Anyone who has ever witnessed a cat using a human toilet to go to the bathroom is amazed by what they see. It's quite a shock when you walk in to a washroom at a friend's house and then have to excuse yourself because their cat is busy. Some laugh at the situation and many are intrigued. Is it actually possible for a cat to use a human toilet when it needs to eliminate? The answer of course is that given time, a cat can indeed learn to use a toilet.
When one is teaching their cats toilet training, it is always important to do everything in a slow but consistent manner. Remember children take some time to potty train, as do dogs. Give your cat the same consideration as this will not be done in a few short days or weeks.
The first step is to slowly move the litter box bit by bit to the toilet that will be used for the cats toilet training. If you are only a one toilet household, this is a bit of a challenge. The toilet being used must always be available to the cat and the lid must remain up at all times. It is much easier to have one toilet dedicated solely to the cat and his training.
When the litter box is near the toilet, it must then be raised a few inches at a time. While raising the litter box, it is important that it is always on a sturdy platform. If it tips or the cat falls out, he will avoid it at all costs.
The next step is to place the box on the toilet and after the cat is comfortable with using it on top of the toilet, it can be completely removed. When this is done, you must have a fitted, sturdy plastic bowl inside the toilet. You should be able to put the plastic bowl in the toilet bowl and lower the toilet seat on to the bowl. The bowl must contain a few inches of your cat's preferred type of litter.
Over the next little while, the amount of litter in the bowl is lessened and a small hole is drilled in to the center of the plastic bowl. During the same period of time, you must try to catch kitty in the process of eliminating and position his paws on the toilet seat. Don't try to put all four paws up at once. Once a cat begins to urinate, it is very hard for him to stop mid-stream, so if you catch him in the act you can place one paw up until he gets the hang of it. This is probably the most time consuming part of the process so don't get discouraged, just try to be consistent.
As you are working on getting all of the paws on the toilet seat, you can also continue to increase the size of the hole in the center of the plastic bowl. Of course the amount of litter in the bowl will also be less and less.
Eventually, the bowl can be removed and your cats toilet training will be complete. Now all you to worry about is teaching him how to flush and you will have a much sweeter smelling home.
Kelly is a cat enthusiast. Visit Purrfectly Trained Cat for more expect advice on cats toilet training, correcting bad cat behavior, how to train a cat, and other tips you can use to have a happy, well-behaved cat.
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