Training Your Cat to Use the Toilet

Cats are wonderful pets, but cleaning the litter box can be a real drag. But what if you could train kitty to use the toilet? Instead of dealing with messy, smelly litter, you could get rid of your cat’s elimination with just one flush.

When training your cat to use the toilet, it's best if you have two toilets in the house. Using one just for the cat and one for yourself during the training period will make things much more convenient, although you can train your cat with only one toilet.

For toilet training your cat, you will need an aluminum tray that fits into the toilet and an aluminum tray as a replacement for his litter box. The idea is to get him used to the aluminum tray in the same spot his box is usually in and then the tray in the toilet won't seem so foreign.

Keep the litter box in its original spot but replace the box with the aluminum tray instead. Use the same litter and keep everything else the same. Once the cat is used to this new arrangement, start gradually switching the litter to flushable litter. Once the cat is used to the flushable litter, you are ready for the next step.

Gradually move the litter box closer to the toilet. Don't move it too far each time and make sure your cat knows where it is by taking her over to it and scratching her paws in it. If your cat stops using the box, you are probably going too fast for her, so slow down. Training a cat to use a litter box is a process that takes a long time, so patience is key.

Once the cat is using the litter box next to the toilet, raise it an inch off the floor. Make sure you use something that will keep the box stable and that the box will not slide off. Gradually, every third or fourth day, raise the box an inch higher, until it is level with the toilet. As it gets higher the cat will have to jump up into it, so it is critical that the box is stable, if it tips over this will scare your cat and she might not want to use it again.

At this point, you should have the tray ready in the toilet. You can use a cooking tray that is wide enough to fit the toilet. Put the tray in between that seat ring and the toilet base - make sure this holds it in place. Put some of the flushable litter the cat is used to in the tray.

Leave the litter box level with the tray in the toilet for a couple of weeks, gradually taking away the litter in the box. Eventually, the cat should just jump up and use the tray on the toilet. Once this is happening regularly, take the litter box away.

The next step is to gradually reduce the amount of litter that is in the tray on the toilet. Also, make a little hole in the tray. Each day, reduce the litter more and make the hole a bit bigger. Do not move too fast on this or your cat might not feel comfortable using it. Eventually, you can remove the tray altogether and your cat will be toilet trained!

Since your cat needs to balance on the toilet seat eventually, it is not recommended that you train cats that are too young. Wait until your cat is about six months old so that she is big enough to balance on the toilet seat. One important point that should be obvious, is that once your cat starts using the toilet - you MUST leave the toilet lid open at all times - the cat can't open it herself.

Be patient as this training process can take several months, but when your cat is trained you will have eliminated the smell and mess of a litter box. Now the only problem you will have is remembering to knock next time you want to use the bathroom as your cat may be using the toilet.

My mom and dad have never personally trained a cat to use the bathroom, but they have known people who have been successful at doing this. They also have a friend that trained her rabbits to use the toilet. If you decide to try training your cat to use the toilet, you may want to consider putting a child’s toilet seat into the regular seat before putting the tray on the toilet under the seat. The hole in a child’s seat is smaller than an adult toilet seat so there will be less chance of your cat falling into the toilet. Having a bigger landing area for the cat when it jumps up is also a benefit as the cat will feel safer.

Until next time,

Teia