Evidence of action!!

Although i am technically still on "step one" which basically only entails putting the cats' litter box in the bathroom, i have kept their training seat on the toilet just in case my brilliant cats want to skip ahead. This evening when i got home, i saw some evidence of action in the training seat! Sure, there was no actual sign that any cat had used the seat for its intended purpose, but it was obvious to me that a cat had been on the seat. The kitty litter looked as though a cat had been digging in it and there were dirty little kitty paw prints around the rim of the toilet. Now perhaps a cat was using the training seat as stool or a step to get into some other kind of mischief such as walking in the sink or looking at herself in the mirror but i'm taking this as an excellent sign. A mother knows.....even a cat mother.

I must keep in mind however, that this comes on the heels of disappointment. A couple days ago, when removing the training seat so i could use the toilet, i noticed that some of the kitty litter was wet!! It appeared that a cat had made the right decision between a box and a toilet. On further inspection (which is made possible by my intensive forensic training courtesy of Court TV) i discovered that the water came from a drip on the toilet and not from a cat.

Step One

About a week after i ordered the seat, it arrived on my door (in a discreet unlabeled box-so there is no cat embarrassment.) Upon opening the box i found the cat seat, which sits under the seat of the human toilet (the part guys lift up) along with some treats and a little pouch of catnip, which was very considerate of them to include. There was also an instruction booklet. I was definitely feeling dubious as i explored my new purchase. This is more than just a purchase to me though, it is the promise of a life without kitty litter. After much laughter, i started to read the instructions. Step one was to move the kitty litter into the bathroom so the cat will get used to being in there. Well, Kahlo and Foster already use the litter box in the bathroom. It's only the appropriately named Queen who uses a separate litter box but since the instructions clearly stated to go at the rate of the slowest cat, i had to start there. I removed Queen's litter box so she could get over being royalty and use the normal litter box like everyone else. I was too excited to wait to put the seat on the toilet though, so i decided there was no harm in setting it up. I put the some kitty litter in the training seat and placed it on the toilet. It fit perfectly--just like i was promised!! There is truth in advertising!

When humans want to use the toilet, we have to remove the seat, which could cause any number of hilarious mishaps i'm sure. My sister wanted to take bets on which of us would forget and use the bathroom in the night without taking out the cat seat.

Well, none of the cats took any interest in their new facilities, but we sure got a good laugh. My impatience got the better of me and i decided it was time to get into action. I grabbed a cat and put it on the seat. Shocking--she jumped right off and hid somewhere far away. Attempt two, another cat was placed on the seat but this cat, too, decided it had better things to do and off it went. I couldn't even find the third cat--word was probably out about what i was trying to do. 10 minutes into the process and nothing!! Maybe they just didn't need to go right then, or maybe they are shy about their business. I decided what was needed here was a little help from a secret weapon--Catnip. The instructions told me i could put catnip in the seat to get them interested. So i sprinkled a little into the seat, over the kitty litter. Neither Kahlo or Foster can resist catnip. I found Kahlo and placed her in the seat, and miracle of all miracles, she stayed there!! She sniffed around, rolled around, did a little digging and then laid down right in the seat. Then i had a thought--Will cats poop where they play? I guess i'll find out. One thing was for sure though--the amusement of this situation was already worth the $30 i paid. I was feeling very positive about this situation thinking she really liked her new "big girl potty." She stayed there for a while and seemed pretty comfortable. Then, she got off the toilet, went into her litter box and pooped!!

the preamble

(foster)

(Kahlo)

(Queen)

My one bedroom apartment is home for 2 people (my sister and myself) and 3 cats (2 of mine, one of hers.) Generally, cats should not outnumber people in a house, but we had special circumstances. When my friend suggested that I toilet train the cats, we all had a good laugh. However, the next day I took the time to investigate toilet training cats. I watched videos of cats using the toilet, proudly pooping into that bowl of water we all take for granted. I even saw one cat use his little paws to unroll the better part of a roll of toilet paper into the toilet while his owner cheered him on. I was suddenly overtaken with the image of walking into my bathroom and finding a cat on the toilet (perhaps reading the newspaper.) I pictured myself saying, “oh excuse me,” and walking out, making sure to shut the door behind me. After watching videos of homemade toilet training seats, which involved cardboard and saran wrap and all sorts of other crazy things, I decided the best option was to order a set of cat toilet training seats (‘cause that’s definitely not crazy at all.) Below is a description taken from the website where I ordered the seat:

The specially designed CitiKitty Training Seat securely fits on your toilet filled with a small amount of kitty litter. Your cat naturally uses CitiKitty as its new litter box.

Over a short period each of the four perforated rings are removed from the training seat thus reducing the amount of litter and enlarging the opening to the toilet allowing your cat to transition to using the toilet gradually. Once all rings are removed your cat is toilet trained!

For less then the cost of 2 months of kitty litter you can toilet train your cat with CitiKitty.

After reading that, who wouldn’t be convinced? I mean really. It’s sure to work! The seat cost $30, which I figured would totally be worth it if it worked. I bought it!