Cat's Can Be Toilet Trained?

3811 Views 16 Replies 15 Participants Last post by PawsandPlay, 5 mo ago

TomBrooklyn

Discussion Starter · Jun 5, 2012

Cats can be toilet trained?

I never heard of such a thing; but I saw it mentioned on these forums by some people that their cats go to the bathroom in a human toilet.

Do they flush, and wash their paws with soap afterward?

Reactions: 1

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

yingying

· #2 · Jun 5, 2012

Yes, at least some cats can be toliet trained. But I don't think its a good idea, because I've heard many stories that toilet trained cats suddenly start doing their business somewhere else, like in the sink, in bathtub, or beside toilet. Also if you are going to move, you have to retrain the cat, because cats don't understand that all toilets are basically the same. So I think it's more trouble than good.

Do they flush, and wash their paws with soap afterward?

Don't. ever. train them to flush! It's highly likely they see flushing as a fun activity and will flush whenever they are bored. Such a waste of water! Also don't even think about teaching them to wash their paws! First, it's highly questionable whether they can be trained to volenterly dip their paws in water. Second, you don't want them having soap on their paw. They may not rinse well and will ingest the soap while grooming.

rightsaidfed

· #3 · Jun 6, 2012

I have heard of cats being potty trained. There's a company that makes a training litterbox that fits over the toilet.

Now if Only I could train my boyfriend to aim better...

mainecoonmama

· #4 · Jun 6, 2012

rightsaidfed said:
I have heard of cats being potty trained. There's a company that makes a training litterbox that fits over the toilet.

Now if Only I could train my boyfriend to aim better...

Ive heard of the training litter box. It popped up in an amazon search and so I read some stuff about it. Apparently its a hit or miss thing. Lots of people were having trouble with it. Meh, Ill keep scooping. My boys are awesome about the box; and aside from Winston wanting to leave his poo uncovered for display its never smelly or gross. Plus I have an awesome little nook under the counter in my bathroom where the box fits perfectly. I think toilet training would result in some very unhappy cats.

Maybe boyfriends can be litter box trained???

kty78

· #5 · Jun 6, 2012

I think the washing hands thing was meant as a joke. All jokes aside, on a daily basis I catch my cats playing in water. They dip their paws in whatever standing water they can find, especially running water, bubble baths and dish water.

Victoriax

· #6 · Jun 6, 2012

my Meeca leaves her poop uncovered I think she learned at an early age there is no need as mummy is never far behined waiting to scoop it up for her hehe

& the comment about boyfriends being trained to use the litter trey oooooooohhhhhhhh how gross lol I would defo not be scooping that trey haha

mainecoonmama

· #7 · Jun 6, 2012

Victoriax said:
my Meeca leaves her poop uncovered I think she learned at an early age there is no need as mummy is never far behined waiting to scoop it up for her hehe

& the comment about boyfriends being trained to use the litter trey oooooooohhhhhhhh how gross lol I would defo not be scooping that trey haha

Yeah, I think my ultimate solution would be separate bathrooms :mrgreen: men are gross creatures in the bathroom ( or at least the ones I've known).

spotty cats

· #8 · Jun 6, 2012

I trained 3 of mine and they were fine for several years, no retraining needed when moving and would also use the toilets at both my parents places.

I went back to litter trays when I started breeding, no sense in toilet training breeding cats.

Used the Litter Kwitter and trained the 3 at once, took about 2 months. I lent it to someone afterwards, her Bengal was fine but the Ragdoll refused.

love.my.cats

· #9 · Jun 6, 2012

I've seen the Litter Kwitter.. Pretty cool tool if you do want to go down that path. I don't know how I feel about sharing my toilet with the cats though - I'm happy cleaning litter trays for now

OctoberinMaine

· #10 · Jun 6, 2012

I've read that although cats can be trained to use the toilet, it's not a good idea. As scoopers of litterboxes we have a chance to see their poop and pee, both in terms of appearance and quantity, which could be the only tipoff we have to a medical condition that might need to be seen by a vet. If a cat had blood in its stool, for example, you'd see it in a litterbox but not necessarily in a toilet.

I just don't like the idea of them using toilets. What I do like the idea of using flushable litter, so you can just scoop and flush and there's no need to have it sitting in the trash for 4 days!

GhostTown

· #11 · Jun 6, 2012

October said:
I've read that although cats can be trained to use the toilet, it's not a good idea. As scoopers of litterboxes we have a chance to see their poop and pee, both in terms of appearance and quantity, which could be the only tipoff we have to a medical condition that might need to be seen by a vet. If a cat had blood in its stool, for example, you'd see it in a litterbox but not necessarily in a toilet.

++1

Dave_ph

· #12 · Jun 6, 2012

Saw some woman who sold the equiptment for toilet training cats on "Shark Tank". It was a retrospective. One of the "Sharks" invested in "City Kitty".

It's a memorable business name so I guess she's a winner.

http://www.citikitty.com/

lovetimesfour

· #13 · Jun 6, 2012

October said:
I've read that although cats can be trained to use the toilet, it's not a good idea. As scoopers of litterboxes we have a chance to see their poop and pee, both in terms of appearance and quantity, which could be the only tipoff we have to a medical condition that might need to be seen by a vet. If a cat had blood in its stool, for example, you'd see it in a litterbox but not necessarily in a toilet.

Exactly my feelings. Not only that, a cat trained to use a toilet may have trouble if s/he is ever hospitalized. I have a friend whose cat toilet trained himself. He saw her using it, and, like the Copy Cat cats are, he decided to do it too.

Unfortunately, he developed FLUTD. He had to be hospitalized, and because he doesn't use a litter box, he did not use one while he was in the hospital either and had to be catheterized and given an enema.

Now my friend provides a litter box too, and he uses it about 50% of the time.

OctoberinMaine

· #14 · Jun 6, 2012

Dave_ph said:
Saw some woman who sold the equiptment for toilet training cats on "Shark Tank". It was a retrospective. One of the "Sharks" invested in "City Kitty".

It's a memorable business name so I guess she's a winner.

CitiKitty Cat Toilet Training Kit® - Official Store | Save Over $2,000! No more kitty litter with CitiKitty - Say bye-bye litter box!

That's funny Dave, the first thing I thought of was City Kitty and the Shark Tank. Love that show!

CJinCA

· #15 · Jun 6, 2012

Agreeing with October, with an additional note:

If you live near the coast, you don't want cat waste (from flushable litter or cat using toilet) getting into any sewage system that flows to the sea or other water body. Toxoplasma in the cat feces can get past the water treatment plants and infect and kill animals such as sea otters.

Carmel

· #16 · Jun 6, 2012 (Edited)

I've only heard horror stories with it about cats starting to use bathtubs, sinks, and no longer using a toilet in different locations (and not knowing to use a litter box either...) also when they get older jumping up and balancing on a toilet may not be as easy. What October mentioned is also a concern. I wouldn't ever use flushable litter though, it can over time or immediately backup a toilet, absolutely not pleasant to deal with.

PawsandPlay

· #17 · 5 mo ago

If you love cute cats, then be sure to check out my new video featuring the most adorable feline friends. These fluffy kitties will surely bring a smile to your face. Click on the link to watch now!

1 - 17 of 17 Posts