How do you potty train a cat to use the toilet?
Our family has a cat that is really very sweet and kid friendly. We all hate the way the litter box smells though. We clean it out every day with a scooper and it helps but doesn’t keep it from smelling up the whole house. We were watching AFV the other day and showed a cat using the toilet. We started wondering, how would we go about training our cat to do the same?
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I’m trying to do the same thing. I haven’t started yet, but this website seems pretty straight forward!
Why don’t you just add baking soda to the litter box prior to filling in the fresh sand?
They actually sell a device that fits over your toilet seat that resembles a litter box, and first you train your cat to use that. Over time you remove parts of the device and ultimately the entire thing until your cat is accustomed to using just the toilet.
@deni that website is awesome! I am going to start that immediately. ty very much :)
@Ben_Dover I have tried that in the past and haven’t had much success with it controlling the odor. I use an organic cat litter that controls decently however, it is not very cheap.
@TheOnlyNeffie I would buy a device but the website that deni suggested says I can use a metal bowl and I have one that I don’t ever use as of current. I am kinda broke since I have two kids, babysit, and am curently re-modeling. I can afford shots for the pets, food, and litter, but every penny saved is a penny earned and I would love to save as much as I can right now. lol :)
Thank you for all your suggestions. :)
Just to remind you that male cats spray straight back so are not great candidates for toilet potties
@MaryW ; Thank you for sending that, I tried finding it before I asked the question. lol
Anyway, If you have had the male cat fixed will it still spray straight back or not? Is the spray due to physical anatomy of the male cat or is it from strain (trying to spray to leave a scent for marking)?
Does your litterbox have a cover? Ours only needs to be cleaned out twice a week and we don’t smell anything. Also, do you have good litter? Do you use enough? Do you put old papers under it? Does he bury his shit?
Making your cat use the toilet does not seem like the answer.
How do you get the cat to flush?
I have 2 male cats and I am in the later process of training them to use the toilet. As a matter of fact I have asked a similar question on this site regarding toilet training. I got a lot of great feedback. So let me remove some myths. The cats can be taught to flush the toilet, just don’t teach them as cats are very curious and mischievious and once learned they will flush the toilet all the time as entertainment. My cats are male and they don’t spray anywhere but in the toilet bowl. If your male cat is not neutered, they may spray while in heat but generally spraying is not a problem while using the potty. At least not for me. Also, you do not need to invest in a costly “kit”. I was going to buy one but when I saw it cost almost $75 I decided to use a metal bowl I had here already. It’s actually a metal colander with a handle on each side. when placed in the toilet the handles keep it on the toilet bowl and I lay the toilet seat over the colander handles. I put a few spoons of cat litter in the colander (the colander holes I sealed up with clear glue) and viola! My cats have not had one accident and they pee and make poop in the toilet “bowl”. When they are done I just dump the bowl in a garbage bag and put in a few spoons more of litter. My black cat is standing on the seat properly (all 4 paws on the seat and not IN the bowl), so I think if I removed the metal bowl, he would use the regular toilet just fine, but the other one is still putting his back feet IN the bowl and so I will keep the metal bowl in the toilet until I see that they are both sitting on the toilet seat with all 4 paws. I also let them watch ME use the toilet so they see what goes where and they are smart. They watch and I see their ears move when they hear the pee hit the water. I have only been training them for the past 3 weeks but they are learning fast and have made no accidents. They do exactly what I want them to do. Just make them feel comfy in the bathroom. Leave the door open at all times, keep their water bowl in the bathroom tub and give them a “treat” when they go on the toilet and do something right. Give lots of affection and reinforcment. My husband came home and was SO impressed when he saw the cats sitting on the toilet and using it. He said he almost wanted to offer them a magazine to read while they were on the john. LOL. But they seem to know that this is where everyone in the house is supposed to use the bathroom – even them.
1. Move the cat’s litter box so it is right next to the toilet keep it like this for about a day.
2. Then gradually raise the litter box up by placing phone books (or something similar) under it. Repeat daily until the box is of equal height to the toilet. Whenever you raise the box take a little bit of the litter out of the box. You may need to secure the litter box to the phone books or whatever it’s sitting on so that it doesn’t move when the cat jumps onto it.
3. Move the box over 1 inch onto the seat. Repeat daily until the box is directly over the seat. Continue gradually decreasing the amount of litter in the box until there is only a thin layer (less than 1 inch) of it left.
4. Replace the Fix a Cat’s Litter Box behavior litter box with a “training box”. You have a few different options here, but the important thing to remember is to make sure the “training box” can hold your cat’s weight if they step or jump onto it:
* Lift the toilet seat and tape a piece of wax paper over the hole so that the toilet looks like a drum. Lower the seat over the wax paper. Add flushable litter.
* Lift the toilet seat and tape a bowl or aluminum pan to the edges. Put the seat down so that it holds the bowl in place. (See video below.) Add flushable litter.
* Use a commercial training device, sold specifically for this purpose.
5. Transition into the cat using only the toilet. If using wax paper or an aluminum pan, cut a hole about one inch in diameter in the center and gradually increase the size of the hole until it is almost gone. If you’re using a training seat, remove the rings, one at time. This is done to gradually get the cat used to urinating or defecating into water. Simultaneously, no matter which method you’re using, reduce the amount of litter so that there is no litter when the paper, bowl, or device is removed.
http://www.wikihow.com/Toilet-Train-Your-Cat
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