While not a toilet incident, my current cat had a similar incident with our pond. It was pretty much the same deal. He was drinking from the fish flavored pond. I had been cleaning the algae out of it when one of the clumps I was pulling out spooked the cat. Cat jumps, lands in the pond (which is sufficiently deep), swims to the edge and claws his way out. He then spent the next few seconds running around the yard in complete confusion before I had stopped laughing long enough to calm him down and take him inside for a towel off.

Have you ever seen a wet Persian (a Himalayan has long hair like a Persian)? It’s hilarious. From that day on, he would stand on his hind feet and LOOK at the toilet before jumping on it.

The other one was a kitten I was keeping temporarily until we found homes for her and her two siblings. I left them alone for about an hour to go to the grocery store. When I got back, I heard this horrible noise. I ran upstairs into the bedroom where I had them confined, and poor little Isis was in the toilet bowl, soaking wet, legs splayed out to keep herself out of the water, and she was SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER and shaking uncontrollably.

I’m told by the woman who now owns her (some 15 years later) that Lady I (as she is now called) still doesn’t like toilets.

And as for the whole ‘men needing recognition’ thing: if I successfully change a light bulb, it’s a media event.

On a positive note, at least it was already dead. Finding a drowning rat in the toilet would be worse. I wouldn’t want to leave it drowning, but I wouldn’t want to touch it to rescue it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPZmN5dpjII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMFita_rT4M&feature=related

Proof that cats sometimes fall in toilets, but they get right the hell back out!

As for full-grown cats, I can totally see a cat falling into a toilet when playing around it and losing its balance. Drowning’s not so likely, but it is a bit unsanitary, considering they lick their fur. And there is also the drinking directly from the toilet to consider.

I know that’s not the same. I just felt like sharing.

…you know, guys, when I Twittered that, the last thing I expected was for it to be on the podcast the next day.

Despite being largely uncomfortable with praise (stupid Puritan ancestors), I still do the “Look what I did!” thing when particularly proud of a completed task. Rather than waiting for other people to reward me (beyond verbally) I tend to reward myself. Usually in snack form. Did I mention that I like to bake? That’s a strenuous task and a reward all in one!

On the subject of cats falling into water, though, you *must* read the following classic poem:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ode_on_the_Death_of_a_Favourite_Cat,_Drowned_in_a_Tub_of_Gold_Fishes

also…. DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN DON GATO IS EVERYWHERE!!!! My kids have been singing Don Gato all year apparently it’s a song they sing ALOT in elementary music class. they even act it out.. passing around a hat with slips of paper for parts (don Gato, dr’s, funeral procession, etc….)

Meanwhile, our cat Lily has always so far been talented enough to brace firmly before taking a sip from the neverending bowl. Of course, being a Manx she naturally has her weight distributed more to the rear than some cats.

Vis-a-vis fears/phobias/whatever and being as asshole by telling someone that their fears are irrational: my father tells me everyday that I’m too old to be terrified of flying. As if there were no other adults who don’t like to fly. At least I do it when I have to.

Unfortunately, there is proof of cats falling into and drowning in toilets. For some reason, every cat I’ve ever owned has loved water to the point that they will attack the shower door whenever the water is turned on. We had one particularly zealous cat when I was about 4 or 5 named Samurai who, to say the least, was not properly named. As I rushed in the house from Kindergarten one afternoon, I was mortified to find poor Samurai, legs pinned in the toilet seat, head first in the water. Needless to say, I have been afraid of submerging my head in water ever since. We had another cat, Smokey, who liked to play with water streaming out of any spigot. Someone had left the sink plugged and turned the water on to let the cat play, but Smokey had fallen asleep in the sink and almost drowned. Luckily someone noticed the water puddling around the bathroom door before he too committed kitty hari-kari.

On a lighter note, I have never known a male who does not need praise after completing a household task. In fact, should dishes actually make it into the dishwasher on the first try, ice cream must be involved; should one add vacuuming of one’s own volition to said equation, cake is certainly in order as well.