Has this ever happened to you?
Waking up in the middle of the night, you look over and find your cat drinking from your water glass on your bedside table.
Desperately wanting to surrender to a few more hours of sleep, you take note of this and tell yourself to change your water glass tomorrow.
Your alarm rings bright and early, stretching, you lean over and take a gulp of water because you’re thirsty.
Whoops. Accidentally drank water that my cat drank!
S.O.S!
Am I going to die?
Probably not, but honestly, could I maybe get sick?
Keep reading to find out.
[ez-toc]
If you find that you accidentally drank water that your cat drank, don’t worry. You are probably not going to get sick. The chance is so small that you can almost say that you won’t. Surprisingly, while you can’t get rabies from a rabid cat that drinks your water, there is the tiniest chance that you could get toxoplasmosis from a cat carrying that disease. Again, the chances are so small that it is not worth worrying about. There are other Zoonic diseases that can be passed on from Cat to Human in other ways, according to the CDC. If you want to keep your drink free from cat sips, there are ways to problem solve this- for example, you could buy a glass with a lid or have a special one for your cat. Although the chances of getting sick are nothing to worry about, it is advisable for pregnant women and immune-compromised persons to show extra care. If you are not in one of these categories, check yourself for symptoms and ask yourself if your cat is in good health as far as you know. If everything is okay then you are probably going to be just fine!
Please know that I’m not a vet. Although I am carefully researching answers hoping to help you in this quest, if you have any significant concerns please see your veterinarian.
Every cat, cat owner, and situation is unique.
It’s, of course, not possible to cover every scenario in one blog post. So again, if you have any doubts or concerns please see your vet.
Even if nothing turns up, your cat, yourself, your home, and your peace of mind are worth a trip to see a professional.
This will blow your mind.
According to Dr Subbanna MD, Neurologist (MD), if you have a wild cat with rabies sneak up to your water glass on the porch and take a sip, you won’t get rabies.
This is because the rabies virus can only survive for a few seconds outside the body, so there is no time to infect you or your drink.
For example, rabies would need to be transferred more directly, like through a bite from that cat.
All the same, I would personally switch up the water glass for peace of mind. And of course, please be wise around animals with diseases!
There is a very small chance that you could be infected by Toxoplasmosis by drinking the same water as your cat.
A cat’s faeces transfer toxoplasmosis.
Your cat does groom everything, so there is a chance that licking your water could also contaminate the water with toxoplasmosis.
However, transmission this way is very, very, rare. The main danger here, as you have probably heard, is transmission from cleaning your cat’s litter box where the parasite is present, not washing your hands, and contracting the illness this way.
Toxoplasmosis will only live in your cat for a couple of weeks. Once eliminated into your cat’s litter box, the parasite must mature for a couple of days before it can infect.
If you have a weakened immune system or are pregnant, it would be advisable to be cautious of the water your cat drank from.
But, at the best of times, contact with cats is unlikely to spread toxoplasmosis from cat to cat owner.
For a complete list of illnesses (Zoonic diseases), check out the Cornell Feline Health Center’s article or the same by the CDC.
While there are various ways to contract certain Zoonic Diseases, doing so is unlikely.
Contraction through a water glass is not mentioned and therefore not a concern.
A word of caution- cats aren’t big water drinkers, so if your cat is drinking a lot, including sneaking a lot of drinks from your glass, they could have a health issue.
Probably, your cat prefers your water glass over their water bowl. Maybe the water is fresher or tastes better in your glass cup.
But if your cat is drinking non-stop, take your cat to the vet to get this looked into.
Conversely, if your cat is drinking nothing at all, make a trip to the vet.
Interested in keeping your cat more hydrated? Cat hydration can be a tricky thing. If you purchased a fountain and your cat isn’t drinking from it, check out our article on troubleshooting the problem here.
If you would like to keep your cat away from your drinking glass, here are some suggestions to do that:
Vets generally agree that it is highly improbable that you can get sick after drinking water that your cat has drunk. In other words, it may be more likely for you to get bitten by a shark on your next vacation, eaten by a hippo, or mauled to death by a moose on your next trip to the grocery store.
A good rule of thumb is to think about your health, the health of other people in your house, and your cat. If you are all in good health including your cat, then there is a very low probability that your cat will pass a sickness on to someone in the house.
Moreover, pregnant persons may also need to exercise some extra caution.
Also, consider also if you are showing symptoms soon after drinking from the water glass such as a fever or sore throat.
All these things considered, sharing a sip of water with your cat is very unlikely to be unsafe.
Interested in having more of your cat questions answered? If you have found yourself wondering why your cat sits in your sink, bites you, or is afraid of your ceiling fan, check out our articles that solve the mysteries.
Leave a comment