Toilet Train Your Cat
Phase IV
| You will need:
This should be a
relatively small adjustment for the cat to make - the cat may not even notice
a difference at all, since the only differences are that the water is at a
slightly lower level and the space inside is bigger.
Now, would you like to train it to flush the toilet? If you do and the toilet
your cat uses is by your bedroom, make sure it's ok with you that your cat
flushes the toilet at 3:00 in the morning or at other times when the sound
may annoy you. If this won't bother you, have at it! I've heard stories of
people using strings and other creative devices since most toilets' handles
are too hard for cats' little paws to push down. Perhaps the best idea came
from an e-mail from Tom Wilson in the form of a link to a web site
(see "Links" section): a motion sensor for your toilet which will not only
work for your cat, but for you as well. Again, be careful. I once heard
a horror story about a cat who liked the toilet's flushing so much that the
cat would play with it as a toy. Even with a motion sensing device, this
scenario is possible... but probably not likely.
Would you like to read about my own experience in training my own cat? You
may want to so that you can learn from my mistakes.
Click here to go to my story.
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If you have made it to this stage, you are home free! All you have to do now
is remove the salad bowl altogether, but still keep the platform between
the toilet seat and the toilet bowl. I recommend taping it to the side of
the toilet bowl just as it was taped to the salad bowl, as shown to the
left, because it makes it much easier to get the cardboard out of the way
when you have to go in the toilet yourself.
As the final step, simply increase the size of the hole in the platform
gradually (over the course of a few days, or maybe a couple weeks depending
on how quickly the cat has been adjusting so far) until it is the same size
as the toilet seat itself. You will notice in the picture to the right that
the size of the hole has increased.
You may
choose to do this in 2 steps as I did--one hole about 1-1/2 inches away
from the edge of the toilet seat (shown to the right) and the next one about
3/4 of an inch away (shown to the left). Or you may choose to do it in just
1 step... or no steps! You might even choose to enlarge the hole by just
a centimeter in radius each day, for a more gradual effect. I can't say what
is best for all cats - this is up to the trainer to decide.
When the hole is the same size as the toilet seat, you are done! You may
think the picture to the right is just cute and funny, but to a cat owner
who is sick of changing litter and having a messy house, this is a dream
come true.