Two year old constantly tipping the cats’ water bowl up

[Shesighs]

Is there any way to prevent this? I’m starting to think the poor cats will never be able to drink again

A firm no

Use of baby gates

100% supervision

Water bowl outside

Water bowl on a high surface

yeah i have a baby gate on the kitchen door so they cant get to anything their not supposed to including the cats bowl lol

find a room were you can baby gate the door were you can put the bowl ,it also gives the cats a place they can get a break from the toddler

Say no and redirect enough times until you literally think you are going insane and it will start to sink in, promise. Can’t remember the last time my 2YO went for the cat’s bowls actually.

We have put the water bowl on the kitchen windowsill to avoid this (and me kicking it over….narrow kitchen )

Sadly it has been going on for a year now. I have lost hope that my firm ‘nos’ are heeded for anything … but it is most wearisome, not least for the cats!

Unfortunately he’s been able to open baby gates for a while now!

Mine is the same, I just only put a few mils in the bowl and taught him to wipe it up, so it still happens but not a big job to clean up. Top up frequently for the cat.

Knocking it over on purpose? How often?

You can find a way to make it impossible for him to open the stair gate.

Or put the water bowl somewhere higher up that the cats can get to.

Put it higher up. We have a dog who is a twat so our cats food and water bowls are on the kitchen windowsill.

Very heavy bowl? Like a big dog bowl maybe.

Would a microchip feeder work?

Or tie his hands behind his back...

If the floor is smooth enough maybe a bowl with a suction cup on the base?

Start putting an ice cream sundae in front of him then dashing it to the ground.

I have a fire guard that I use to make a little enclosure for the cat’s water and food bowls. There’s a cat tower thing at one side of this enclosure which lets the cat get in but not the baby!

Every time he does it, make him come and mop the whole area up and dry it, before he is allowed to go back to playing.
The annoyance of that should deter him repeating it. You may also need to think about your parental relationship with him - why does he not respect your authority?

Erm, have you ever met a two-year-old?

How on earth can he open a baby gate? I struggle with ours, it's so stiff!

Thanks for saying that @SqueakyDinosaur 😂

He’s had them figured since he was 20 months @Mutabiliss . He can also climb like an Everest explorer

😂😂😂

Re-home him while he’s still cute, it will only get worse.

But seriously put the water bowl up on the work top, if the cat can get on the counters.

He can open baby gates at two. He sounds as strong as a bison.

My cats prefer a bowl in the bathroom. Maybe put a bowl where your 2yr old can't get to it?

So do you get angry with him? Shout? Give him a time out?

Because if he's been doing it for over a year, whatever sanctions you're giving him clearly aren't working.

My son could get over or open any baby gate by 2! Could escape from a cot /travel cot at 18 months by sort of doing a sort of launching himself over feet first!

Do we still do time outs or naughty step?
Sounds like something like this is needed?
Making him clean up after, even though he’s two, would probably work. Natural consequences at work.

Clearly. But it did start at 18 months, which is a hard age to ‘discipline’ beyond a firm ‘no.’ Even now at two and a half I’m not sure he would understand a ‘sanction’ per se. It’s just very irritating and I’ve recently changed the cats to dry food which he also chucks everywhere and so they do need the water.

Cats are quite thick so I’m not sure they’d know to find their food and water if moved but I’ll have to put it up high!