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by Spixxy on September 28th, 2004

Spixxy

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Do lions and other big cats hate getting wet as much as small cats?

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  • by halo2fan on October 25th, 2004

    halo2fan

    In general, cats from hot areas where there's water seem to love it. These include tigers, lions, jaguars, ocelots and jacarundi. One cat, the fishing cat, lives along rivers and in swamps from northern India to southeast Asia. The fishing cat catches fish by scooping them out of the water. It has partially webbed feet and even dives for fish!
    On the other hand, snow leopards do not like water. Other cats from cold areas, such as lynx, bobcats and cougars, might not hate water, but they don't go out of their way for a dip, either.
    Toni Ruth, who studies cougars for the Hornocker Wildlife Institute, tells me that when cougars want to cross a stream, they will find a shallow spot, just like you would. They will swim across small lakes, but not big ones.
    So this all leads to a theory from Catherine Ulibarri, a veterinary professor here at WSU. She says that water destroys how fur insulates an animal against cold. So if that's no big deal, there's no strong dislike of water. If it is a big deal--where being wet could be a definite problem--then cats avoid water.
    Even some domestic cats, the Turkish Vans and the Turkish Angoras, love water.
    Although other domestic cats do not like water so much, none completely avoid it. However they feel about water, for some reason their ancestors developed that attitude a long time ago and passed it on.

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  • by Thom64 on September 28th, 2004

    Thom64

    I was watching a tiger (Sumatran, I think) swimming and playing in a pool the other day at the zoo. I can't give you a list of which ones appear to enjoy and which don't, but I can say "not all" big cats dislike getting wet.

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  • by bigcatlover on April 21st, 2009

    bigcatlover

    No not all big cats hate the water. In fact tigers LOVE water but there are some big cats that dont like the water. Some lions dont really like going in water because in certain area there are crocodiles but it doesnt mean they hate the water.

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  • by Sandor on December 18th, 2006

    Sandor

    Lions hate water, tigers love it. That's all I know. Though there are some lions that regularly swim when seasonal floods come to catch their prey because the lions aren't slowed down so much by the water as the things they are chasing. But they still hate it. They avoid it like the plague if there's not the possibility of a meal in it for them.

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  • by icecream66 on June 9th, 2011

    icecream66

    Some big cats love the water but others do not. Tigers love to swim and will often drown their pray to kill it.

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