Cat trying to use the toilet

[FreyaTheKitty]

We just found cat poop on the underside of the toilet lid in between the seat and lid really. We don't know why or how this happened, her litter box is clean and fresh so she shouldn't be having a problem going to the bathroom in there, it's not obstructed in any way either so she can get in and out and has not had any problems using it in the past... Also, as far as I am aware she's not trained to use the toilet, no one has trained her to do it, no one has showed her how to do it..she just decided 'Hey lemme try that'. Is this normal? Should I discourage or encourage this kind of behavior? Help.

 

[DreamerRose]

I've heard of cats who learn to use the toilet themselves, but I've never had one. It's up to you whether to encourage it or not. It sounds great to me - no litter pan to clean.

 

[losna]

My sister once had a cat who used the toilet. The crazy thing is he even knew how to flush once he was done! I nearly fell over when I saw him do it one time. Apparently he learned this all on his own, so it is possible. She left the toilet seat up for him all the time, because he refused to use his litterbox, if the toilet seat was down he'd go in the tub. 

 He also figured out how to open the fridge and turn door knobs, so he was a real handful.

It's up to you whether you want to encourage or not. I personally would discourage it, simply because I keep an eye on my cats' health by watching the state of their stool when I scoop it. But if you don't do that, I can't think of any reason not to enjoy not having to scoop a litter box.

 

[Geoffrey]

I am sure that cats watch us to learn how we do things as our present blue/white cat watched how we open the door by turning the knob. I have seen her trying to do this but to no avail.  She now just reaches up to the doorknob to ask to go in or out.  Our Burmese learnt how to open the latch by watching us.  She used to leap up and swing on it, thus opening the door and she would then fly in - and land on our bed!

Our first Siamese, in the 1960's learnt how to use our toilet for urinating by watching, and he tried it several times.  However he appeared to prefer his litter tray, or urinating outdoors, as he gave up using the toilet after a few attempts

 

[jcat]

Mogli will use the toilet if the lid isn't down. It's something I discourage because he actually climbs into the toilet bowl rather than perching on the seat. :nausea:

One of my sister's cats also taught himself to use the toilet and now refuses to use a litter box. At least Smoke uses the seat!

 

[catlogged]

It sounds like you have a very smart cat. I'd definitely encourage it. I've tried to train a few, but they weren't up to the task. I've tried putting a box on the toilet then taking it away after a few days. I even went so far as to cut a donut shaped board and place a bowl of litter in the middle. Then place this on the toilet seat. They would gladly use to litter, but not the toilet when it was removed. 

 

[hexiesfriend]

I had a cat who learned to pee in the toilet on his own. He still used the litterbox. I'm not sure if there's any harm other than finding those little presents in the wrong part of the toilet.

 

[FreyaTheKitty]

I think I'll discourage it...mostly cause we have only one toilet