On June 19, 2024, an unusual but effective “plumbing assistant” was recorded in action within a bathroom in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, eastern China.

A small hamster, known affectionately as Maoqiu (Hairball) by its owner, demonstrated surprising utility to pass between two sewers. This brown and white hamster managed to open the drain cover and navigate through the piping.

The owner shared that Maoqiu, a three-year-old female, typically roams free in the dormitory without a cage. After mysteriously disappearing for a couple of days, Maoqiu returned from the drainage system just as her owner replenished her food, attracted by the scent.

The owner thus discovers that Maoqiu is using the sewers in both rooms as secret passageways to get back and forth, and humorously calls that the hamster is cleaning out the sewers to earn rat food for herself.