There's something about the taste of toilet water that draws him to it"

Probably that it's fresh and cold.

I read in the paper once that in some households, there are more germs on the handle of the fridge than in the toilet. So cats may not be as dumb as all that.

My cats definitely prefer fresh, cold water. One cat liked to lick hers from the bathtub faucet. All prefer stainless steel bowls. Plastic bowls are bad - they can lead to a nasty infection called 'feline acne.'

my current cat has a lot of fears. She prefers to lap water from her stainless steel bowl while I stand right near, so that no cougars or dinosaurs can get her while her head's down.
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Arthur itis, thanks for starting this. That's interesting that cats don't break the surface of the water.