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How To: Toilet Train Your Cat

petsdo.com — Toilet training your cat is an attainable feat, made even more famous by Mr. Jinxy in the movie Meet The Parents. Cats make wonderful pets, however dealing with a litter box is never a pleasant experience. Instead of dealing with a foul smelling litter box, here's how to toilet train your cat in a few simple steps.

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sepultura 1 year 9 days ago, made popular 1 year 8 days ago

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mjesq, on 10/10/2007, -10/+4sweet i can train my baby niece and the cat at the same time.
quintonfig, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3What next? Teach Your Cat to Play Guitar? DUGG!
FyreGoddess, on 10/10/2007, -0/+28I tried this years ago with a cat and it takes FOREVER. Also, there's no guarantee that your cat will actually be ok with balancing on the toilet to go to the bathroom.

We were fine right up until the part where you stop using an actual litterbox, at which point she started peeing in the tub.

Just be warned, it's nowhere near as easy as you probably think it sounds.
- wattznext, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14It's funny, my roommate went on a long vacation and didn't make arrangements to have the litterbox cleaned. So eventually the cat started doing all it's stuff in the tub, just like yours.
  
  We were amazed and proud that the cat was smart enoughto have gone in the tub, rather than the million places in the apartment that would have stained/been a bitch to clean up.
  - spyrochaete, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2When my wife and I moved into a new apartment we scrapped our kitty's old food bowls and litterbox and bought new ones. We were absolutely delighted that our cat located and properly used her litterbox. Perhaps it's because she's 14 years old but she's a very intelligent animal.
- Prosequi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1My wife trained our two Burmese cats in about a month. By comparison, it took our daughter only 2 weeks to be fully trained. So yes, training cats is, by my experience, twice as hard as training children.
- lynx77, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3The easiest way of avoiding smelly litter trays is to train your cat to go for a pooey poo poo in next doors flower pots. Has the added bonus each summer of hearing the neighbours curse as they re-pot their plants and put their hands in nice ripe cat dooey.
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1maybe considerations need to be taken to make sure the toilet seat has a wide enough surface for the cat to balance on and that it's not too slippery? it would suck if the cat fell in after it'd poopoo-ed or peed.
michaelstokes, on 10/10/2007, -3/+19This is an awful idea! What happens when you've really "gotta go" and the cats on the bowl? However, DUGG for the hilarious pic!
- whataboutdave, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Just like if another person was there. Be patient.
- jtbndy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13The novel idea of waiting had occured to me.
- STARTSOMETHING, on 10/10/2007, -6/+6Piss on the cat
- ramiro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Just use the litterbox like your cat used to do. Don't expect your cat to teach you how use it though.
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1well, if you RTFA, the author suggests only doing this if you've got more than one bathroom, and to train the cat using one toilet and use the other one yourself during the training. besides, cats don't take as long to do their business as people.
  
  i think the bigger problem is the cat scratching up the toilet seat, as can be clearly seen in the video. perhaps one should make sure to get tougher toilet seats that the cat won't be able to damage while trying to "bury" its poo.
DeskFlyer, on 10/10/2007, -15/+9IM ON UR POT READIN UR NEWPAPAH
SeaMowse, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14One of my cats actually 'taught' herself how to pee in the toilet. This, after she suffered from a bladder infection. The vet said she probably started peeing in the toilet because the squatting low, perched on the edge of the toilet, was probably more comfortable for her. Well, she's long recovered from her bladder infection (a few years) and once in a while, we catch her peeing in our toilet!

This would be good to use on our other 5! Dug.
- rabidg00se, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17JESUS CHRIST SIX ***** CATS?!
  - SeaMowse, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Yeah.... they're our residential exterminators. We have no problem with mice, moles, or voles. They're indoor/outdoor cats.
- ramiro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3No, he probably has all of them neutered.
  - SeaMowse, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Yup - 4 are neutered... the other two are spayed. :-P
joegibes, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Nice, but sadly, my cats' litter box is in my basement, where there are no toilets. What, am I supposed to move it up one (stair) step a day?
- wattznext, on 10/10/2007, -1/+40No, gradually move your toilet down to the basement, one stair at a time.
- whataboutdave, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12Cats aren't dumb. Just make sure they see you carry it upstairs and they will know where to go.
  - spyrochaete, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Cats are proud and shy, though. Moving the litter box closer to people might be upsetting. My cat gets shy if I even walk past her while she's doing her business.
    - STARTSOMETHING, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1I use to run up bat the cat with a newspaper and say "go on get" when she was using the litter box
    - smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3heh, you could totally tell that the cat in the video was weirded out about being filmed while peeing--unless cats usually meow that much when they pee. it probably thinks the owner is a pervert.
- bjs3171, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4just move the litter box, and then bring her to it and place her in the box in the new location. she'll know where it is from then on. or he.
- ldkronos, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2If you get a second, identical litterbox and put it upstairs, and you place your cat into it, it should figure out what it is. Once it starts using it, if you remove the old one it should keep using the new one. I've done this before to move the litterbox from one room to another, and none of the cats have ever had a problem with it.
smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+18it's kinda funny that the cat still instinctively tries to shovel non-existent kitty litter into the toilet. it looks so disappointed/perplexed. is there some way to teach it how to flush? it might help the cat feel less weird about not being able to bury its excrement after its done its business.
- Eliza101, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3This made me think of something...
  During training, wouldn't the cat try to cover up her business while the hole is in the box? Couldn't that lead to the cat falling in?
- raoult, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I've heard that is a bad idea, as they tend to flush the toilet all the time.
  
