Rosario Monachino
A vet is warning pet owners to never flush their dog or cat’s poop down the toilet.
If you own a pet, you are expected to pick up your animal’s faeces as it is common courtesy and you, nor anyone else, would not like to step in it.
However you dispose of it afterwards is up to you, but if you flush it down the toilet, you might want to think again.
A veterinary surgeon on TikTok, known as @ben.the.vet, has warned against flushing your pet’s poop.
The caption for his TikTok asks pet owners if they have ever done it – and some viewers have admitted to doing so.
One person writes: “Why is this not more advised? I’ve been doing it for a year or more. Since having one cat and then adding another and now a dog.”
“Done it a million times while my puppy was potty training,” confesses another.
“This needs to be more publicised I’m sure a lot of pet owners aren’t aware,” comments a third.
Someone else pens: “I have done with my puppy. I defo won’t be now. Thanks for the info. Needs to be more well known.”
“I’ve had dogs and cats my entire life, I’m actually traumatised about the number of people saying this is a regular routine,” says a fifth.
Flushing your pet’s poop down the toilet can lead to serious health issues. Credit: @ben.the.vet/TikTok
He explains that throwing your pet’s poo down the toilet can lead to serious health issues for a number of species, including humans.
“Did you know that you are not supposed to flush your dog or cat’s poo down the toilet?” he says in his social media post.
He then references an article published by the British water company Anglian Water – which strongly advises against flushing any type of animal waste.
The vet echoes the article, continuing: “This is because of the presence of toxocara, a worm parasite in animal faeces, which is tolerant to the high temperatures and harsh conditions found in the final stage of processing used water.
“The reason toxocara is a worry is because it’s zoonotic, we can pick it up and children are particularly susceptible.”
Toxoplasmosis is a dangerous disease that can be transferred to humans through direct contact with an animal’s faeces.
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As per the NHS, it is usually harmless and gets better on your own, but the health organisations warn that ‘if you have a weakened immune system’, it can cause problems for you ‘eyes, brain, heart or lungs’.
Likewise, if you get it while you are pregnant it can possibly cause a miscarriage or seriously harm your baby.
While we won’t develop adult worms in our intestines like in some horror films, Ben instead explains that the eggs we swallow from the animal poo can hatch and this will move around inside our bodies.
Another damaging condition involved with toxocara is that if exposed to children, it ‘can reduce cognitive development and IQ’.
Fortunately, these conditions are rare, but to ensure that it doesn’t happen, Ben recommends that all pet owners should be frequently deworming their animals – as well as not flushing their poo down the toilet.
So if you are one of those pet owners who flush you’re animal’s poo down the toilet, you might want to think again!
@ben.the.vet According to Anglian water, you shouldnt flush your pet’s poo down the toilet! Have you ever done this?? #LearnOnTikTok #toilet #vegetarian #dogsoftiktok ♬ POPOPOPOPO – Speed🧨
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