Maine Coons And Their Food/Water Bowls
Let's see, there is:
-
Pawing at the floor while drinking
-
Dipping a front paw in the water bowl, then cupping the water out
to drink from said paw
-
Pawing in the food bowl to knock, or pick, several pieces of food
out then eating each one individually, either off the floor, or by
picking each piece up and placing in mouth
-
Placing toys (glitter balls, mice, etc.) in the water bowl
-
Picking a piece of dry food out of its bowl, then placing, with paw,
into water bowl, stir for a minute with paw to soften, then pick
softened piece out of water bowl and place, with paw, in mouth
-
Not liking the nutritious, therefore less tasty, canned food and
expressing this dislike by carefully pulling and folding whatever
rug or towel the food bowl is sitting on (see #7) over the bowl
containing the offending comestible, so that it is completely covered,
then stomping the fabric down into the food as completely as possible
-
Removing bits of canned food from bowl (as in #3), and either eating
from floor, or "killing" said chunk of food, properly smearing same in
all directions, giving a clue to stupid human to place some sort of
"fabric" device under said bowl to prevent "roaming" of food and/or
bowl (see #8)
-
Taking paw and dragging, usually in a rapid, jerking manner, water
bowl (even heavy crockery bowls) so as to cause water to splash
from bowl onto floor, then taking paw and evenly distributing water over
floor in multiple directions until water is spread as thinly as possible,
then....
-
Jumping up onto nearest piece of furniture or counter and, taking
great care to "stretch", as far as possible, the remaining water on
paws, leaving a trail of wet paw prints for a distance of not less than
twenty times their body length (Note: Young kittens are carefully taught
this "stretching" technique through numerous observation sessions
conducted by the adults)
-
Sitting in kitchen or bathroom sink(s), usually already wet,
attempting to drink from spout, some individuals learn to turn on
faucets so as to gain access to greater amounts of "spreadable" water
-
Some individuals will jump down from counter above water bowls
to: a) pounce into bowl with front paws so others may witness resultant
splash, or b) scare the daylights out of another individual who is
concentrating on water in bowl, thus resulting in both, or multiple
Maine Coons, fleeing the area in great haste, usually "spinning out" on
fabric containment device under said bowls, causing copious amounts of
liquid to be displaced from bowls so that the "spreading squad" may
return a short time later to perform their duties
-
Advising human companions of the less than satisfactory amount of
water in bowl by standing on edge of bowl with both front paws, placing
sufficient amount of weight on edge of bowl so as to cause bowl to flip
over dispensing "insufficient" amount of water on floor
-
Jumping up onto counters and/or tables to dislodge important notes,
papers and/or other possessions important to human companions, then
placing same in water bowl, being certain to push said item down into
water multiple times
Thus concludes Itemization List Number One, of Maine Coon behavior
pertaining to water and/or food bowls and contents.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Hitzeman
Acadiacoons
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Barbara Petersen, January 2002 barb@hippienerd.me