Cats and Tanks

[Cinnebuns]

I know this is a common issue or source of entertainment for those with both pets. My 7 month old half-ragdoll kitten has a water obsession so there doesn't even need to be fish in the tank. Recently I was setting up a new tank and discovered she even loves them before ANYTHING is in the tank. Here's a picture of that along with others of her with tanks. 

 

Anyone else have fun or maybe scary stories with cats and tanks?  Any pics?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I guess I am constantly disappointed by the fact that my cats are so well behaved. They will occasionally watch the fish, and I've caught one of my 2 boys on top of one of my 20 gallons (really seemingly to sit on it without a care for the inhabitants). When I first got my cats I got a Christmas tree JUST for them to play with but they don't care. They might knock a pen off a desk but that's as bad as they get. So I'm always fascinated by others' experiences. Seems like you've got a live on on your hands!

[RadMax8]

My older cat used to drink exclusively out of a 10 gallon I had on our desk. I had to put a barstool next to the tank so he didn’t make a mess of the desk surface. 

The only fish my cats are interested in or their predator instinct kicks in is the corydoras. I don’t know if it’s just the way they move, or the fact that they’re on the bottom, but the cats are fascinated by them. 

[Cinnebuns]

 

On 12/17/2021 at 11:28 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Seems like you've got a live on on your hands!

She definitely keeps me on my toes!  I've had cats before but always adopted them as adults and this is my first kitten. It's a different experience than I expected, surprisingly less work than I expected, but im loving it. She likes to help with all the fish duties. Always there when I feed or do water changes. She's gotten to a point where she knows where the line is and i don't have to hold her back for the safety of the fish. 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Cinnebuns

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Cinnebuns kittens are awesome and cats are not hard to train like some people would try and tell you. My cats don't raise a claw to anything they aren't allowed to. They are allowed on my kitchen counter but not when I'm cooking and they know it. They sit politely on their designated pot holder at the end of my counter to watch me moving about in the morning. They don't wake me up unless it's really time (they know they can after my alarm sounds). I could go on and on. 

Ragdolls have awesome personalities- you will enjoy her immensely.

[Cinnebuns]

@xXInkedPhoenixX I think why some people think cats are hard to train is because many people treat them like dogs and they aren't!  I have trained all my cats to do tricks and such. I have also learned that it's important when you say no to also say yes just like your kitchen example!  "No you can't be on the counter but yes you can sit on the pot holder."  

 

I fell hard in love with this kitten from day one when she fell asleep all night on my shoulder. I've always wanted a ragdoll but never wanted to buy one so when I found a half-raggie litter that was needing homes I had to have her!  The fish have been a good learning for boundaries for her too. It's been great. 

[Colu]

I used to have 5 cats all of them have passed over the years my older cats never bothered the fish my younger cat would not leave the tanks alone constantly on top of the tank 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Colu

[Guppysnail]

20+ years ago I took down my main tanks due to work/time constraints. My cat loved staring them so sat and cried endlessly so I bought a small tank for a feeder goldfish (who lived and was upgraded many times) to entertain my cat. Anytime day or night he layed in front of his goldfish tank staring at it. No other cat ever showed interest in my tanks I’ve always had cats and tanks. My current brat cat Simba goes in the fish room and balance beams the light bars and yells when he wants my attention because he knows I come running  in fear of him breaking a lid. 🤣

[Hobbit]

Ugh cats are so smart and they know exactly how to get our attention! My cat started sitting on top of my tank because she thought it would make me nervous. I made more secure lids for her and she stopped sitting up there. 🙄 She doesn’t seem to view the fish as prey and won’t even eat a fish if it jumps out of the tank, but she sure loves fish water! Her favorite water source is now the 1 gallon bowl on my work desk that is home to a snail. So I guess snail water works too. Before that bowl, she enjoyed the water from one of my 10 gallons.

 

[Blaha]

My Cat sits on a neaby table to watch but if she tries to climb on the tank or bat at the glass at the fish she gets sprayed. The one time she got up un-nnoticed she also learned that the fish are protected by water. She stopped trying to get in or on the tank a while ago, but enjoys watching the kuhlis specifically

[Odd Duck]

I’ve only had 1 of my current cats take a dunk because she climbed on top of the 75 gallon before we got the correct lids.  I had longer lids covering the tank that overlapped the top instead of being nestled down inside the tank rim properly.  One slid as she jumped onto the tank and shifted far enough to dunk her in with the Jack Dempseys momentarily.  This hasn’t prevented her from sitting on the lids since then (correctly fitting lids now).

The same cat is fascinated by the fish and will climb on top of any of the tanks including my 10 gallons in the rack.  She managed to vomit a little bit into one tank and nearly wiped out my green jade shrimp.  Just one more reason to get my small tanks consolidated into one fish room where I can shut the door and keep cats, fish, and shrimp safer.

The other cats are somewhat interested in the fish, but she’s the only one that causes any real trouble around the fish tanks.  I do have to encourage others to NOT jump from the TV stand to the tops of the 2 living room tanks.  🙄

[Cinnebuns]

@Colu yeah my 13 year old cat doesn't even acknowledge the tanks whereas my 7 month old is obsessed. Although she's also obsessed with water in general and will come sprinting anytime I turn on a faucet. 

 

@Guppysnail that's hilarious that the cat missed the fish. Good on you to get you cat a tank haha. What we do for our fur babies!

[Gigrantor]

I wish my cats behaved like this. The most I’ll get is the older one taking a snooze in the office chair I have in the fish room. I’ve been tempted to buy a lazy boy for down there so I can do the same!