Why does my cat knock over his heavy, refillable water dish?

Question

A while back, I got this refillable water bottle dish for my cats because I got a second one and they don't mind sharing. My 1.5 year old cat though will sit there and knock it over until all the water comes out and soaks my floor, and he just stares at it.

I looked up reasons why he could be doing this, but everything says he's just playing and sometimes it can be knocked over in the process. However, this dish is pretty heavy and he goes out of his way to knock it over, and when I say he goes out of his way, he does whatever he can. I'll wedge it between to heavy things in hopes he’d stop, but he’d put his paw in the bowl and drag it out; I would scold him and tell him to stop. He stops for a second, then continues to do it until he can knock it over.

I need help.

Answer 1

It sounds to me like your cat has got himself a new "toy." Telling him to stop is useless, so you need to solve this another way.

You might get a heavier water dispenser, but it will need to be a lot heavier. A cat can move objects more than twice their own weight (my cat did steal welcome mats, the 3cm thick rubber type, and dragged them 10-15 meters; she weighed 3,8 kilo).

A better solution might be to fasten the water dispenser to a piece of plywood/floorboard that is larger than the water dispenser by using a strong rubber band to hold it in place.

Many cats do not mind getting wet if they can get some fun out of it when they play, so I cannot promise you that any of this will help.