Toilet Training Your Cat

Toilet training your cat

Easy steps:

Toilet training your cat is easier than you might think. Several techniques can be used for training your cat to use the toilet, and you can even buy products that will assist you in toilet training a cat.

The advantages: Toilet training your cat can hold several advantages for any cat owner. The biggest advantage of having your cat use a toilet is that eliminates most of the disadvantages that using cat litter holds. Cat litter is expensive. After toilet training your cat, you won't ever need to buy cat litter again. You will never again have to clean a smelly litter box. With toilet training your cat,  the water in the toilet masks most of the offending smell and all you need to do is flush regularly.  Going away for weekends or holidays also becomes easier for your neighbor - instead of asking someone to clean out the litter box, all they need to do is flush your toilet once in a while.

Toilet training your cat: It will depends entirely on the cat's personality. Toilet training sociable cats that love being praised make the training easier. You might want to adapt the toilet training technique described below to fit your cat's personality. Training your cat to use the toilet can take anything between 2 weeks up to 3 months, depending on the individual cat's personality.

Cat toilet training basically consists of a simple procedure: gradually moving your cat's litter box closer  to the toilet, finally placing a bowl with cat litter inside the toilet, and removing it altogether when your cat is comfortable and used to it. Toilet training a cat is a gradual, step-by-step process, consisting of making small changes to the location of the litter box and only continuing to the next step when your cat is entirely comfortable with its current situation. You might have to wait anything between 2 days or 3 weeks before moving on a next step in cat toilet training. You might even have to go back a step once or twice when it turns out that your cat wasn't ready to move on to the next toilet training step.

8 steps:

1. Gradually moving your cat's litter box nearer to the toilet until it is next to the toilet. While toilet training your cat ensure that your cat is always comfortable and sure of its litter box's location.

2. Now start elevating the cat's litter box. Increase the height of the litter box to about 5cm a day, but be very sure that your cat is  comfortable with the current height, and adjust the pace of raising the litter box accordingly. The cat litter box should be raised until it is at a level height with the toilet bowl. Throughout toilet training our cat it is very important to keep the toilet lid open and the seat down, because your cat will get used to it and might even start climbing on the toilet seat in order to reach its litter box.

3. Move the litter box to rest on the open toilet seat and keep it there until your cat seems comfortable.

4. Buy a metal bowl or tray that will fit snugly inside the toilet bowl. Make sure that there are small draining holes. Fill the bowl with cat litter (preferably the flushable type). You can remove your cat's litter box entirely at this stage of toilet training your cat. If you have reached this step successfully you are very close to having a toilet trained cat!

5. While your cat is using the metal bowl inside the toilet, be attentive to where its paws are. The goal is teaching him to squat with all four paws on the toilet seat rim. You can move the cat while it is using the toilet and praise it (or reward it) when it is sitting in the correct position. Normally the cat will first sit entirely inside the metal bowl, then with front paws on the toilet seat, and finally it should sit with all four paws on the toilet.

6. Start using less and less cat litter. This can get smelly, so be sure to clean the bowl after every time your cat uses it. Cats scratch in sand or cat litter to cover up the smell (this is out of instinct), so if the bowl becomes too smelly your cat won't be comfortable using it (and you probably wouldn't be comfortable with using your toilet either).   A handy tip is to place newspaper on the floor around the toilet to help keep the room clean should your cat scratch in the cat litter. Decrease the amount of cat litter in a pace that your cat feels comfortable with while toilet training your cat.

7. When you don't use any cat litter inside the bowl anymore, start filling the bowl with water. The water will also help mask the smell so your cat will be more comfortable using the toilet. Be attentive to your cat's behavior while toilet training your cat - if your cat stops using the bowl inside the toilet, you may be moving on too fast and might need to go back a couple of steps

8. When the water level in the bowl has reached about 4cm and your cat has no problem using it, it is time to remove the bowl entirely. Your cat should now be toilet trained. Remember to always leave the toilet seat up and flush regularly!

Products to assist you in toilet training your cat: There are several cat toilet training kits available. They  consist of a tray that fits inside the toilet, and with a hole in the middle that you can gradually make bigger. When choosing a cat toilet training kit, ensure that you buy quality. The cat training kit should  be able to support your cat's weight even when the hole becomes large. 

The disadvantages in toilet training your cat: Not everyone agrees that cat toilet training is such a great idea. They argue that it is unnatural for a cat to use a toilet, as it goes against their natural instincts to cover up their smell. Toilet seats can also be slippery and there might be the risk of your cat injuring itself. A litter box also has the health benefit in that you can easier monitor your cat's urine for signs of infections or sickness.

Moving locations will also be harder for the cat, because a litter box can be moved easily but the cat will first need to get used to using the new toilet.

Things to remember when toilet training a cat: The most important thing to remember is that the toilet training should be done gradually. Be very patient and never rush to the next step until you are sure that you cat is completely comfortable with the current setup. Make using the toilet as easy as you can for the cat. Always remember to keep the toilet seat up and the bathroom door open. When you have guests, ensure that they also know about considering your cat. Flush the toilet regularly as cats do not like using smelly toilets.

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