Water Cat: Origins

[ Video Link]. This is the source of an animated GIF which made the rounds last week on G+. (thanks, Max Kingsbury!)

• [johnLongview]

  So, uhm, nobody’s going to mention the music? Nobody?

  • [Jack]

    All of the owner’s videos have some perfectly appropriate music connected to them; deal with it!
    http://www.youtube.com/user/papipapipapa

• [Anonymous]

  Yes, the music, oddly indiscriminate seeming and Jack, the prequel you linked was a goody.

• [Ezmyrelda]

  The comments with the opinion that this cat is under duress are absurd. Like somebody said before it’s highly unlikely you could get a cat to do this if it didn’t want to. Not only that, has nobody ever seen a cat smile or scowl? This cat is clearly having a blast.

• [Gordon JC Pearce]

  I had a cat who would quite happily go and swim in a river pool. He was quite a big long-haired cat, so presumably it was a good way to cool off on hot summer days. He’d just jump in and do a couple of widths, then get out and lie on the grass with his fur gently steaming ;-)

• [Anonymous]

  Cat weight loss is tricky. A couple of years back my fat cat had a stomach bug and lost her appetite. As her body began to use its ample fat reserves,she developed jaundice because fat overwhelmed her liver. She had to spend a night at the vets getting subcutaneous fluids, and we now feed her specialized weight loss food that we buy from her vet. So just feeding the cat less food can be exactly the wrong thing to do.

  I’ve also known cats that like water. One in particular was a Maine coon, who used to love sitting on the side of the tub while people bathed. The cat in the video looks like it could be a Maine coon.

• [tamahome]

  Feed your cat better wet food with less grain filler.

• [Lt. Col. w00t]

  Some cats really like water. Mine likes to bat at the faucet on the kitchen sink until he turns it on and then lay in the sink under the tap. I wish I was joking.

  • [Anonymous]

    Yeah, I’ve got a water cat too. Is yours calico?

    • [Antinous / Moderator]

      If you have a calico cat that likes water, you probably have a Van.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Van

• [Anonymous]

  Chill cat is chill.

• [ackpht]

  The cat in the video is clearly under duress. Stress is bad for cats. It can literally make them sick.

  Cat fat? Less food, more play.

• [Lsamsa]

  Shame on the owner(s) who let this kitty get to such absurd proportions!

• [Mitch_M]

  I have no doubt this is done with good intentions but might the stress of being made to do the treadmill in the water be worse for the cat than the extra weight?

  The memory of my cats last bath is so unpleasant for her that she will dig her claws into my shoulder if I bring her anywhere near water, and she hasn’t even gotten wet in the 1 1/2 years that she’s been with me.

  • [blueelm]

    Some cats really don’t mind water.

  • [Anonymous]

    It obviously depends on the temperament of the cat, but if it will tolerate this kind of exercise, weight loss in obese animals can extend life expectancy by 1-2 years and improve the quality of those years. Obviously, therapy has to be customized to match the animal – there is absolutely no way you could force a cat to do this if he really didn’t want to.

• [moosehunter]

  I used to be a service Rep for Ferno, the manufacturer of Aquapaws, a underwater treadmills for small animals. used mostly for the trreatment of hip displasia and skin disorders (the water can be medicated) some animals like it, the water dogs LOVE it, and some animals just freakout..

  Ferno also makes the Aquatrainer, the same thig, only for Horses, those are a bear to fix….

• [moosehunter]

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC77SEZ_Bek

  treating Plantar Faciatis in horses

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXiy4sQsTms

• [Anonymous]

  At first I was like hu? but then I was like, hu, Cat Rehabilitation Center, I presume.

• [Gulliver]

  “You did not say taking over the internet would involve a bath!”

  “Garfield would never put up with this crap.”

• [redd3415]

  There are actually a series of video with this cat in water. It seems to enjoy swimming in addition to these water aerobics. Looks like it’s from a japanese tv show.

• [pies]

  What an absurd way to try to get an animal to loose weight. Why not just feed it less?

• [Jack]

  I think this is the prequel:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHUKXCsxQwc

• [elldeegee]

  The Google Ads that appeared at the bottom of the video would suggest that the cat has more to worry about than losing weight…

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/65415303@N06/5953523729/in/photostream

• [The Mudshark]

  I think I´m developing a fetish for Japanese cat-physiotherapists.