Four-legged mammals have the advantage of being able to lift their heads in the water and paddle easily without adjusting their limbs, so many four-legged mammals are naturally able to swim.
Cats, too, are born to paddle, and the swimming action is the standard "dog paddle", but because most cats do not like water, so there is a debate about whether cats can swim.
In the people's impression, the soft and cute cat owners are most afraid of water, every time they bath they will become extra excited, some cats even directly mess with the sky is impossible to wet their fur, so we think that the cats are all "dry ducks", they are afraid of water is not swimming. The fact is just the opposite of what you think, these little guys have a lot to offer, and even if they are afraid of water, it doesn't affect their ability to light up their swimming skills.

I. Why do cats hate getting wet?

The cat owners we see nowadays have not changed much from their ancestors. Most of the ancestors of the meowers lived in the desert and other places that lacked water resources, and they were not used to being exposed to too much water.
In rivers and lakes and other places, cat owners did not feel insecure, after all, they are in the water and the speed of activity on land is not comparable, and there may be attacked by water creatures.
The reason why the cat has a flexible body is that they are licked all over the neat hair in the process of running to reduce the resistance of the air. But when their fur is wet, they lose this advantage, giving them a sense of crisis.
Meowers' coats are not thick and their ability to keep warm is very limited, when their coats get wet, then it only makes them feel colder, which is something cat owners who like to be warm hate.
There is speculation that the ancestors of cats were desert animals and saw little water. So the fear of water is inherited.
There is no way to verify this, but there is indeed a reason why cats do not like water.
Hair care is troublesome
Unlike dogs, cats don't like to be covered with debris or smelly things, so when a cat gets something on its fur, it needs to keep tidying up fur until it is clean.
Cats that do not have sweat glands and rely only on their fur to protect their skin will feel very uncomfortable with wet fur on their sensitive skin. And it can breed bacteria and make the cat's skin sick.
Relying on itself to lick the fur and let it dry is a big job.
Tired, and at risk of getting sick, cats will of course dislike water.
High or low water temperature can make a cat uncomfortable
The normal body temperature of a cat is 38.5 to 39.5 degrees. If the water temperature is lower than this, the cat's body energy consumption will be high. If the cat cannot get to shore quickly, it will lose its life due to exhaustion.

If the water temperature is too high, the sweat glands mainly in the paw pads will have difficulty discharging heat in time, which will give the cat a feeling of heat stroke, breathing difficulties, and fainting.
Together with the sudden stimulation of entering the water, the cat appears to have a stress reaction, with the double stress of increased heart rate and blood pressure, the cat can easily get sick because of the water.
As the weaker of the hunting animals, the cat will first protect itself and not put itself in danger. Entering the water is dangerous for cats, so although cats can swim, they do not like water.
Pet cats are born to swim, but their swimming skills are not very good, so they are not often shown in front of people. Pet cats have thin subcutaneous fat that makes it difficult to keep out the cold in cold river water. If their fur is wet, it will not dry easily and they will easily get sick. That is why we rarely see cats swimming.

Cats are born to swim, the origin of the cat is in ancient Egypt, there are more deserts, and a lack of rivers, so cats living in that environment will rarely have the opportunity to exercise their swimming skills, over time, slowly the cat's swimming skills degenerated, so although cats are born to swim but swimming skills are not good.

Cats are small animals, and the body's subcutaneous fat is relatively small, if swimming in the cold river water body is difficult to resist the cold river water. The cat's hair is fine, thick, and soft, if it is wet, it will be difficult to dry, the pet cat's hair is not dry for a long time, very easy to get sick or even die, so they rarely swim.
Cats are good companions in our life, cats have many daily habits and also have many skills, some skills are not that cats don't know, but they don't show it.

II. How to teach cats to swim

1. Get used to the water environment
Swimming with your cat will first eliminate its fears by first letting one of its feet touch the water, relaxing in shallow water, and making sure there is no instability around them. If the cat is timid, it is recommended to put on a life preserver for it, no matter how it flaps it will not be swallowed by the water.

2銆丟uiding the cat forward with treats or toys
When the cat is in the water, you cannot drag it directly. Be careful not to scare the kitten away. Use treats or toys to guide it. Smart cats know how to use their limbs to move safely in the water, it is their instinct. Toys can be placed relatively close together to start, then when it has adapted to throw to a more distant location, let it find their toy.

3銆丷emove the life preserver
When the cat's owner can swim freely in the water, the owner can take down the life preserver. If there is no life preserver, the cat is more comfortable swimming. The owner can also use the toy to interact with and motivate it.

Three, cats don't like water and hair related

Another reason why cats don't like water is mainly related to their coats.
Compared to dogs' coats, many domestic cats have relatively fluffy coats and are not waterproof.
When swimming, they can not float for a long time, once the fur is soaked, then the cat's body will sink, thus increasing the risk of drowning.

Here you may think, usually bath cats, and will not drown them, why they are still afraid of water?

This is mainly because cats do not want their natural scent to be washed off their bodies.

Cats are surrounded by their smell, for cats is a natural placebo, that can make the cat feel a little "reassurance".

Cats usually lick their fur to keep it clean, and the enzymes in their tongues and saliva can do a deep clean without leaving any odor and can retain their scent.

And water can remove the smell from their body, or even make their fur wet, thus making them feel uncomfortable and causing some stress.
So, every time you bathe and dry your cat, you will find that your cat will still be licking its fur like crazy, but in fact, it is looking for its smell.

IV. Cats just don't like water, but they are not afraid of it

In videos on certain platforms, you may often see cats that like to play with faucet water, and some of them get immersed in it.
There are even cats who are too particular about bathing, and when it's time to take a bath, they dutifully rub their owners and look like they're enjoying themselves.
And there are two breeds of cats that are also very partial to bathing, especially getting wet all over, and that are the Turkish Van cat and the Bengal tiger (big cat).
The ancestors of the Turkish Van cat live in the Lake Van region of Turkey, and in the summer, they especially like to jump into the lake for a swim.
The same as the Turkish Van cat and Bengal tiger, these big cats are also very partial to bathing and enjoy the fun of bathing and swimming.
After getting out of the water, they will shake off the water and lick the fur dry, these habits are also due to the survival environment.

So, why do some cats love water while others hate it?
The same all stem from habits developed by the living environment.
If you want a domestic cat to get used to bathing, then you need to train it from a young age and give food rewards after each bath when the cat is young.
Then the cat will associate bathing with good things, and over time will not be so sensitive to water, to accept bathing, and even like bathing.