Why pets drink from everywhere EXCEPT their actual water bowl

It’s a mystery that baffles and bemuses almost every pet owner. Why do pets seem determined to drink water from anywhere except from their own water bowl?! After all, the tap, the shower, the swimming pool and even the toilet bowl prove more popular! Well, here’s your answer…

For starters, there’s instinct. Our pets have been hardwired to know that running water (like that from a river or stream) is safer to drink that stagnant water which may have allowed dangerous bugs to multiply. Hence their love of taps and hoses.

But then there’s taste. Unlike us, cats and dogs have the ability to ‘taste’ water. In fact, they have taste buds dedicated to that task on the very tip of their tongue. As a result, they become connoisseurs for two things; FRESHNESS and FLAVOUR.

They’ll walk away from water that’s stale and flat (so regularly change their water bowl) while they’ll find ‘wow’ factor in water that has a higher level of minerals. Interestingly, the water at the base of the shower tends to concentrate calcium and other salts.