Tips so You Can You Train a Cat to Use a Toilet

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 4:32 am

Cat lovers enjoy almost every thing about their pets. The purring, adorable antics, meowing and affection the cats show their owners, make cats a joy as pets. The litter box is another story, nobody enjoys cleaning out a dirty, smelly litter box. Cats are clever and clean creatures and with a little effort on your part, your cat can be trained to use the toilet. Professional animal trainers have been potty training cats for years. Training your cat to use the toilet, not only eliminates a dirty job, it saves you money. Cat litter is expensive and it’s an environmental hazard. Training your cat to use the toilet will rid your home of the unpleasant smells of a litter box. Here are some basic tips for cat toilet training.

Move the Litter Box

The first thing to do is to move the litter box to your bathroom one day at a time in two inch increments. You can train a cat to use the toilet, but it is a step by step process. Next, you will want to place the box up so that it is higher. Try using telephone books or cement blocks for this purpose. Do this until the litter box is at the same level as the toilet itself. Each time you increase the height of the litter box, be sure to remove some of the litter. Be sure to secure the box to the base you are building.

Once the litter box is at the same height as the toilet, you need to start moving the box closer to the toilet. Try to do this in half inch increments. You can train a cat to use the toilet by teaching the cat that the litter box is the same thing as the toilet. Physical proximity will help with this. Keep removing a bit of litter with each move so that the cat becomes used to their being less and less litter. Keep doing this until there is less than an inch of litter left.

Making the Switch

You can train a cat to use the toilet if you can teach the cat that the toilet is where he or she should be when it comes time to use the bathroom. Thus, you now need to replace the litter box with a training box. To do this, lift the toilet’s seat and secure an aluminium pan to the edges. Next, put the seat back down so that the pan is secure. Add flushable litter to the mix. You may need to use industrial strength tape to keep the pan from moving when the cat sits in the device.

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.