“Ewwww” is the first thing that comes to mind when we see a dog with its head in the bowl, lapping up toilet water (or cat balancing on the rim, bottom-up). But is it dangerous?
Toilet water in Melbourne is in general pretty clean and harmless if a pet should drink it. It is the other stuff lurking in the bowl that can cause harm. E.coli is a fecal bacteria that may hang around in there and can cause intestinal diseases in cats and dogs when ingested.
And then there is “blue” water. Chemicals that we use to clean our toilets, with chlorine bleach products being one of the worst, can be deadly to pets. Toilet cleaners can contain sodium hypochlorite, hypochlorite salts, sodium peroxide, sodium perborate, and other chemicals that can kill when directly consumed.
Another issue with these cleaners is that, if they are not properly diluted can cause burning to the inside of pets’ mouths. This can cause drooling, vomiting, redness, and lack of appetite.
Bottom line is: Don’t let your pets drink from toilet bowls.
| Do you know what happens to a cockroach flushed down the toilet? Being able to hold their breath for at least 40 minutes, most will survive and become sewage cockroaches. The ones that die will get filtered out with other waste. |
