When people think of cats, they often think of meowing, purring, sleeping, cuddling, and kitty litter. However, what many people do not know is that you can train a cat to use the toilet. This is not something that only animal professionals can do. Instead, it is more than possible for people of all ages and backgrounds. Cat potty training will take some time, but it is certainly effective. In fact, if you do this, you can save yourself a lot of money. Additionally, if you can train a cat to use the toilet, you will not only rid the house of the smell of cat urine and other fun things but will also help the environment by not buying cat litter. The following includes the basic steps for those who want to learn how to toilet train their cats.
The Litter Box
If your litter box isn’t already in your bathroom, move it to the bathroom. Do this gradually, a little each day until the litter box is in the bathroom. It will take some time to train your cat, but the first step is to get the cat into the bathroom. Raise the box off the floor gradually, you can stack books or other solid objects under it. Continue raising the box until it is level with the toilet. As you are raising the box, put less and less! litter in it. The box needs to be well anchored so your cat can’t knock it over.
After the litter box has been raised even with the height of the toilet, move it closer to the toilet by increments, a little at a time. You are trying to get the cat to understand that the toilet is a litter box. Moving the litter box as close to the toilet as possible will help. Keep using smaller and smaller amounts of litter each day so the cat becomes accustomed to not having much litter. When you reach a point where there is less than an inch of litter in the box, you can stop redu! cing the amount.
Replace the Box
The final step in training your cat to use the toilet is to put a litter pan over the toilet , but under the seat. You can use any pan the will fit, or you can buy a special training pan at your local or online pet store. Put less than an inch of flushable litter in the pan. Make sure the pan is secure and won’t slide around and scare the cat. If you can’t find a training aid pan, or don’t want to spend the money on one, use duct tape to secure the pan in place.
For the final step in toilet training your cat, cut a small hole in the bottom of the pan. If you have a kitty training aid, it may have pieces that can be removed so you won’t have to cut a hole. Gradually enlarge the size of the hole a little at a time.. As you enlarge the hole, the cat will get used to not having litter in the pan. When the hole is nearly as large as the opening of the toilet, you can remove the pan. Toilet training your cat is mostly an investment of your time and patience. The investment is worth it and you don’t have to deal with litter boxes again. Now, if you could only potty train the dog.
