountains, Waterers & Accessories
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored