Things besides filing a lawsuit that are annoying me: Vol. 1

Can someone explain why Gary, the morbidly obese cat, insists on dragging his water bowl all over the concrete basement floor? In our first house, we kept the water bowls upstairs in the kitchen and watched him flip the little plastic bowls upside down every day.

We thought maybe he just liked fresh water so we bought one of these things. When full of water, it's a pretty heavy item so we thought at the very least we'd have our spilling water problem solved. Gary is stronger than we thought.

My next attempt to control the spilling water dish problem was to buy him the biggest bowl I could find at the pet store. It's a bowl meant to feed a Great Dane, or perhaps a pack of wolves. It's big and very heavy, Maddie has a hard time filling and carrying it.

But Gary is secretly lifting weights in the basement and has managed to drive me totally insane by dragging that stupid bowl all over the basement.

Why? Dogs don't do annoying things like this, right?

Comments

[Phil]

No, dogs just rip up couches and gnaw at the sheetrock in the wall. But that's what I get for not taking her on my jogs. You should buy an old urinal, plug up the drain and install it low to the ground so she can drink from it (clean it first, for crying out loud). Anytime she needs more water, just flush. Presto, you're done and Maggie is happy too.

[Phil]

Sorry, Maddie is happy. Not sure about Maggie. She might still be upset.

[mom2werogers]

my dog has been known to scoot his empty water bowl across the tile on the kitchen floor. VERY ANNOYING. Worse yet is that he's a horse - lab sheperd mix weighing in at 94 pounds and when he drinks, you could fall in the puddles he leaves everywhere. At least cats are more dainty drinkers?

[heidi]

Our dog only pushes his bowl around when it's empty. I have no idea how to deal with cats.

[web_chick]

Our cat used to do this. We finally put his bowls on top of a heavy weave door mat and problem solved. It caused enough friction that the bowls couldn't move anymore. We were determined to prove we were smarter than him!

[Kelly M.]

Coming from someone with two dogs and two cats.....

I had a problem like that with my big 35lb. black cat, Tibias. Then one day he started getting on the bathroom counter and knockign everything off onto the floor. We finally realized that he did not want to drink "still" water but wanted "running" water. So each morning, afternoon and evening I turn the bathroom sink on just enough that it is not dripping but is not runnign heavily and both the vats sit around it and take turns lapping it up. I usually give them about ten minutes and then turn it off. Funny thing is if they are thirsty and I dont have the water on instead of just drinking from teh dogs bowl they will go into the bathroom and get on the counter and knowck one thing off into the floor every few minutes until someone comes and turns the water on. Have theygot us trained or what????

Dogs, uggggggg. They dont move the bowl around they just leave puddles the size of Lake Huron around the bowl and all over the kitchen when they are drinking.

The joys of pets!!! Funny thing is I wouldnt trade them for anything!

[Kelly M.]

Vats?? Runnign?

I guess I need to learn how to spell. Sorry!

[Robin]

Our dog used to flip her food bowl or take the bowl into our bedroom and flip it there so she could pick out the pieces she liked best. I finally bought her a giant pan-like dish that allows the food to lie on one layer. (I'm glad this worked because my husband's solution was to nail the bowls to the floor — I'm glad it didn't come to that.)

Maybe Gary just wants the bowl in a different place. Have you tried just leaving it where he puts it?

[jen]

Our cat does exactly the same thing. To resolve, we taught her to get water from the bathtub. So when she wants water, she hops into the tub and paws at the side. We pull up the stopper and fill it up. We do this a couple of times per day. She really likes pawing at the water while its filling. The downside, she often hops in the tub while we are trying to shower.

Oddly enough (as we also have a dog), she will also drink out of the dog's elevated water bowl. She is not smart enough to figure out how to flip the bowl out of the container with that one.

Dogs are not any better. Really they simply do other annoying things, like bark incessantly or whine. Ah the whining makes me insane.

[hollygee]

A cat fountain?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754465&keepsr=0

[Why Mom Drinks Rum]

Dogs are worse. MUCH worse.

But the reason for Gary is...cats are assholes. Mine (Siamese) takes her food from one dish, drops it in her water, then proceeds to fish it out with her paws. I can only assume her mother bred with a gang of racoons at some point. She also knocks things off the counter. She will sit there, look me in the eye, put her paw out and send whatever is closest to the edge flying.

I'd still rather have a cat though.

[Nicole]

My parents' dog used to push her bowls around all the time either because they smelled and she was refusing to eat out of them at the time and/or because they have hard wood floors and the damn things wouldn't stay in one place. My dad built her a stand that the bowls fit in, problem solved. She also will take pieces of food and hide them around the house because she thinks my parents will never come home from work and feed her again.

My dog on the other hand doesn't move his bowls around, instead he will get a mouth full of water and run into the next room with it, where he will be so excited to see you that he will open his mouth and woosh there goes all the water on the floor. He's a mess!

[Erika]

One of our cats does the same thing--but in the kitchen, which means that I regularly step in puddles of water in the morning. He just likes his water to be moving. He'd prefer it, though, if we left the bathtub running for him so he could get running water whenever he wants...

[Maureen]

What you need is a boot tray with a lip on it. (You may have one in your front hall now!) The bowl won't leave the tray, and if it gets tipped over, the water will stay in the tray.

[Sarah @ BecomingSarah.com]

We had a cat that did the same thing. There was no cure, it was just like he forgot to do it one day and never remembered again.

I supposed that's what happens when your brain is the size of a pea.

Dogs are so much worse, though. Our dog has shredded clothing, eaten the better part of a couch, walked in paint through the house on our new hardwood floors, delivered his poop to our doorstep, delivered his kills (rodents, usually, and some squirrels and baby rabbits) to our doorstep, eaten rotten fish sticks with maggots all over them (the house reaked for weeks after he vomited that up). ETC!

And don't get me started on the dog's water bowl. The animal sees his reflection and goes freaking berserk. Water never stays in his bowl longer than ten minutes.

[amanda]

supposedly they do it to see if it's fresh... like moving water is fresher, so they make it move? our cat does the same & often ends up soaked, but doesn't care. he loves to sit & scratch at the fountain and spill it.

[John LeJeune]

GARY is a human name. Gary is showing you that he has human strength because you want him to be a human if you give him a name like GARY. If you had a Mittens or Fluffy or Tinkerbell it would not do those human type things. Also if you put a rubber pad under the bowl, Gary wouldn't move it.

[Christina]

I think Maddie is actually moving the bowl around, to finally convince you that getting a dog would be a better idea.

[Peeved Michelle]

Have you tried using those elevated dishes in the wooden holders? Worked for our dogs.

I cracked up at the previous commenter who said cats are assholes.

[Jennifer]

LOL@ John LeJeune's theory that if you'd named your cat Mittens, Fluffy, or Tinkerbell, he would not accomplish such human-like feats. (Although I have to say that Gary is a kickazz name for a cat. Awesome.)

In regards to bowl dragging/tipping/flinging, I think it's a universal pet hobby. My rabbit Martin loves to throw his food dish around, even though he dislikes eating his food pellets off the floor. But he eventually finishes them, so I don't have to be annoyed with wiping anything up off the floor. (Luckily, he drinks out of a water bottle that he can't fling.)

[TeriLynn]

I like the boot tray and the holder-with-cutouts ideas. Or you could try some of that non-skid cupboard liner stuff- it's like a net covered in some sort of foam... you can almost always find it at the dollar store. I think it's the same as that stuff you put under a rug so it won't slide.

My dog likes to eat in the living room with us. She doesn't move the whole dish out, just 3 or 4 kibbles at a time. It's fine except for when she gets distracted. Kibble under bare feet is like Legos at night.

[Laura]

Some cats just like moving water. I had a cat like that who would have loved this:
http://www.amazon.com/Drinkwell-D2WB-RE-Platinum-Pet-Fountain/dp/B000L3XYZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1237481424&sr=1-1
if I had known it existed at the time.

[wookie]

When my dog finishes his meal, he picks up his dish and carries it into the living room, where he will roll and flip it until (a) you take it and put it on top of the fridge or (b) someone comes in, thinks he hasn't been fed and feeds him again.

[LadyCiani]

My dog used to fart badly enough to clear a room. This was a digestive issue that happened daily. Is that worse than the bowl-flipping/moving?

[Lynn Dunsmuir]

My two little shih tzu dogs do it all the time. Very annoying.

[Leigh]

Is Gary named after the snail/cat on Spongebob?

[Peggy]

These comments are hilarious.

We have a dog and a cat, and the cat is way more annoying. She, too, would move her water bowl all around and play in it. I got her the Drinkwell fountain and that put an end to it. The cat also sits in our master bath in the middle of the night and howls for no reason. She used to howl in the hallway, but now prefers the acoustics of the bathroom.

[darcy]

Dogs do many very annoying things. I have three dogs and one cat and the dogs are so disgusting. My pug actually tried to eat cat poop while the cat was pooping, I have to be on high alert at all times or the dogs will eat the cat shit. Now I am revolted by all of them and their inner species feces issue. I'd take gary and his water bowl over that anytime.
Yuck.

[Lee]

Try this.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754460
The water inside the main part, coupled with the water in the reservoir should prevent him from toppling it. If not, call the circus or something and pimp him out. He's got real talent.

[mythoughtsonthat]

"But Gary is secretly lifting weights in the basement...."- now that made me laugh out loud!

[Kelly]

My dog? No, my dog doesn't push her bowl around. She's too busy eating dirty socks and underwear. Her schedule is full.

My cat does pee on any plastic bag that gets left on the floor, otherwise, he's a prince.

[stacy]

Our cats did the same until we got the Drinkwell fountain that some of the other commenters mentioned. We have 4 cats and they all prefer the fountains to standing water.

[Alison]

Um, I just literally laughed out loud in a study lounge on campus.

I have no ideas for you. In fact, I have never heard of such a thing. My mom's cat doesn't move her bowl, but then again, she doesn't use it. She insists on drinking out of a people bowl in the kitchen. And will sit by it and stare at whoever walks by until it gets filled to her standards. Ah, the idiosyncrasies of pets.

[Laurie]

If you leave a glass where my cat can get to it, he puts his paw in it to see if it is milk. We keep the water bowl in the shower so he can push it around all he wants. He won't drink from the dog bowl. Because, the dog is an asshole.

[Judi]

My cat likes to drink out of a glass betta fish bowl. It's big and heavy and she can't knock it over. The fish likes it and will try to swim right under the cat...I honestly don't think the cat knows that there is a fish in the bowl?

[Alli]

Dogs are WAY worse. Our collie insists on getting a mouthful of food and then goes into the living room where she drops it on the BRAND NEW CARPETING scattering it everywhere and then eating it. Back and forth till the food dish is empty. The water bowl is a different story. THAT she manages to drink over but then leaves a trail of slobber/water all over the kitchen floor. It feels so good to come down in the am all dressed for work and stepping in "dog water" and having to go change your socks.....

[christine]

no cat bowl story (except that he threw up in it today). i guess that's a story....
well, anyways, i just wanted to say that i hate your landlord.
that's all.

[Nancy]

Our cat noses the bowl around before he'll drink from it. Maybe the moving water=fresh water theory is right.

Or rather, he USED to. Now he hops onto the kitchen table and drinks from the fishbowl. Doesn't seem to bother the fish at all.

