Cat obsessed with the toilet

bob'smom

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Since Monday Freckles has been obsessed with getting into the bathroom and drinking out of the toilet. For the first few days he just jumped on the seat and looked in. Last night he fell in trying to drink (he didn't get hurt, but did get his head stuck under the seat!
) I thought that would cure him, but he's racing me into the bathroom and did successfully get his mouth into the water this morning. I've seen this out of dogs, but this is the 1st time I've seen a cat want to drink out of the toilet. The funny thing is that he's never shown any interest in following me into the bathroom, unlike my other cat Bob. Freckles is quite ill, the vet thinks it's cancer or a tumor. He gets plenty of food and water otherwise. Does anyone else have a cat like this?
 

purrpaws

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Prego used to drink out of the toilet. I got him a pet water fountain, so now he uses that. They like the toilet because the water is fresh (it gets flushed several times a day) and because the toilet bowl keeps the water nice and cold.
 
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bob'smom

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Funny thing - Freckles' former owner told me he hates water fountains! Then again she told me he didn't like wet food either and he can't get enough of that now. I guess she was wrong, or didn't pay enough attention.
 

kluchetta

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I've heard that if they like the toilet, get the Petmate fountain, and if they drink out of the sink, get the Drinkwell. I do know that Tigger really likes the fountain and she was my toilet kitty!
 

candyangels4

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Hi, new here! All 4 of my cats drink from the toilet. i don't know why!! Reeses is fascinated by moving water. He will actually flush the toilet and then jump up on the seat to watch it swirl down the drain!!! hahaha. I got them a fountain adn they love it, but they still drink from the toilet. and the faucets. and the bathtub!! Cats are just funny.
 

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Oh, and clsing the lid doesn't stop my Oreo from drinking from teh toilet. He has learned how to get his paws under the lid and then stick his nose under the open and wriggle hsi way under the lid. It's so hilarious! I gave up tryign to stop them, i jsut make sure that thers is never any left over toilet paper in there!!
 

natalie_ca

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Toilets are filthy, once they've been used and no matter how often or with what you clean it with it's still a dirty place. I suggest keeping the lid down so your can't get in there and drink the water and get sick or spread the bacteria (e-coli is deadly) around the house after having his paws or body in there.

Also as some suggested earlier, it sounds like your cat wants cold running water and something like the fountain would be ideal because it offers cold running water.

I can't afford to get that and my cats are picky about having fresh cold water, so what I do is keep a mini ice cream container (I guess they are hold about 1 quart or litre) filled with water in the fridge. I put out a new one in the morning, and wash the old and refill it and put it back in the fridge and put it out at dinner time. This way they have water available all day, and twice a day it's ice cold like they prefer it.
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by candyangels4

Oh, and clsing the lid doesn't stop my Oreo from drinking from teh toilet. He has learned how to get his paws under the lid and then stick his nose under the open and wriggle hsi way under the lid. It's so hilarious! I gave up tryign to stop them, i jsut make sure that thers is never any left over toilet paper in there!!
I'd look into getting a heavier toilet seat/lid, or putting something heavy on the closed lid until you cat broke the habit.

Toilets are really dirty places, even if you think you have cleaned it well. Bacteria are hardy and are the oldest living things in the world, some billions of years old because they have learned to adapt to extreme temperatures of heat and cold and even cleaners. I clean my toilet well and I like to think it's clean, but I sure wouldn't consider going and dipping a cup into it and grabbing a drink. If I won't drink from my toilet, I sure wouldn't let my pets drink from it either.
 
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bob'smom

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All I can hear is Archie Bunker - "Edith, why did you have to get the terlet water?" I just find it funny that a 9 year old cat, and one with a serious illness that you would think would limit him from such activity, would suddenly take an interest in something that he never noticed before.
 

asecretk

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Three of my cats like the toilet. My cat Uno used to just like to watch it flush
She would come running to the bathroom door as soon as she heard it. She had kittens and we kept two of them.

Uno and her son Bob love watching the toilet flush and they also love running water. Bob is the only one that will actually drink from the toilet though. Penelope the other kitten only likes to watch the toilet flush.

I am rarely alone in the bathroom


I would get a fountain but with 10 cats and 3 dogs I don't see it lasting long


Now and then I turn on the sink and let the water run. Bob and Uno love to drink and bat at the water. Bob trys to play with the stream of water like it is a piece of string. LOL
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by Bob'sMom

Since Monday Freckles has been obsessed with getting into the bathroom and drinking out of the toilet. For the first few days he just jumped on the seat and looked in. Last night he fell in trying to drink (he didn't get hurt, but did get his head stuck under the seat!
) I thought that would cure him, but he's racing me into the bathroom and did successfully get his mouth into the water this morning. I've seen this out of dogs, but this is the 1st time I've seen a cat want to drink out of the toilet. The funny thing is that he's never shown any interest in following me into the bathroom, unlike my other cat Bob. Freckles is quite ill, the vet thinks it's cancer or a tumor. He gets plenty of food and water otherwise. Does anyone else have a cat like this?
I can go you one better. How about a cat that is very seriously interested in what other people are doing on the toilet?
 

purrpaws

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Originally Posted by Bob'sMom

Funny thing - Freckles' former owner told me he hates water fountains! Then again she told me he didn't like wet food either and he can't get enough of that now. I guess she was wrong, or didn't pay enough attention.
Maybe he just didn't like one particular kind. I know of three general kinds, the Cat-It, which sprays water in a circle, the Drinkwell, where it splashes down like a waterfall, and the Petmate, where the water goes down a ramp. Maybe they had a splashing one and Bob didn't like that?
 
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