Here?s why cats hate belly rubs so much

(Related: Is everything you think about cats wrong?)Some cats find running water interesting, and prefer its taste to still water, according to Debra Zoran, an internal medicine specialist at Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.Standing water can taste unappealing if the bowl isn’t kept clean and fresh, for instance.Cats also have sensitive whiskers, which they’d prefer “not touch the sides of a bowl, or anything else, while they are eating or drinking,” Zoran says by email. (See our favorite photos of pet felines.)Cats mark with urine (or phantom urine) “often out of frustration or territorial concerns,” says Dodman, author of The Cat Who Cried For Help, and it’s usually in a prominent place that has “strategic significance” to the cat, including the edges of their territory or where their food is located.There are also scent glands in the foot, though Dodman thinks that this isn’t a major part of the marking process.Nicknamed “the zoomies,” these bursts of activity can happen at any time and are just a release of pent-up energy after all those nice, long cat naps.