water dish

Question
I had recently got a cat from a shelter and for some reason she taps the side of her water dish and spills it all over.  Please tell me why and how to stop it if you can

Answer
Hi Sarah,
Congrats on your shelter rescue! I have two cats in my household who do the same. I find that they do this when the water level is low in the dish. As far as I can figure out is the cats can't see the water level and are tapping the dish to make movement so they can check the level. Sorta like needing reading glasses for us.

What I do to alleviate the problem is I try to keep the level high in the dish. I also put ice cubes in the dish so they can see a level. I also put a tray underneath the water dish just in case. You can try changing water dishes so they get a contrast and maybe try one drop of food coloring to give some depth to the water. These all work.
Good luck on your new cat.

Cheers, Karen