Queen, she is a peein'

(Queen considers peeing on the bookshelf)

(Foster becomes bored of toilet training)

(my big baby)

Well, i would like all my faithful readers to know that Kahlo and Foster (my cats) are doing a perfect, wonderful job using the toilet. Queen, however, has not taken to it so much (or at all.) She has continued to relieve herself wherever she pleases. I still think this is a result of her name, and perhaps a charmed upbringing. For a while the place she chose was in a suitcase under my sisters bed. I guess that seems as good as any place to a cat. At first we thought maybe the kitty litter was too rough for her little royal feet so we got a softer litter. It made no difference. Now things have developed into an alarming situation. She has boldly and brazenly peed on my sisters bed multiple times--right in front of her eyes. Once my sister found pee and poop in the empty litter box that was waiting to be put away for good! At least that was a good attempt on the cat's part. All we can surmise from this action is that she's a little upset at the toilet training. I think maybe she has caught on that this is all my big idea because the other day i discovered some of my clothes that had fallen off a hanger in the closet had been peed on. Also this weekend, just minutes after i arrived home from a trip, she peed on my coat. My sister caught her mid-pee, but it was too late. So off my coat went to the dry-cleaners. Between the constant laundry and the dry-cleaning this is getting to be an expensive endeavor. Expensive, gross, and messy. But, oh, it would be SO worth it if it worked. I cannot and will not tolerate the smell of cat pee on my clothes so i may be forced to abandon the mission. We have agreed to give it one more try using the kitty litter that her royalty prefers ($$$) and if that doesn't work the litter box will be put back into circulation.

a stinky success!

According to my cat toilet training guide, yesterday was the day i was supposed to remove the litter box from the bathroom and set the cats free on the real toilet. My sister was very dubious and proclaimed that her cat, Queen, "would not be participating in toilet training." So, while my doubting sister slept, i emptied all the litter into a grocery bag hoping against hope that this is the last time i'll be doing this. After i had swept and cleaned the bathroom, i took the litter box outside and hosed it down. I made sure there was fresh litter and fresh catnip in the training seat. Nothing left to do but wait. So wait i did! It was hard not to check the toilet constantly to see if there had been any action, but i kept myself busy with more useful tasks. Later that night, around 11:00 i heard the familiar sound of a cat scratching in their litter. I got very excited but i tried to talk myself down, so as to not suffer another disapointment. I thought maybe a cat was just playing with the catnip in there.

A while later when i was almost asleep i smelled something--poop! Never in my life have i been so excited to smell cat poop! I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom and sure enough, there it was. A glorious mound of stinking cat poop! I scooped it out and flushed it down the toilet but i was so excited i could barely get back to sleep. My sister was out at the time, but i immediatly sent her a text message letting her know the good news. This morning upon waking up, i checked the toilet and it was clear that a cat had peed! I was actually starting to feel a little ray of sunshine in my dark litter box world. As i was getting ready for work i went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and there, sitting on the toilet as natural as could be, was Foster. He was just peeing away without a care in the world. I was so excited, i grabbed my phone and took a picture (it's a little dark, but i think i'll post it anyway.) I tried to give him a treat, but he ran away. i threw the treat down in front of him, but he looked at me suspiciously, as if to say, "whats the catch?" Little did he know, he had already fallen for "the catch." I hope his little cat brain will make the connection between using the toilet and getting a treat.

I went off to work feeling very pleased with myself. That is, until i got a text message from my sister that said just, "a cat pooped on the floor." Well, that was alarming! I decided that it was her precious Queen who had taken that liberty, especially since my sister seemed to be giving her the message that she didn't need to use the toilet. My sister agreed that, yes, Queen was looking guilty and she agreed to have a little chat with her.