It’s hot, hot, hot here in Ojai and our cats are not happy. Well, Max and Sophie don’t seem to be affected by the heat, but Lily becomes a sleepy ragdoll when the heat hits. And, while usually, she stays away from anything that makes strange noises, in hot weather, fans and the swamp cooler become her friends.
We don’t have to encourage her to drink more water during these heat spells. She is practically addicted to water and has been since she was a wee kitten. We keep four bowls of fresh water for the cats at all times and we’ve just introduced a kitty drinking fountain.
As you can see from the photo, Lily taught us to turn on the water in the bathtub so she could lap at fresh, running water from the tap. Several times each day, she would herd one of us (or a guest) into the bathroom for her fresh-water drink. Because we had a soft-water conditioner installed and we didn’t feel this water was good for her, we shut off that avenue of pleasure for her and brought in the fountain. It wasn’t easy for her to make the transition—I suppose that’s because it wasn’t her idea. But now, when she wants running water, she herds us toward the fountain instead of the tub. Success!
