Toilet Please!

Taking care of a cat is similar to having a child; you must support it and look after it. You must feed and clean up after it as well. This is a costly addition to your household, buying premium quality cat food and odor eliminating litter. Of course, it is also a necessary responsibility to constantly maintain the cleanliness of your cats environment. Many good mommies and daddies change their cats litter every other day, scooping daily. Imagine being able to flush that unappealing chore down the toilet. Literally. Thats right; you can potty train your cat.

Overcoming the skepticism and what if mentality, literature and articles riddle the world with specific guidelines on how to potty train your cat. The steps are gradual and make complete sense, considering most felines are intelligent and learn easily. Of course, it is much easier to capitalize on this opportunity when the cats are young, even kittens. Just as with any training, it is much easier to teach an impressionable, malleable personality rather than teaching old cats new tricks. However, with the right dedication, patience, and cat it can be done at any age.

Devotion is of the essence. Making sure to model good habits on your own is crucial; such as keeping the bathroom door open and the toilet lid up/seat down at all times. From there, following the necessary gradual steps of introducing this new habit to your cat will most likely take a few weeks, but will hopefully pay off royally.

Here is a quick overview to provide the gist of toilet training. First, move the litter box into the bathroom and place it adjacently to the toilet. Once your cat gets used to this new position, gradually raise the box (using newspapers, large books, boxes, etc. and securing it so it wont slide) an inch or two at a time. It is imperative to allow a gestation period for your cat to acclimate each time you make a slight change (perhaps a day or even a week, depending on your cats behavior). Once you have raised the litter box equal to the toilet seat, the next step is to move it over onto the toilet itself. This may need a transitional step, placing it only halfway over at first; it is important to experiment with the acceptance and adjustment level of your cat in training. Next, you must purchase a metal mixing bowl (not plastic as the material is not strong enough to hold your cats weight if it stands in the bowl) to fit the diameter of your toilet bowl, positioning it underneath the lid. In order to introduce this new method of elimination, fill the mixing bowl with a few inches of litter (the fine grain is flushable). Once your cat complies with this and adjusts, gradually lessen the amount of litter until you finally only have about a tablespoon at the bottom. Upon success, swap the litter for water, only a small amount at first. Using the same gradual approach, begin filling the mixing bowl with more and more water. Eventually you will be able to remove the bowl and your newly refined cat will be comfortable with the water below in the regular porcelain throne.

There are, of course, some major modifications that will greatly depend on you, the trainers, capacity to patiently redirect your cats instincts. Training proper positioning and teaching your cat to stop standing in the mixing bowl or litter is perhaps the hardest and longest enduring portion of this process. You will eventually need to teach your cat to successfully squat with all four paws positioned only on the seat of the toilet. Figuratively, your cats front paws should be in the middle with his hind legs on the outside. There are actually two different positions that must eventually be learned as the squat for urination is lower than the position for defecation.

Another major adjustment will be to make sure your grasshopper in training defeats the urge to cover her mess after eliminating. Deterring this behavior demands your attention and constant observation. As with the entire process, incessant praise and treat rewards are very useful.

Toilet training for your cat is absolutely possible. Of course, there is no guarantee that every cat is willing or even capable of picking up such a trait. The chances of success greatly depend on both the willingness of the owner (trainer) and cat (trainee). Only time will fully tell. However, if triumphant, your kitty will have learned a great habit while you will undoubtedly relish in your newfound freedom of never having to purchase or clean kitty litter again. That is, until you adopt another cat (wink, wink).