Cartoon PSA advises to flush rats if climbing up and invading toilets — and social media goes wild
A Seattle and King County Public Health Department released a cartoon telling residents what to do if they find a rat in their toilet. Seattle and King County Public Health
A quirky government cartoon warning Seattle residents about rats in toilets has social media buzzing with jokes.
The Public Health — Seattle & King County Facebook page posted a series of cartoons showing residents how to “deal” with rats that might climb up from flooded sewers during heavy rain. The instructions, delivered in a deadpan tone, begin simply: “Try to stay calm,” with an illustration of a rat peeking out of a toilet at a startled woman. “That might not be easy under the circumstances.”
Next, the cartoon advises: “Close the lid and flush,” showing the woman trapping the rat under the toilet lid. If that fails, it recommends grabbing dish soap—“your new best friend”—to make the critter slide down the drain. “It may take many flushes,” the PSA adds. “Back to the sewer, rat!”
For larger rats that refuse to cooperate, the cartoon suggests calling an exterminator or setting a trap.
The whimsical advice quickly went viral, with social media users gleefully poking fun at the unlikely scenario.
“Never been happier to be septic!” one commenter wrote. Another joked, “Talk to the rat first. It could be from NIMH and just trying to help Mrs. Frisby,” referencing the children’s book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
Others focused on the unintended consequences of using soap on rodents. “The dish soap didn’t work, now the rat smells like Dawn and is fluffy. Do I give it conditioner? Help,” one user quipped. Another asked, “OK, so you suggest giving the rat a bubble bath?”
While it sounds absurd, rats can in fact end up in toilets. Food odors in sewage attract them, and old plumbing combined with high water in sewer systems can carry rodents into homes, the infographic explains.
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