[Tiffany]

I think I would rather my dog move his bowls than to constantly escape out of the backyard all the time. And even that wouldn't be so horrible, except he constantly knocks over our garbage bins. There is no better way to end your work day than to come home and find an entire garbage bag full of dirty diapers shredded all over your driveway. He has even figured out how to get the lids off! Stupid basset hound. If he wasn't so cute, I'd put his ass up on craigslist.

[abb]

Our basset hound takes her food bowl to eat out behind the garage from the back patio. She only throws the water bowl around if it gets empty.

[abb]

Our basset hound takes her food bowl to eat out behind the garage from the back patio. She only throws the water bowl around if it gets empty.

[Dewshane]

Maybe you could use a heavy ceramic bowl?

[MelissaSinGA]

My orange cat splashes all the water out with her paw. We bought one of those water thingys too, talk about a HUGE mess! So I started putting the water dish in the tub. At least now the splashed water is somewhere it belongs.

[Angela]

one of my cats does the same thing! I haven't figured it out. if she can't move it she tips it over. if she can't tip it over she splashes it all out. I have yet to figure it out.

they also like to take my hair ties...chew them apart....and put them in the water. I try not to leave them out. even if they don't see me set it down they'll have it destroyed and in the water within 10 minutes. cats are creepy like that.

[Shari]

Too funny! It sounds like something my friend's cats would do. She spends waaaay tooooo much time trying to figure out why her cats do crazy things.

[Missi]

My dog picks up her bowls and flips them upside down on the tile floor.

[FlippyO]

Maybe he's just trying to get exercise to lose weight. We just had two foster cats who were morbidly obese. We had them for eight weeks (the family lost their home to foreclosure and were living in motels for a while, so they couldn't have the cats), changed their diet to limited portions of wet food, instead of the free feeding kibble that they'd been eating before - and believe me, they fed very very freely...they weighed around 25 lbs. They've lost a few pounds (cats can't lose too quickly or it's dangerous) and can finally clean themselves, so they no longer have knotted fur on their backs, dandruff, or gross poopy butts because they couldn't reach them to clean up. The cats were such great cats that it was a shame that their lives were going to be shortened...and probably have an expensive illness-ridden ending to their lives. This isn't necessarily meant for you, because I know Gary is large, but I can tell that he isn't nearly as large (or carries it better) as the fosters we had. But, ack, a THIRTY-five pound cat? Unless it's one of those fancy mini-tiger-like things, I can't imagine that that cat won't keel over soon. Our fosters, at ten pounds less, couldn't even lay down properly - they had to sort of fall over sideways to lay down. When they left to go back home, they were much more agile, much cleaner (Gary looks clean & shiny, the pictures I've seen, so again, not meant for you), and they seemed more comfortable.

That said, what about velcro on the bottom of the bowl and the other end of the velcro on a boot tray? We bought a bunch of boot trays from Amazon (they were really cheap) for our food/water bowls for our cats. They're incredibly easy to clean and they've solved the problem of the cats dropping food next to their bowls to eat it from a different spot. Luckily, our cats aren't interested in moving their water bowls. Dropping toys in the water to play, yes, but that's a different problem. Our terrier mix used to play in her water and make a big mess. It was adorable and annoying, when she would slap at the surface of the water. Our 100lb dogs only throw their water bowl when it's empty. Clang, clang, clang - as if they hadn't just finished a gigantic bowl of water and needed it desperately to survive.

[bec]

Our cat also loves to move her bowl around. But she moves it so it's directly in the path of where we're going to walk, so we trip and get wet at the same time. She also loves to run through our legs, but only when we're carrying a big, heavy laundry basket down then stairs. She's either a total asshole or trying to kill us....or both.

[jaded]

I have the same problem. I heard something on NPR's Calling all pets about cats and depth perception issues, and they recommended putting a wine cork in the water bowl, to help them judge depth. It seems to help my cat. He still shoves the bowl across the floor occasionally, but he doesn't flip it over anymore. Good luck, or better yet, grab a mop.