History Main / CatsHateWater

* In ''Film/HomewardBoundTheIncredibleJourney'', Sassy the cat get separated from Shadow and Chance because she goes to look for a way to cross the river without getting wet, including walking over an old log. The log breaks, dumping Sassy into the river, which results in her getting swept over a waterfall.

* ''Lionheart'' for the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} uses this as a HandWave for SuperDrowningSkills.

* Most breeds of domestic cat and many moggies do hate water if it's forced upon them, and many turn into furry Cuisinarts when a bathtub full of water is threatened. However, some cats don't mind water if they're introduced to it gently (for baths, it helps if it's very warm) and some certainly don't mind getting wet while drinking from a faucet or even a {{toilet|DrinkingDogGag}}. The issue is with instincts. Domestic cats are descended from wildcats that lived primarily in desert areas, so as a rule, they have an instinctual fear of large bodies of water (they so seldom see them). For that matter, dog breeds from similar areas have similar aversion to water. This instinct is not as strong in some cats, and it can be completely overcome with training (although it's easier to do it before the cat in question is full-grown). There's also the issue of temperature. Being descended from desert animals, many cats hate being cold, and a thorough soaking will allow air to get to the skin more easily, never mind the evaporating water taking some body heat with it. Only a few breeds have coats that can be considered water-resistant (Maine Coons are one such breed, as well as Turkish Vans, explained directly below). It's often considered that a lot of cats don't like baths because they're not accustomed to it. Cats rarely get bathed - typically only when they get extremely dirty or have a flea/tick issue - as they clean themselves so they aren't used to it. This aversion can be exploited as a means of behavior deterrence: fill a squirt bottle with water, and start squirting at a house cat who is misbehaving. In true Pavlovian fashion, eventually the cat will stop misbehaving when you even reach for a squirt bottle. And will start hating you, but that's another story.

* According to some reports, cougars dislike immersing in water, but will swim if necessary. The only noted exception is the extremely endangered subspecies known as the Florida panther, which handled large bodies of water and swimming with aplomb. It's hard to be sure since the creatures are so elusive and critically endangered.

* ''WebVideo/CreamHeroes'': Somewhat averted with Coco, Chuchu and Nana, who tolerate baths very well and let Claire clean them. Zig-zagged with DD, who sometimes tolerates baths but sometimes wriggles and protests. Downplayed for Lulu and Momo, who tend to wriggle a lot when being given baths. Then there are TT, Lala and Dodo who will meow and protest every time Claire baths them. In Dodo's case, she hasn't even given him a full bath because he became so distressed with a practice bath (where he only got a little wet), the normally tough TT and Lala felt sorry for him.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': Meowth hates water, especially wet water! However, he's fine with hot springs, and [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Big_Meowth_Day one]] relatively obscure ''Pokemon Sunday'' ending theme showed him having fun surfing, so maybe he just hates water under certain circumstances.
** Ash's Litten/Torracat isn't a fan of the water, which would be justified by its Fire type nature if Lycanroc (a Rock type with a similar weakness) didn't love being bathed. It decides to follow Tsareena's example at a pool and take a nap instead.

** There is an endangered, medium-sized Asian cat species simply called the "fishing cat". As their name implies, they avert this trope, as they live in wetlands and by rivers. Their main prey is fish.[[note]]Not to be confused with the North American animal called a "fisher cat", which is actually a species of mustelid (weasel), and the second largest mustelid after the wolverine.[[/note]]

** There is an endangered, medium-sized Asian cat species simply called the "fishing cat". As their name implies, they avert this trope, as they live in wetlands and by rivers. Their main prey is fish.

** Tigers and jaguars LOVE water and are excellent swimmers, and jaguars are known to hunt fish, turtles & small caimans [[note]]Indigenous people in the Amazon Basin claim the jaguar uses its tail as bait, but there's no known observation of this behavior. It's very possible the jaguar's skull-crushing bite came from an origin of hunting heavily armored water reptiles.[[/note]] Heck, just look around ''any'' zoo. Tigers in the "Out of Africa" zoo in Arizona regularly go for a dip in the pool, there's even an event based around this called, "Tiger Splash". This generally extends to any marsh or rainforest-dwelling feline, as humidity and wetness is an invariable part of their lives.

** In "Family Pet Picture Day", Leo naturally struggles with the idea of cleaning himself up for the family picture.

* ''WesternAnimation/PuppyDogPals'': In "Land of the Rising Pups", after Bingo and Rolly return home from Japan with snow which melts into water, Hissy states this trope.

** Tigers and jaguars LOVE water and are excellent swimmers, and jaguars are known to hunt fish, turtles & small caimans [[note]]Indigenous people in the Amazon Basin claim the jaguar uses its tail as bait, but there's no known observation of this behavior. It's very possible the jaguar's skull-crushing bite came from an origin of hunting heavily armored water reptiles.[[/note]] Heck, just look around ''any'' zoo. Tigers in the "Out of Africa" zoo in Arizona regularly go for a dip in the pool, there's even an event based around this called, "Tiger Splash".

* Also {{inverted}} in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', where Mio (another [[CatGirl Gormotti]]) practically ''springs back to life'' when the party finds water while she's overheating in the desert, and rushes to jump in. [[spoiler: Considering the [[AmbiguouslyRelated near certainty]] that she's related to Nia (if not outright her daughter), Mio [[SharedFamilyQuirks probably got her affinity for water from her.]]]]
-->'''Mio:''' [[MemeticMutation Wotah? WOTAH!]]

* ''ComicStrip/Zits'': One strip opens on Jeremy happily exclaiming that "my friend Pierce got me a job at the animal shelter bathing cats". There follows a beat and, when Jeremy returns, literally covered in scratches, he deadpans that he "no longer has a friend named Pierce''.

* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', if [[CatGirl Diona]] is your active character when it starts raining, she'll comment that she doesn't like rain and suggests going somewhere else, but insists that she's not scared and just doesn't like her clothes getting wet.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Meowth hates water, especially wet water! However, he's fine with hot springs, and [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Big_Meowth_Day one]] relatively obscure ''Pokemon Sunday'' ending theme showed him having fun surfing, so maybe he just hates water under certain circumstances.