Toilet train your cat
1
First, you must train your cat to use a home-made
cardboard litter box, if you have not already done so.
(If your box does not have a one-piece bottom, add a
cardboard that fits inside, so you have a false bottom
that is smooth and strong. This way the box will not
become soggy and fall out at the bottom. The grocery
store will have extra flat cardboards which you can
cut down to fit exactly inside your box.)
Be sure to use torn up newspaper, not kitty litter.
Stop using kitty litter. (When the time comes you
cannot put sand in a toilet.)
Once your cat is trained to use a cardboard box, start
moving the box around the room, towards the bathroom.
If the box is in a corner, move it a few feet from the
corner, but not very noticeably. If you move it too
far, he may go to the bathroom in the original corner.
Do it gradually. You've got to get him thinking. Then
he will gradually follow the box as you move it to the
bathroom. (Important: if you already have it there,
move it out of the bathroom, around, and then back. He
has to learn to follow it. If it is too close to the
toilet, to begin with, he will not follow it up onto
the toilet seat when you move it there.) A cat will
look for his box. He smells it.
2
Now, as you move the box, also start cutting the brim
of the box down, so the sides get lower. Do this
gradually.
Finally, you reach the bathroom and, eventually, the
toilet itself. Then, one day, prepare to put the box
on top of the toilet. At each corner of the box, cut a
little slash. You can run string around the box,
through these slashes, and tie the box down to the
toilet so it will not fall off. Your cat will see it
there and jump up to the box, which is now sitting on
top of the toilet (with the sides cut down to only an
inch or so.)
Don't bug the cat now, don't rush him, because you
might throw him off. Just let him relax and go there
for awhile-maybe a week or two. Meanwhile, put less
and less newspaper inside the box.
3
One day, cut a small hole in the very center of his
box, less than an apple-about the size of a plum-and
leave some paper in the box around the hole. Right
away he will start aiming for the hole and possibly
even try to make it bigger. Leave the paper for awhile
to absorb the waste. When he jumps up he will not be
afraid of the hole because he expects it. At this
point you will realize that you have won. The most
difficult part is over.
From now on, it is just a matter of time. In fact,
once when I was cleaning the box and had removed it
from the toilet, my cat jumped up anyway and almost
fell in. To avoid this, have a temporary flat
cardboard ready with a little hole, and slide it under
the toilet lid so he can use it while you are
cleaning, in case he wants to come and go, and so he
will not fall in and be scared off completely. You
might add some newspaper up there too, while you are
cleaning, in case your cat is not as smart as
Nightlife was.
4
Now cut the box down completely until there is no
brim
left. Put the flat cardboard, which is left, under the
lid of the toilet seat, and pray. Leave a little
newspaper, still. He will rake it into the hole
anyway, after he goes to the bathroom. Eventually, you
can simply get rid of the cardboard altogether. You
will see when he has got his balance properly.
Don't be surprised if you hear the toilet flush in the
middle of the night. A cat can learn how to do it,
spurred on by his instinct to cover up. His main thing
is to cover up. If he hits the flush knob accidentally
and sees that it cleans the bowl inside, he may
remember and do it intentionally.
Also, be sure to turn the toilet paper roll around so
that it won't roll down easily if the cat paws it. The
cat is apt to roll it into the toilet, again with the
intention of covering up- the way he would if there
were still kitty litter.
It took me about three or four weeks to toilet train
my cat, Nightlife. Most of the time is spent moving
the box very gradually to the bathroom. Do it very
slowly and don't confuse him. And, remember, once the
box is on the toilet, leave it a week or even two. The
main thing to remember is not to rush or confuse him.