Just when you thought big-city living couldn’t get more surreal, Seattle delivers — and this time, it’s with a public service announcement that sounds like it was written by a satirical sketch writer and greenlit by someone who’s never owned plumbing.
Yes, it’s real: the government of Seattle and King County actually advised residents to flush rats back down the toilet if they emerge during floods. No, this isn’t a metaphor. It’s a literal cartoon tutorial, published by Public Health — Seattle & King County, featuring wide-eyed rodents popping up from toilet bowls and a brave, if understandably horrified, homeowner being told to calmly close the lid and hit flush.
Cartoon PSA advises to flush rats if climbing up and invading toilets — and social media goes wild https://t.co/HrMm2Jo3gA pic.twitter.com/I3ygopD6Tq
— New York Post (@nypost) December 22, 2025
That’s right: the rat made it up through your pipes, but the solution is to… send it right back where it came from, presumably for a round two?
It didn’t take long for social media to overflow with quips, memes, and questions — not about the plumbing, but about the sanity of whoever thought this campaign would reassure anyone. “Try to stay calm,” the PSA advises, as though encountering a rat where you sit vulnerable and defenseless is just another Tuesday in paradise. “If flushing doesn’t work,” it continues helpfully, “grab some dish soap” to make the rodent more slideable. Because nothing says civic preparedness like lubing up a live sewer rat in your own toilet.
Cartoon PSA advises to flush rats if climbing up and invading toilets — and social media goes wild https://t.co/HrMm2Jo3gA pic.twitter.com/I3ygopD6Tq
— New York Post (@nypost) December 22, 2025
The response online was immediate — and merciless. One commenter summed it up: “Wait, so we’re supposed to fight sewer rats with Palmolive now?”
Cartoon PSA advises to flush rats if climbing up and invading toilets — and social media goes wild https://t.co/HrMm2Jo3gA pic.twitter.com/I3ygopD6Tq
— New York Post (@nypost) December 22, 2025
Beyond the absurdity, it’s another reminder that Seattle’s priorities seem to drift further and further from practical governance. In a city grappling with homelessness, crime, spiraling costs of living, and urban decay, the latest urgent warning is… rodent acrobatics through your bathroom plumbing.
NOPE! Due to flooding in Seattle WA you may have rats in your toilet. Here is what to do.
Here’s what to do if you find a rat coming through your toilet following heavy Western Washington rain and floods.https://t.co/ONUAM3csUD pic.twitter.com/228Brp2fni— Freedom_will_MAGA (@kathie_freedom1) December 20, 2025
If you were on the fence about moving to Seattle, let this be your final warning. You’re not just buying real estate — you’re buying into the very real possibility that one day, your plumbing may stage a rodent uprising. And when that happens, City Hall will hand you a bottle of Dawn and wish you luck.
