Who needs a water bowl?

"I’m just doing my part to cut back on dirty dishes." What a thoughtful guy! Ted the cat prefers to drink his water straight from the faucet. He’ll use a bowl if he has to, but the way he sees it, why dunk your head into a dish when you can lean back and guzzle away with little or no effort?

Ted is quite the character at Best Friends. Much of the time, he is laid back and fun-loving. During these moments, the staffers often call him Teddy. At other times, he is much more purposeful. Focused. Nearly serious. That’s when he goes by the name of Theodore. Kind of like when you’re in trouble and your mom uses your full name, only not as scary!

He came to Best Friends in 2003 when his family couldn’t keep up with his medical costs. He has feline calicivirus, which is a virus that can cause immune and upper respiratory problems. In some cases, like Ted’s, this virus can also cause stomatitis and lesions in the mouth. He’s not in pain but that cool water cascading across his tongue has to feel nice. No wonder he picked up that habit! And lucky for Ted nobody decided to tell him it’s bad manners to drink straight from the carton—or in this case, the tap.

Written by David Dickson. Photos by Troy Snow.