How to Train Your Cat to Use a Human Toilet
As unorthodox as it may sound, a cat can be taught to use a human toilet over a certain period of time, just like a dog. It appears that a lot of pet owners choose this option as it eliminates the boxing, reduces the mess, and saves money. As with everything else, there are positive aspects and negative aspects.
Not all cats and kittens will adapt to this change exceptionally well. Achieving this goal will also take an ample amount of time, effort and skills. But, a dedicated cat owner can accomplish this challenging yet rewarding task.
Follow the order of instructions guide to instruct your cat to use the toilet seat:
1. Evaluate if toilet training would work for you.
First step is the evaluation whether your kitty friendly household will accommodate the toilet training. Some shy cats take their own sweet time to adapt to new things or some may never adapt to new things at all.
✅ Cats that will more likely adapt easily to being toilet trained:
- Cats who are free, agile and open minded
- Kittens, younger cats, or in good health
- Cats with established aids to bathroom routines.
❌ Cats that would most likely find toilet training handy:
- Older cats that are not as mobile.
- Cats that show high shyness or phobic behavior.
- Young females coming from multi-cat households.
(It's harder to train multiple cats, too)
📌 Hint: If your cat uses a covered litter box, then toilet training your kitty will most likely be easy.
2. Checklist Everything You Will Need
With every goal set during the training, plan for those possibilities in advance:
✔ Toilet training kits like CitiKitty or Litter Kwitter. These are designed to help pets who are used to litter boxes switch over to toilets.
✔ Your cat's familiarization with the toilet must begin with flushable litter.
✔ Kitty treats. Positive behavioral actions should be rewarded.
✔ A stool - Your cat may experience problems if the toilet is too high.
📌 Important: Try not to make your pet to use the toilet; if they do not appear willing, ease off on the pace of the training for a while.
3. Training Your Pet Cat
Step 1: A Step Toward The Toilet
Start with the litter box being relocated to the bathroom.
✔ Shift the box a couple of inches every day until it is located inside the bathroom.
✔ Provide your feline ample time to adjust to using the bathroom.
📌 Important: If your cat is reluctant to move, give them some time to adjust and let them rest before completing the shift.
Step 2: Moving The Box Higher In Relation To The Toilet
You can now start raising the box slowly because your cat is now accustomed to the litter box being inside the bathroom.
✔ To begin with, the box can be put on top of sturdy boxes or stacks of books so it does not rest on the floor. Structure the box in that way that you can slowly build onto it as time goes on.
✔ To get to the level of the toilet seat, a box can be added to the base of the litter box and slowly lifted over a period of days.
✔ As your cat starts to learn how to use the defecating toilet, he or she should be able to securely use the box filled to at least half way with litter.
📌 Tip: If the cat is not able to jump up onto the raised litter box, then moving onto the next steps is not possible.
Step 3: Position The Litter Box Directly Above The Toilet
From here on, the process is quite similar and it involves raising the box to the height of the toilet.
✔ You will still want to gently push the cat into using the box.
✔ The next step is getting the cat accustomed to the toilet so you need to put the lid down but leave the seat open.
✔ Do not proceed until after a week’s timeframe so the cat has time to get used to it.
📌 Tip: If you begin using flushable litter at this stage, it will make it so much easier for you during the transition.
Step 4: Now a Training Pan Can Be Used.
A traditional toilet training with the lid on it comes with a shallow pan underneath.
No worries if you don’t have one, you can substitute it with a shallow pan.
✔ Utilize the training pan for the flushable litter.
✔ Let your cat adjust to it slowly.
✔ Try to keep the litter box area clean and tidy.
📌 You should consider giving your cat time to relax and get used to a new environment if they look stressed.
Step 5: Cut a Training Seat Hole
For do-it-yourselfers, make a small cut in the training seat's base if your cat seems at ease.
✔ Make the slit wider every several days.
✔ The cat will realize that the seat's purpose is for sitting, not where to do their business.
✔ As the opening widens, keep decreasing the amount of litter.
📌 Some of the training kits have an option for expanding the holes using detachable rings. Indeed, they serve the purpose of helping to gradually widen the holes.
Step 6: Take Off The Training Seat
Now you can remove the training seat when your cat can balance on the toilet by herself.
✔ Encourage your cat to sit on the toilet after the training seat is gone.
✔ When your cat uses the toilet, give them a reward each time as it will help solidify the behavior.
📌 Remember to keep and maintain the toilet clean after each use by flushing and selling your cat’s toilet bowl clean.
4. The Most Frequent Issues And Their Solutions
🚨 Problem 1: My cat doesn’t want to use the toilet
✔ Solution: Consider retracing a step or two in their training for a short time.
Problem 2: My Cat Was Probably Drowning In The Toilet!
Solution: Check the seat for movement and if possible, provide a footrest.
Problem 3: It Might Be Phobia of Toilet Myers, the Cat!
Solution: Investigate any possible new location stressors for reasons why they might be agitated.
Problem 4: My Cat Likes To Make A Lot Of Messes Around The House.
Solution: Correct the animal's folables after it is marked, or praise the animal for showing good behavior.
Tip: The cat needs to be rewarded with praise or understanding for any good behavior, but not scolded for bad behavior.
5. Considerations regarding cat toilet training
Pros:
Boxes aren’t lying around to be found anymore
Less litter is purchased
The house is clean
Cons:
Time wise, the training may take weeks or even months
Some cats take longer to train, that's just their personality.
A cat will have a more difficult time adjusting to living without toilets while traveling.
Tip: This pet will take longer to adjust, so a litter box must be kept nearby.
6. Cats should not forget how to use a toilet.
Once your cat has been trained, here is how you keep up good behaviors:
Do not forget to always flush the toilet after cleaning it.
✔ The toilet seat must be left down as this increases access.
✔ You need to watch where your cat goes to ensure they are actually using the toilet.
📌 Tip: If there is a hind paw that is sliding backward begins to slide back, then go back one step down before where you started.
Tips:
✔ Move the litter box to the reoom slowly.
✔ Begin to lower the litter bin until its height parallels that of the toilet.
✔ Utilize a training chair for teaching.
✔ Remove the training seat but leave a hole in it for now.
✔ Every cat is different, so no matter how much you want to, you cannot speed up the learning. Stick to your cat and be patient.
All the outlined steps makes that job easy so your cat's requirements can be taken care of while making sure that you do not have to clean the house all the time by removing the litter box. 🐱🚽
