Can a Rat Really Come Up Through Your Toilet?

Stories about rats “coming up through the toilet” sound shocking, but they’re not pure fantasy. Rats are skilled climbers and can travel through underground spaces, sewer systems, and plumbing pathways—meaning that, under the right conditions, a rat could end up near a toilet or even enter through plumbing.

The key question is not whether the scenario is dramatic, but whether the home has the specific vulnerabilities that would make it possible.