How to Teach a Cat to Use the Toilet
Cats are very smart animals, but sometimes they resist certain training, like learning how to do their business in kitty litter. However, even if they do know how to do their business in a litterbox, you can actually train them to use the toilet.
Why Train Them?
Some cat owners may be wondering why anyone would take the time to train their cats to use the toilet, here are some incentives:
No need to buy kitty litter
No need to clean up if they do their business outside the litterbox
Less cat odors
Convinced? Share your throne with your feline friend using these steps.
Steps
Before you start training your cat to use the toilet, it has to be trained to use the litterbox first. The next steps will tell you why.
toilet-trained cat
Slowly move the litterbox. Slowly move the litterbox little by little from its original place to the toilet. Do the move day by day, only a foot away from where it used to be. If you move your litterbox too quickly, your cat will become confused on where the litterbox is, and you may have to start again.
Get a smaller litterbox. While you’re doing the daily task of moving the main litterbox to the toilet area, find a round litterbox that’s just big enough to fit in the toilet ring without falling into the actual toilet itself.
Switch litterboxes. When the original litterbox has moved enough to be placed right next to the toilet, your cat would by then have been used to go to the bathroom to do its business. Put the smaller litterbox right next to the original litterbox, and let your cat get used to using the smaller one. After one or two weeks of letting the two litterboxes to be used, take the original litterbox away.
Elevate the litterbox. Use a cardboard to gradually elevate the smaller litterbox until it is level to the toilet bowl ring. Again, if you don’t do this gradually, your cat could become confused. Use duct tape to secure the litterbox to the cardboard boxes you’re using for elevation.
Put on top. Put the litterbox on top of a closed toiletbowl. This may become a little inconvenient for you, but it’s necessary. Let your cat get used to jumping up to the toilet to do its job. Again, use duct tape to secure the litterbox.
Litterbox in the toilet. Open your toilet bowl and put the smaller litterbox in. Your cat will eventually figure out how to do its business in the litterbox without putting its paws in the toilet itself.
Remove the litterbox. Once your cat can safely do its business without having to put its paws in the toilet, you can now remove the litterbox completely.
Cut a hole. You may want to cut a hole in your toilet seat cover, to give more space for your cat when its sitting down. Alternatively, you can remove it altogether.
Training your cat to use the toilet, like all kinds of training, takes time and patience. If your cat doesn’t catch on quickly, you’ll just have to go back one step and stay in that step until your cat has readjusted itself. However, the good news is that once you’ve trained your cat to use the toilet, you just have to do a few checks now and then.