Maincoons

Question
We have 2 cats (cousins boy and girl) They get on very well. We are curious to know why they pick their food with their paw out off their bowl then eat it...mostly him...and she will lean over the water bowl with her paw streched out to drink...also he loves to flick water from his water bowl EVERYWHERE and sit in the shower recess after we have had a shower. When he was a kitten he would sit with his head down the toilet playing with the water. We stopped that by keeping the door closed but if you leave the tap dripping in the sink he's straight up there.....Also HOW do you stop them from clawing....we do cut their claws.....They have mats and my husdand is nearly finished a Cat PALACE!!!!

Answer
Mary,

We have Maine Coons also and, yes, they engage in "water sports".  We have no idea why, except it seems natural to the breed.  I have seen other cats pick their food out of the bowl and then eat it.  Again, no one knows why!

To keep them from clawing furniture and the like, you need to present them with something more fun and nicer to claw.  A sturdy exercise post must be tall enough so that they can stand on their hind tippy toes and extend their front legs all the way over their heads to claw.  It needs to be covered with something like closed loop carpeting and/or sisal rope.  Cats like to feel the covering resist those claws.  The base must be sturdy so the cats cannot tip it over. Most people use 4X4's for the post itself. Extra shelves for perches and cubby holes for hiding are always good enticements.  We usually place the exercise post near a window so they can look out.  At the beginning, when we first get or build such a post, we spray it with catnip spray or honeysuckle spray as another means to entice the cats to use the post.

Cats tend not to scratch smooth fabrics or highly polished very hard wood, since these things do not tend to resist the claws.

I hope the above is helpful.

Best regards... Norm.