Toilet Training

We are in the process of being Toilet Trained. We started in November 2007, and we are not there yet. Don't be fooled when you see articles or books that say it only takes 21 days! For most kitties it takes MUCH longer than that! You can read all about our toilet training in my Bloggy. We are not super-experts yet since we aren't trained, but here are some important tips. My BEST tip is to join the Yahoo Group T-Training, we are members and it is very helpful of all sites!


There are some main points to remember about toilet training, which we learned from the Yahoo Group T-Training but also from Misha's Site and Mango's Book.
1. It might take a LONG TIME to complete - although smarter kitties take less time. We are already training for 3 months and we aren't even half-way there!
2. Go slow, slow, slow! Even though we are going slow Figaro still presents some accidents for Mom to clean up.
3. There are many litter containers that can be used, a sturdy one is best. Don't use any method that the kitty can fall in, he or she will be traumatized and won't use the setup anymore. Figaro almost fell in once and ever since then he is the nervous of kitties.
4. Tape up the toilet lid so your kitties don't get hurt. We did that as a common sense because we kept knocking it down.
5. You might have accidents - if you do you MUST go back steps - this one we know well because Figaro is ALWAYS having accidents when we go forward and we have to go back!!
6. You should be home often enough to help your kitty in case he or she needs it to use the toilet. That's because it will be the smelly of toilets if you don't help with flushing!
7. Keep litter in the setup at all times, until the hole is so big litter won't fit, don't "disappear" the litter! Misha did this on her site but it doesn't work very well with most kitties, for example Figaro is scared of water.
Of all the methods, there are commercial products like LitterKwitter and CitiKitty, but people can also use homemade items. We learned about the other methods doing a google search. Our setup is homemade - it is a holiday platter that Mom taped to the toilet seat, and cut a hole in it. If it is homemade you have more flexibility, but you have to be creative. We will post a more specific description of our setup soon in the DIY section.
Here are some steps:
Get Kitty Acquainted With the New Area
If your litter box is not already in the bathroom, bring it there. For us, we are very flexible about where our litter box is because we are still small kitties so Mom moved it to the bathroom directly and we had no problems right away. But for some kitties you might have to slowly move it. Observe if your kitty is using the setup - if he isn't, then you have to back up a step and try to go slower.
Raise up the setup
Kitty might be wary about using a setup that is high up. So you can go slowly by raising your setup using some boxes or magazines. Make sure it is not in danger of falling. We used our holiday platter inside our regular litter box, then raised it up on top of magazines (of course taped down with duct tape) then raised the litter box itself on a box. This part should take another couple of weeks.
Get Kitty Used to New Litter
You're going to have to use flushable litter. We use SWheatScoop. Get kitty used to the litter by mixing it in and slowly getting rid of clay litter (unless you are already using flushable). This may take longer than you think, it took us over 2 weeks, because the clay litter has an addictive smell that we really liked! Mom wanted to switch us suddenly but we did not want to go in the new litter.
Move the setup to the toilet
Now move the setup to the toilet. Make sure the kitties are using the setup, and make sure it is very very sturdy. REMEMBER your toilet lid should be up all the time, and make sure it is duct taped to the top of the toilet. If it isn't kitty could get hurt by having it land on him or her and he might get stuck! This one we learned from Misha.
Start making the holes in the setup
Do this part very slowly! Make a hole that is pencil sized or smaller. Wait a week each time or more, and make sure there are no accidents, and keep litter in the box! Eventually the hole will be so big that your container will be gone. This is the part we are on right now. We have been on this part since mid-December, and while I am doing well Figaro is not. The hole part is to make this similar to the LitterKwitter setup which is pretty effective we hear. We learned about the hole making on the T-Training Yahoo Group!


 

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