  I mean *all* the time.
PatNolan, on 10/10/2007, -3/+53I have a wife and a daughter. I am NOT waiting in line for a ***** cat.
- jtbndy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17Have fun cleaning up cat ***** from a litter box then.
  - PatNolan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Daughter's chore
    :)
DeathfireD, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17Damn it Focker, the cat can't even flush.
- charlinas, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6It lacks the opposable thumbs.
- kefs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Milking the teet, however...
  - MarkOfTheDead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Nice!
    
    I just threw up again.
Thex1138, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8My cat just sticks it's damned head in the blue water and flicks it around with the bubbles...my cat also likes sitting in the pouring rain which is strange for a cat..
- wattznext, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10My cats hate water in every other sense, but for some reason they love playing around in the tub after i've taken a shower. Weird!
  - FyreGoddess, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Cats are actually really good swimmers, but there is a very specific reason that they don't like to get wet all over - it's because it takes them forever to clean themselves afterward.
versionist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+23Now I remember why I come to Digg: for the hard news.
Nudar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I thought cats didn't have opposable thumbs.
bbrigg1, on 10/10/2007, -18/+3....or an even better idea? Don't get a cat, because they are ***** worthless.
- ramiro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1No, you are worthless. Even cats can learn how to use the toilet. You cannot even flush yourself.
Rileyper, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1waiting for kevin rose(cat lover) to digg it
erniecamacho, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Just don't teach him how to drive!!!
shorty9, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Cats are the Gods of the universe. There is no need to train them.
http://tinyurl.com/374lpz
theolane, on 10/10/2007, -0/+27great article, but what does it mean when my cat taps his foot on the floor in the stall next to mine?
- Bigcat151, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7It means it has a wide stance.
  And it is not gay
- MarkOfTheDead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Your cat has some morality issues to explain.
lancert, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5What's with that toilet seat in the video of the cat using the toilet??? eeesh! Is that what I have to look forward to if I teach my cat to use the toilet?
cpg2018, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10I've toilet trained all three of my cats using a kit I got at petsmart and it's definitely worth the effort. I even had them flushing for a while (Hang a favorite cat toy by a piece of yarn from the toilet handle) but I stopped them flushing after being awakened in the night by the sounds of repeated flushings as they were playing.
- bolerobell, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1My aunt did this years ago with her two cats. I think she said that she used catnip or something to get them to flush. The other problem she had was the toliet paper being completely unrolled.
  
