On Labor Day weekend, 2007, I brought home two cute 3-month old female Devon Rex kittens. Tanya (TAN-ya) and Chanel. This was my first time living with cats, so I prepared with books for dummies and how-to manuals. During my readings, I came across books and websites about toilet training. Yes, you teach your cat to use the toilet! I was intrigued and read multiple strategies to train my kitties to poop in the commode. The process can take anywhere from 4 weeks to a year!! It was still early, and all sources advised to wait until 6 months of age.
So I waited. In the mean time, I learned how annoying litter can be. I got the automatic LitterMaid Elite Mega Advanced Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box which scoops the poop every time the kitties go. I got it lightly used from a craigslist.org posting. It was worth the money and I didn't become too much of a slave to the litter box. Even though I didn't have the burden of all day scooping, I started noticing that litter traveled. I saw little litter granules beyond the laundry room (original location of the litter box). I 'd see it track out from the laundry room door and occasionally see a granule or two on the kitchen floor or on the couch. I know cats are clean animals, but litter granules on the couch can't be very sanitary.
So, as they started pushing their 6th month of life (Tanya was 6 months, Chanel was 5 1/2 months), I decided to start their training to use the toilet. I love my kitties, but I hate the litter. They are super smart, so I think they will pick it up quickly.
I'm writing this blog on Tanya, Chanel, and the Toilet so you can keep up with their (and my) daily progress (or lack thereof). I am by no means an expert. But you can see pictures and watch the brief videos that chronicle their status and the methods I've used.
You can start from Day 1 by scrolling to the bottom of the page.
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December 15, 2007:
There was a loud scratch in our successful toilet training record today. I enlarged the hole by about 1 inch. Tanya adapted well. But not Chanel. I figured it out when I saw the other locations she used--outside the toilet on the floor and on Tanya's favorite scarf. After a major clean up, I took her to the toilet and watched her try to use it. I could tell she just didn't know what to do with a hole that big. She didn't know how to get down into the 3-4 inch deep bowl with a large hole in the bottom of it. I immediate patched the hole with a piece of cardboard. Thankfully, she used it just as she had done before.
So I tried another method of placing a plastic sheet over the sitz bowl. I cut a whole in the plastic sheet. Again, I took Chanel to the toilet to see if she would go either through the hole or at least on the plastic. But she tried to climb through the hole under the plastic sheet to get down into the sitz bowl. Her futile attempts left both of us frustrated. I needed a new approach. I needed to create a level platform that is not deeper than the toilet seat. And I need to go slower, for Chanel.
I went to Kmart and got an aluminum turkey roasting tray. I cut off the sides to expose only the base and molded it to fit under the toilet seat. The tray is thick enough to carry their weight and it's flat. I sprinkled a little litter over it. They explored the new surface curiously, then used it without any problems. In the mean time, I asked for suggestions from a cat's toilet training discussion group on yahoo groups called Cats T-Training Yahoo Group (yes, you read correctly). I'll see if someone has any other ideas for me. The link to join the group is on the left side margin in case you are interested.
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