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Drinking soapy dish water

post #1 of 9
11/14/11 at 5:48pm
Thread Starter 
For pete's sake. I saw Queen Eva jump up on the sink as I was sitting here at my desk. Knowing there wasn't anything for her to get into (so I thought) I didn't pay much attention. After a few minutes it occurred to me that I hadn't seen or heard her jump down so I craned my neck around the corner to see what she was up to..

She was drinking the soapy dish water. Or maybe just eating the bubbles. What the heck? I checked the msds and it isn't toxic, but still obviously not meant to be ingested. I now suspect she has done this before, as one night I forgot to dump the dish pan and the next day she had some diarrhea.

What next.
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post #2 of 9
11/14/11 at 8:39pm
AHHH Gracie does this in the bathroom sink!!! She jumps right in after you wash your hands to "eat the bubbles". I just make sure I rinse the sink out well after each use.
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post #3 of 9
11/14/11 at 11:19pm

Getting into the sink brings back memories......To make a long story short, over the years I've realized they either do this when they are sick or when their food (might just be one particular item in a rotation diet) is making them unusually thirsty. (So far I've never had a cat that got into the kitchen sink looking for a drink because of playful curiosity.) So......when I'm pressed for time I just rinse dirty dishes and soak them in warm water without adding any detergent to make sure nothing bad happens if one of the quadrupeds decides to look for something to drink there. 

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post #4 of 9
11/15/11 at 7:51am
For Pete's Sake laughing02.gif!!! You would think that would just be awful for her eek.gif I guess it is the bubbles attracting her agree.gif. I would imagine it would upset the tummy... My cats are always interested in the kitchen sink too. My husband drinks a lot of ice water and before bed he dumps the leftover ice in the sink. Perkins and Walden love to play with the ice. It seems the kitchen sink is a very fun place for kitties to play bluelaugh.gif
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post #5 of 9
11/15/11 at 7:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post

For pete's sake. I saw Queen Eva jump up on the sink as I was sitting here at my desk. Knowing there wasn't anything for her to get into (so I thought) I didn't pay much attention. After a few minutes it occurred to me that I hadn't seen or heard her jump down so I craned my neck around the corner to see what she was up to..
She was drinking the soapy dish water. Or maybe just eating the bubbles. What the heck? I checked the msds and it isn't toxic, but still obviously not meant to be ingested. I now suspect she has done this before, as one night I forgot to dump the dish pan and the next day she had some diarrhea.
What next.


ALL of my cats do that. The only way I can stop that behavior is, not keeping dirty soapy dishes in the sink laughing02.gif.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Violet View Post

Getting into the sink brings back memories......To make a long story short, over the years I've realized they either do this when they are sick or when their food (might just be one particular item in a rotation diet) is making them unusually thirsty. (So far I've never had a cat that got into the kitchen sink looking for a drink because of playful curiosity.) So......when I'm pressed for time I just rinse dirty dishes and soak them in warm water without adding any detergent to make sure nothing bad happens if one of the quadrupeds decides to look for something to drink there. 


That must mean all my cats are sick, I guesssmashfreak.gif.

 

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post #6 of 9
11/15/11 at 9:34am
Think carefully!......
 
What I said was
 

 

Quote:
over the years I've realized they either do this when they are sick or when their food (might just be one particular item in a rotation diet) is making them unusually thirsty.

 

 

 

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post #7 of 9
11/15/11 at 12:23pm
Thread Starter 
Apparently it's fairly common for cats to be drawn to soaps, I've heard of it before, I've just never had one who was until Queen Eva. Many soaps are made with oils, and may even have corn derivatives. Queen Eva would kill for anything with corn in it, and she likes oils too.

She also likes adhesives. Not just tape, but those self sticky films that go over LCD screens, you know to protect a camera or kindle.

I really have to be on top of things with her.
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post #8 of 9
11/16/11 at 4:56am
My Rosie was crazy about that glossy finish the photoshops used to put on photographs. And I remember hearing from other cat parents that their cats loved the stuff too. Of course it was toxic to cats, so to keep them safe we had to keep them away from photographs.
 
As for dishwashing liquid and other things, just because they like the smell or even the taste of something, it doesn't mean it's good for them and that they should be allowed to have it. (Antifreeze containing ethylene glycol might be the most perfect example of this.)
 
Getting back to soapy dish water.....two of my cats (at different times, years apart) started going into the kitchen sink searching for something, anything, to drink when they were sick with cancer. (Excessive thirst caused by the disease was driving the behavior.) Bernie would even get into the bathroom sink and bathtub looking for water. It was scary and heartbreaking. With both cats, keeping a large bowl of water right next to the kitchen sink proved to be very helpful. They were drinking from that very nicely instead of going into the sink. But poor Bernie, he was in the bathtub again just minutes before it was time for us to leave for that last vet visit.
 
A couple of months ago, for the first time in her life, my Tabby also started going into the kitchen sink looking for a drink. And I noticed she was drinking more than usual as well. I was horrified, fearing the worst. But a few days later I was able to breathe a huge big sigh of relief when it turned out that a new food (canned!!! not even dry) I had just started buying was the reason she was suddenly so thirsty. I'll never know why that food had that effect on her, but no more of it has solved the problem. Her drinking went right back to normal and she hasn't been near the dishes in the sink since.
 
So, anyway.....I'd just like to add, you're absolutely right when you say "I really have to be on top of things with her."  It seems our babies always find reasons for us to do that, don't they?
 
 
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post #9 of 9
11/17/11 at 5:51pm

I can't keep soapy water/soaking dishes in the sink for an extended period of time because three of my cats are obsessed w/ the sink and will eat it. There is currently three cats sitting surrounding my sink because the dishwasher is on and they like the sound of it (it is right next to the sink and they seem to think the sound comes from the sink). I leave a cup full of fresh cold water in the sink nightly for them because they try to swat at the faucet to get water to come out of it...and whenever I turn the faucet on they run to the sink and try to play with the water, or drink it, or walk through it/under it, even when it is hot. Yet....if you take them near a bathtub of water, they freak out! :o)

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