Let’s discuss the obvious and then let’s discuss what’s not quite so obvious because ultimately the question we are all asking is this: “Why is my pet drinking out of the toilet?“
So- would you drink water out of the toilet? Not unless it were the end of the world and there was no water. And why is that? Let’s be blunt. We poop and pee in the toilet. There’s a lot of bacteria in poop. And it belongs in the toilet down the drain.
So no- we don’t wanna drink poop water. Even when you flush, some bacteria remains in the toilet. And pretty much nobody cleans the toilet after every flush.
So- simply from a gross perspective, we don’t want our pets drinking out of the toilet.
When I was little, we had Great Danes. If you leave the toilet seat up, the bowl is perfect height for a Great Dane to drink out of it. My mother quickly put an end to that. The household rule was the lid of the toilet always stays down. Cause nobody wants a kiss from their dog after they drank out of the toilet!
So- that’s the way to cure the problem. Close the seat. It’s a simple habit change.
But let’s address the underlying question. Why?
As I commonly do, I’m going to bring you back to your life. How you personally do things. Like do you personally have a preference for what kind of a container you drink your water out of? Or your coffee? Or your juice? Maybe you don’t. Some of us are kind of picky. I am! I don’t think my water tastes good in a plastic container. I often drink it out of ceramic or glass or sometimes a reusable metal cup. Why? It tastes different! Water in a plastic bottle tastes absolutely horrible to me, but water out of those other type of containers tastes better.
.
Well, that’s what our pets are doing. Some of our pets are picky. Some are not. Those of you whose cat or dog is drinking out of the toilet bowl, they like the temperature or the taste or something.
So let’s not encourage drinking out of a bacterial laden fecal receptacle. But maybe let’s look at changing the water dish. Maybe a fountain. Maybe change it to a ceramic dish.
Some animals like cold water. You can add ice cubes. Be creative. Help your fur baby drink clean water.
Still seeing patients in Tampa, Clearwater, and virtually.