Why does my cat drink out of the toilet?

Title says it all. I have two cats, indoors only, approx 5-6 years old.

They will not drink from a water dish.

I figured it was bc stagnant water tastes bad, so bought one of those fancy pet fountain that circulates and filters the water. They will not drink from it, even when all four bathrooms are closed off. Tried running the fountain with and without the filter, no change.

Both cats prefer to drink from the bathroom sink. They follow me into the bathroom and wait for me to leave the sink on. Then they drink straight from it. I do this every morning and night, but I don't leave the faucet running during the day. Hence the toilet drinking.

They've even started to take their "toys" and drop them in the toilet, then fish them out to play with.

It can be quite a shock to go to the bathroom and find my sons little stuffed tiger in the toilet and the floor sopping wet.

Does anyone else have cats who do this? Am I not providing something they need? All help appreciated!

The water in the toilet is cool and fresh and pretty clean (as long as you aren't scuzzy- i'm sure you're not xD).

My cat is the same way- with the faucets though. He doesn't drink from the toilet, thankfully. He's a weirdo though- he'll drink from my glass of water and the faucet only...never a bowl.

Originally posted by Raivan31
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

Because he can.
Same reason he licks himself on the groin.

Bet you wish you could do that too huh.
You may want to pet him first though.

Disgusting and insulting.

Originally posted by smyleegrl

Originally posted by Raivan31
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

Because he can.
Same reason he licks himself on the groin.

Bet you wish you could do that too huh.
You may want to pet him first though.

Disgusting and insulting.

Total lack of sense of humour and incapable of laughing at your own expense

reply to post by smyleegrl


Never had a cat drink out of the toilet bowl, but after my partner has been there I don't blame them I've had cats look down the toilet after I flush to watch the water go round. I had one cat who liked to look down when I was sat on the loo

I have put no end of bowls of water down and my cats will not drink from them. They look at me like I put down a bowl of poison for them. However they like to drink from the taps in the bathroom - whether it's sink or bath. I filled a glass in the bathroom once and put it on the floor as my one cat was licking the bath tap. He put his paw in the handle and pulled it towards him so my girl cat couldn't have any

Personally I have always preferred a glass of water from the tap in the bathroom than the one in the kitchen. People say ewww that's nasty the water there is 'B' grade, but since I was a kid I've preferred the taste of the water from the bathroom. I've never liked the taste of water, only from the cold tap in the bathroom.

Originally posted by MzMorbid
The water in the toilet is cool and fresh and pretty clean (as long as you aren't scuzzy- i'm sure you're not xD).

My cat is the same way- with the faucets though. He doesn't drink from the toilet, thankfully. He's a weirdo though- he'll drink from my glass of water and the faucet only...never a bowl.

Glad to hear someone else's cat is just as nuts. Thanks for the reply!

reply to post by smyleegrl


My cats used to do that as well, I found that if I added ice cubes to the pet water fountain reserve part they stopped messing with the toilet water I think it has something to do with the temperature of the water. As far as them smacking the water some cats just like to play in water. My black cat likes to sleep in the bathtub I don't know why, he also likes to sit on the side of the tub while your showering and smack at the water that falls near him. I always thought my cat was just a wierdo

reply to post by Eirian


My cats will NOT go in the bathroom after my husband has been there. Can't say I blame them.

Thank you for the reply!

reply to post by jenlovesturtles


Thanks for the idea! I'll add ice and see if that helps.

Good question!
Mine is:
Why does my cat pee in the bathtub??

reply to post by Starwise


There are alot of reasons he may be doing this. If you have more then one cat and they use only one box then you need to get a second box. Second reason might be because its an enclosed area and he feels safe there so you could put his litterbox in a closet so he uses it more? He doesn't want to smell his pee anymore then we humans do but depending on the litter he might smell it strongly and not want to use the box because of this. If you google the question there are alot of reasons and if you eliminate the possiblities one by one you'll figure it out.

I have 9 cats, and three of them insist on drinking toilet water. If they want to do that, I don't have a problem with it, except that they make a mess on the toilet seat because their paws get wet.

It may have something to do with the temperature, as another poster pointed out. They do like ice cubes in their water, but ice cubes tend to melt, and then we're back to them drinking from the potty.

I also have a few cats that pee in the sink and the bathtub. They have excellent aim and get it right down the drain, but I wish they wouldn't do it. I even have one orange tom cat that I found peeing in the toilet a few times. They get the idea that the bathroom is for urination, and act logically. Smart kitties!

I figure if they can lick their own behinds and not get sick, a little toilet water isn't going to hurt them!

reply to post by Starwise


He knows you do your thing in that room too, maybe....and the tub is easier for him to manage than the toilet xD Frankie (mine) doesn't like to use a litter box unless it's his only option...he prefers to do his business out in the garden. If he can't make it out the door or window for whatever reason, and he's locked away from the part of the house the litter box is in, he will go in the closest available tub.

I think this is very polite of him- he's not ruining my floors!

Cats are colour blind and so don't always know there is water in the bowl for them, unless you dunk their nose in it!! Lol...to ignor your running fountain water though...I guess they just like the loo! Lol...somewhere reliable, its already claimed as their watering hole!

My cats ignor the bowl and drink from running taps, glasses of water and pools in the sink, the only time they drink out the bowl is when I give them a treat of milk once a month...they have no trouble seeing that in the bowl

Mine do the same...well, two of the three. If the lid is down, they willaxtually lick the water off the shower floor. If i lift the lid up while theymare doIng that. They will start drinking from the toilet. They do this regardless of whether or not they have a full bowl of water. They will also drink out of the dogs bowl, but not their own, but still prefer the toilet.

I think cats hate stale water. I know i do. And i dont change their water as much because theydont drink it. They dont drink it because i dont change it as much. I always change the dogs water about twice a day because it gets empty. Even if itry changing the water more, they wont drink it and i think its because they are used to it being stale. Habit.

Originally posted by Sinny
Cats are colour blind and so don't always know there is water in the bowl for them, unless you dunk their nose in it!!

That might explain my cats. There food is in a glass bowl whereas the dogs is in stainless steal. They probably can barely tell if they have any water at all. I used to have a cat that always had trouble drinking from a bowl. It always got up her nose because she couldnt tell where the water level was. She was terrible at drinking from water glasses on the table!

My cat will only try to drink out of it after I've cleaned it with bleach. Sometimes I'll leave the bleach in for awhile and close the lid but he will try to open the lid to get into it?

Cats are crazy!

Ah yes the $40 cat fountain mystery. The only thing I can think of is that toilets are porclein.

reply to post by Starwise


Mine do this from time ro time. I find it to e polite, actually. I think for various reasons they dont want to use the box . Maybe it got too dirty (i do space it when im in a rush for work sometimes). Maybe they didn thave ready acces for some reason and went in the next logical spot. Mine is in the laundry room and i think one of my kitties doesnt like to go when the washer or dryer is running. Also, my boy cat lays some mean stinkers sometimes and i think one of my girls hates goingin after him. I always tell people they have a very thoughful cat if they use the tub as a litter box.