It would depend on the particular dye, I guess.The thing that would concern me here is the color running off into the cat's water. Many coloring agents do have toxins. Around the time I stopped being a painter, some artists were starting to wear plastic gloves when painting due to these concerns. On the other hand, food coloring agents are supposedly safe. (?!) You would think they would use only non-toxic, stable dyes on pet toys but as we've seen, we can't always depend on industry "safeguards".

I think I would discard the water when I found a toy in it, rinse the dish well and replace with fresh. And maybe try to find some toys with colors that won't bleed off when wet, if that's possible.

I think I would train the kitty not to put their toys in the water..........ah ha, just kidding, as I have learned with my Sophers that is impossible......her birdy has been drowned many times, its kind of pitiful hearing birdy going chuglp, chuglup rather than the normal chirp-chirp.... 

I used to get mine the fake furry mice too.  One of mine managed to place one in the toilet, and that was a real eye opener when I saw it in there. 

Now I go for the made in US toys, or make my own.  It's bad enough they are MIC, but who knows what kind of fur they are using, what kind of tanning chemicals, or dyes.

ha ha
That's funny that your cat did that!

You would hope they wouldn't put dangerous chemicals in pet toys- even if your cat doesn't dunk it in water, their saliva might be enough to make the ink run. But you can't trust these companies. I buy from a good store, but they probably don't check every company.

I will look for that thread on toys. Thanks.

This is so funny!  My big orange tabby used to do this with his favorite foam ball.  He walked around the house with it in his mouth -like a dog!  He would put it in his water bowl while drinking, but we thought it was just to guard it.  He'd pick it back up when he was done and drip all over.