Seattle-area health officials released a set of cartoon instructions about how to handle rats surfacing in toilets during heavy rains, and the guidance has drawn equal parts incredulity and amusement from readers across the region.
Two Washington counties hit by heavy rain and flooding prompted local public health staff to share illustrated steps for what to do if a rat shows up in your toilet, and the result reads more like a quirky cartoon than standard safety advice. The material explains that rising sewer water can force rodents into plumbing, offers a few basic remedies, and pairs that guidance with lighthearted visuals instead of a formal alert. The tone and format have been the main reason people are talking as much as the underlying problem itself.
The guidance explains a simple plumbing pathway for animals displaced by storms, noting that sewers and side lines can become routes into homes when conditions get extreme. “Flooding or heavy rains may drive them into the side sewer lines that run from your house to the street,” their website claims, and the bulletin suggests that kitchen pipe openings are generally too small for a rat to use. That leaves the toilet as a logical, if unsettling, access point when sewers are under pressure.
The suggested immediate step is straightforward: close the toilet lid and flush to discourage an animal from staying in the bowl, and the bulletin then anticipates the obvious follow-up. “Well, what if the rat is still there?” the material asks, and the next frame advises using dish soap to make the animal slippery and less likely to climb back up. The contrast between the everyday chore of grabbing dish soap and the bizarre scenario of a bathroom intruder is what makes the guidance feel surreal to many readers.
These cartoons read more like a public service gag than a formal emergency notice, and that choice matters because people expect clear, actionable messaging from public health agencies during extreme weather. Using humor or whimsy can help a message stick, but it can also undercut the seriousness of flooding and infrastructure risks when the visuals overshadow the practical steps. Still, the department clearly aimed to make instructions memorable and accessible, even if the method raised eyebrows.
The advice landed amid broader frustrations about city life in parts of the region, where conversations about public safety and visible social challenges are already common. For many, hearing about rats using toilets only adds an odd chapter to worries about crime and open-air drug use that residents have been discussing for months. That context is why these instructions did not land as a neutral bit of municipal housekeeping and instead became a small cultural moment people shared online.
Readers have been left wondering a few practical things: who illustrated these rat-focused cartoons, and whether the department tested these tips in real incidents or drafted them from theory. Public health messaging often walks a fine line between being helpful and being patronizing, and this case will likely be cited as an example of both depending on your point of view. Whatever the answers may be, I hope I never have to find out how effective their suggestions are.
