Has anyone toilet trained their cat? I've gotten stuck.

[sixlittlechicks09]

Hey everybody! So I've been toilet training our cat, Louie. He's about 6mo old and has taken to it really well! Well... Up until this step. So the process that's tried and true with our friends in neighbors is
1. Put the litter box in the bathroom - Check!
2. Everyday raise it a few inches until it's the same height as the toilet - Check!
3. Gradually, day by day, move it over so it's eventually sitting on the toilet - Check!
4. Replace it with a bowl full of litter that's sitting IN the toilet, under the lid but over the water - Check!
5. Everyday remove a little bit of litter - eehhh...
6. When you take the last bit of litter out, replace it with water - ttraaainnnwrreeckkk!!!
7. Gradually raise the water level - wait... you're putting WHAT in my litter box?! Oohhh No. I'm using the carpet/shower/your favorite pair of shoes
8. Take away the bowl, VIOLA! - PUT BACK MY LITTER. NOW. I WILL POOP ON EVERYTHING, SIX TIMES A DAY.


*sigh* Does anyone have any ideas? When I get to about an inch of litter in the bowl, he stops using it and switches to my shoes or the carpet. So I fill up the bowl, and start that step over and he happily obliges until the last inch. Then it's back to whatever he can find that ISN'T the bowl.
I really want to do this, because we have a dog that loves nothing more to eat out of Louie's box then throw up "kitty biscuits" ALL over the house the rest of the night. We've tried EVERY kind of box, we've tried feeding louie things to make his poo taste bad, we've tried a waterbottle to squirt Toby (stupid dog) when he gets too close. BUT NOTHING HAS WORKED. I hate to spend 50$ on a kit to train the cat, especially when this has worked so well for a bunch of other people we know.
Any suggestions?

 

[patandchickens]

The following is purely speculation -- the only toilet-trained cat I've known was totally self-taught (a barn cat who not only learned to do both her functions into the toilet with seldom a miss, but also quite often *flushed* afterwards, I am NOT kidding at all).

But, if it were me, I would try rigging up something with a perforated bottom to the now-in-the-toilet litter box... perhaps cut out the litterbox bottom except for a 2" rim around the perimeter and inset a piece of that eggcrate grid stuff they use on overhead fluorescent lights, full bottom sized and resting on the non cut out edges of the bottom. The cat can see there is SOMEthing there, and even step on it if he wants, but pee will go thru it and will not splash and he won't need to be uncomfortably close to any water. You think? Probably worth a TRY anyhow.

Alternatively, put the box somewhere the dog can't get to -- if it's a big dog, put a gate or door with a just-cat-sized hole (preferably up high and leading to a tabletop or something, so the dog can't corner the cat in the litterbox area); or if it's a small dog, put the litterbox up on a countertop or somehting like that where the dog [hopefully] can't jump up to.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Are you using one of those toilet trainer aids that sits inside the toilet that has about an inch of litter in it?


If so I would say just leave it like that until all is calm, like a month or so, until he really gets used to the idea and gets really comfortable with it, maybe longer than a month, then one day just take it off and see if he will still "go"... I wouldn't try replacing the litter with water because after that aide is removed the water won't actually be that high in the bowl/ close to the cat...


Do I make sense?

 

[ChickenFanaticAB]

I just recently started thinking about doing this for my cats...but honestly don't know if I want to take the time. My suggestion for you? Automatic litter box

 

[chicks4kids]

Maybe you could switch your litter to that sparkly blue litter (looks like lightly tinted glass) and eventually when you get down to the final steps, make sure that your water is tinted blue as well...maybe it's the color difference that is throwing him off.

 

[sixlittlechicks09]

I'm not using a toilet kit, I'm just using the metal bowl method. I don't know if it's the water splashing up, cause we haven't even gotten to the water stage for more then one day. He stops using his litter now if it's under an inch. -_-

 

[brownlikewoah]

I would suggest trying this product: http://www.citikitty.com/ I saw it at a pet industry expo a few months ago and it looked convincing!

 

[taraann81]

I've toilet trained cats before. VVe used a different method but it vvorked great.

The first fevv steps are the same, moving the kitty litter box until it is on the toilet.

The next step Place it under the lid(I used a tinfoil turkey roasting pan, they are easily bendable to get to fit under the seat)

After your cat is consitantly using it that vvay, you cut a hole in it, maybe a bit bigger than a quarter(make sure the litter is flushable)

You continually cut the hole a bit bigger, maybe vveekly or every ther vveek depending on hovv your cat is taking to it, until its gone.

I think this vvorks better than the method you have been using because the cat never finds vvater vvhere it vvould normally scratch.

 

[sixlittlechicks09]

Quote:
I switched to that method yesterday. Since that's were the major hang up was with louie, I figured I'd try something new. So far, so well! Thanks everyone, I'll keep you updated!