  The bright side, she said, was that if she was late or slow in getting up in the mornings, her cats would come into her bedroom and start flushing constantly to get her and my uncle awake. Better than an alarm clock, she said.
- rschluss, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4an easy way to help stop cats from unrolling the toilet paper is to hang it with the flap toward the wall.
hadi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4what about dogs?
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1all you can train dogs to do is poop all over the place and pee in your lap without warning.
turbopro, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Whats with the ghetto duct tape holding the toilet seat up in the video?
- rockrapdude, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4So the cat wouldn't get trapped.
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2RTFA: "An important point is that your toilet seat must always remain up, because your cat will not be able to lift the toilet seat itself and consistently leaving the seat down may frustrate your cat."
Serok, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3My girlfriend taught our cat how to do this. Not having a litter box is awesome.
Even though its annoying when he scratches on the toilet seat to "bury" it.
bassophone, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I am teaching my cats to do this now with the Litter Kwitter kit. It's definitely tough work and there is lots of clean up. So far, it has been one of the more disgusting things I have ever dealt with in my life. However, at this point in time they almost always do their business in the toilet and are improving each day and it is clear that with time they will eventually be fully trained. I recommend it.
BridgetDS, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Warning: I tried this a few years ago (on the cat in my userpic) and after several months when we finally got to the part where there is no more litter, he went insane and started relieving himself anywhere and everywhere for weeks. I have never been able to get the bathroom satisfactorily clean again after this whole ordeal, either.
misterhat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3*braces for lolcat macros*
- munkeyhatecleen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I'm in ur bathroom, squeezin mah stoolz
- profOblivion, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Invisible litter box
Ghstfce, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4This is a great How-To. All the first steps I already knew, but I was always told to put Saran Wrap over the bowl and put the seat down with a bit of litter. That way the cat scratches the Saran Wrap while getting used to using the toilet and the mess drops right into the toilet. Then after a week or so of doing you can leave out the Saran Wrap and the cat will be trained to use the toilet. We have 5 cats currently and it would definitely make the downstairs bathroom in the house smell a lot better.
cuoops, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3All my cats stay outside. I live in the country and they love it.
DigitalMuse, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Cats can't be toilet trained! They lack opposable thumbs!
zeroMPHfallover, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5I wish you could cut cats in half and then have 2 kittens...
Boktai1000, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Dugg for Mr. Jinxy reference.
- matschig, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1yA, And this ***** dont work anyways.
billshovel, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2"Litter Kwitter" was a winning invention on the "The New Inventors"(on the ABC - Australia) in June 2005.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s1373474.htm
http://www.litterkwitter.com.au
bjs3171, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12we started doing this with our cat. one day while the litter box was sitting on the toilet she managed to make the box slide off, it fell, and for a short while she was scared of the litter box and instead peed on our beds. that was awesome.
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1reminds me of the time my friends got their cat stoned, and it ended up freaking out and running around the apartment spraying piss all over their walls, beds, and pillows--much like i did the first time i got stoned.
meachen, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0why am i laughing my head off?
- wastedpanda, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Because you have a very childish sense of humour?
derekknight, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2How To: Clean Sticky Cat Piss off Your Toilet Seat
evilregis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this.
lynx77, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2The easiest way of avoiding smelly litter trays is to train your cat to go for a pooey poo poo in next doors flower pots. Has the added bonus each summer of hearing the neighbours curse as they re-pot their plants and put their hands in nice ripe cat dooey.
iluvhatemail, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2my cat uses the toilet and it was really easy to train him. Awesome not having a smelly litter box somewhere in the house.
ganzhimself, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Wow. This would be great, except that my damn cat seems to think my leather couch is her personal litterbox. One more time and I swear she's off to the humane society!
- kefs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1hey ganz... if you're serious.. and don't think toilet training is for you.. try a product called 'feliway'.. 20-30$ and your cat won't piss around there again.. better than sending it off to it's death.. :(
  - ganzhimself, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I would never get rid of her, she's too sweet... But the pissing on the expensive leather couch is really starting to get old. I made a plastic cover that I put over it when I leave during the day, or for at night, but still, it's disgusting.
    
    Thanks for the tip. I haven't been able to find anything that actually keeps them from repeating that disgusting deed on my couch.
    - kefs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1no worries.. one more.. in the meantime, instead of plastic.. lay a sheet of duct tape upside down.. kitty won't go up there after the first time.. as long as it's in place..
suldar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1If this is the result I'll pass.
(NSFW)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ug7WEUxH68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWS2KwDeiVk
ramiro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3What brand of litter that you guys are using to complain of smelly litterboxes? My cat's litterbox is not that smelly.
bkleynbok, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2Buried as lame
libertinette, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2We tried this with our cat and it worked just fine up until the last step. Then she crapped and peed all over our bed in defiance. The joke was on her though, because that was the day we were getting a new bed delivered anyway. We probably could have kept trying, but after that we didn't want to risk a second attack on our new bed and it's difficult to keep up the middle steps when you only have one bathroom. I'll probably try again if I end up in a two bathroom place, but for now flushable corn litter works just fine. You can just scoop and flush, it's about as low-effort as you can get without having a toilet trained cat.
bumbletowne, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0My cat just pushed the litter box back to where it was originally. He fears change. Keep in mind he's approaching 33 pounds and is larger than your average cocker spaniel. I say he's big boned. If i don't he'll suffocate me in my sleep. I, for one, welcome our new cat overlords.
flipside3, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Oh to dream the impossible dream. I've got 2 cats, and while one may be able to learn the other is too dumb/stubborn/fat to be bothered.
stinger666, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Or you can let your cat go outside. My cat barely uses his litter box.
- AaronD12, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I have a cat door so my cat never uses the litterbox anymore. He prefers to pee in the bushes.
Skallah, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I want to say this was in Maxim like 5 or 6 years ago.
aster2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0But can it flush?
czernel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2We got a Litter Robot over a year ago and it's operated flawlessly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BKvuGHrhGk
http://www.litter-robot.com/
siszam, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1A litter box doesn't smell "foul" if you keep it clean on a regular basis. I don't want kitty pee, poop and paw germs where my booty goes. Animals are not little people and shouldn't be treated as such.
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How To: Toilet Train Your Cat

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