I was thinking of getting a kitten soon, and heard i can toilet train them. Well my parents dont want litter boxes and all so i was thinking maybe toilet training will be a good idea. I have been doing alot of reading about it and found its not to hard but can take a few weeks and im ok with that. I found this http://www.amazon.com/Vo-Kitty-Whiz-...pd_sbs_k_img_2 Is this a good training one to use?
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toilet training
- Thread starter kagome100
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- Jan 30, 2005
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many of us would NOT recommend toliet training ... yes it is feasable but food for thought... YOUR placing kitty in a UNnatural elimination position, do you have a seprate bath for the cat ( guest s and likely you dont want to sit on the toliet the cat may have missed on), how would you feel if you didnt catch a illness ( ie CRF which a main sign is HUGE pee clumps or amount of pee)??
I don't think that you can rely on being able to train a cat to use the toilet. Yes, some people have done it, but don't get a cat under the premise that you'll be able to train him or her to use the toilet.
My parent's house had a garage and a kitty door into the garage, so we put the cat's litter box out there, and that worked very well. I'm now an advocate of indoor-only cats, but the same idea, with a litter box in a basement or otherwise unused room, could work with some cats.
However, with a new cat, you are going to want to confine him or her in a single room at first, and you will need to make sure that your particular cat is happy with going through a kitty door to get to the litter box; not all cats are.
Are your parents going to be willing to have scratching posts around the house and willing to train your cat not to scratch the furniture and jump up on counters in addition to being willing to live with a litter box?
You've got to be willing to deal with a counter-jumping furniture-scratching litter-box-using feline if you decide to adopt a cat. Counter-jumping and furniture scratching can be trained out of a cat, but you've got to be willing to train the cat and deal with the consequences in the mean-time. This goes even more strongly with the litter box; you've got to expect to have one (or more), although if you can train the cat to use the toilet, that's great. But don't expect a toilet-using cat as the norm.
Essentially, as long as you and your parents are committed to keeping the cat and dealing with any problems or inconveniences that come up, great. If not, you might consider working in a shelter to get your share of cat time.
Edited to add:
I looked at the Amazon page, and apparently the particular device you linked to is very flimsy and sometimes collapses under a cat trying to use it. As you can imagine, such a collapse might teach your cat to never, ever use the toilet again.
Here is a thread from a member who trained cats to use the toilet. If you go the end of the thread, it looks like that people that succeed usually take months to do so. If you search for "toilet training" there are many other threads on the topic, but I think few as long or detailed as the one I've linked.
My parent's house had a garage and a kitty door into the garage, so we put the cat's litter box out there, and that worked very well. I'm now an advocate of indoor-only cats, but the same idea, with a litter box in a basement or otherwise unused room, could work with some cats.
However, with a new cat, you are going to want to confine him or her in a single room at first, and you will need to make sure that your particular cat is happy with going through a kitty door to get to the litter box; not all cats are.
Are your parents going to be willing to have scratching posts around the house and willing to train your cat not to scratch the furniture and jump up on counters in addition to being willing to live with a litter box?
You've got to be willing to deal with a counter-jumping furniture-scratching litter-box-using feline if you decide to adopt a cat. Counter-jumping and furniture scratching can be trained out of a cat, but you've got to be willing to train the cat and deal with the consequences in the mean-time. This goes even more strongly with the litter box; you've got to expect to have one (or more), although if you can train the cat to use the toilet, that's great. But don't expect a toilet-using cat as the norm.
Essentially, as long as you and your parents are committed to keeping the cat and dealing with any problems or inconveniences that come up, great. If not, you might consider working in a shelter to get your share of cat time.
Edited to add:
I looked at the Amazon page, and apparently the particular device you linked to is very flimsy and sometimes collapses under a cat trying to use it. As you can imagine, such a collapse might teach your cat to never, ever use the toilet again.
Here is a thread from a member who trained cats to use the toilet. If you go the end of the thread, it looks like that people that succeed usually take months to do so. If you search for "toilet training" there are many other threads on the topic, but I think few as long or detailed as the one I've linked.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Well my parents are fine with the other trainins like the jumping and scratching they just wont do with a iltter box. I have a friend that had a cat that was toilet trained he trained it at 3 months old. This was years ago and the cat passed last year. I do have 2 bathrooms in this house one we dont really use at all that is the one i was going to use for the cat. Plus we are very clean ppl we clean every thing every day as in the bathrooms get cleaned every day and the kitchen does also. I do know it will take time to train i know that and im willing to do it. Sense you are saying its not a good idea maybe i wont i dont know yet.
and ya i found a better one on there this one http://www.amazon.com/CitiKitty-Cat-...2712940&sr=8-1
and ya i found a better one on there this one http://www.amazon.com/CitiKitty-Cat-...2712940&sr=8-1
ok but what if in the end you can't train the cat? Only adopt the cat if you are willing to have a litter box in the house. Is it that your parents don't want to clean the litter box or they just don't want one, period? You are going to have to clean the box if they aren't willing to, but then what happens when you leave home? Or when you get tired of cleaning the litter box? Litter boxes have to be cleaned on a daily basis, sometimes 2x in one day. A dirty box can lead to a cat using other parts of the house to eliminate. It's ultimately THEIR responsibility, not yours. Cats have long life spans, what will happen in 20 years to the cat? Stay with your parents?
Are your parents aware of all of the new litter boxes out there, like automatic cleaning boxes? Not all cats will use them, but they are worth looking into (especially if you have the room for one).
How old are you?
Here are some questions to ask yourself and your parents before bringing home a cat:
http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanageme...eadyforcat.htm
Other resources that might help for now:
Where to adopt a cat (I am posting this only because if your family decides to adopt, then this will point you in the direction of where to go and where not to go)
http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanageme...findnewcat.htm
Litter Box Essentials (includes links to articles about toilet training, automatic litter boxes, etc.)
http://cats.about.com/od/litterbox/L...Essentials.htm
Even if you do successfully toilet train a cat, I think you still need to keep a litter box.
I wouldnt want to rely on toilet training a cat. Not only might it not work, but it might end up being a lot more hassle and smell than having a litter box around. Imagine a toilet full cat pee and poop! Complete with bits that missed. I'd take the litter box any day. I think cleaining up after a cat that had used the toilet could be much worse than cleaning a litter box which only takes a minute or two for me to scoop.
If your parents can't accept a litter box, then maybe a cat is just not the right pet at this moment.
I wouldnt want to rely on toilet training a cat. Not only might it not work, but it might end up being a lot more hassle and smell than having a litter box around. Imagine a toilet full cat pee and poop! Complete with bits that missed. I'd take the litter box any day. I think cleaining up after a cat that had used the toilet could be much worse than cleaning a litter box which only takes a minute or two for me to scoop.
If your parents can't accept a litter box, then maybe a cat is just not the right pet at this moment.
That's my question too - if the cat decides it doesn't want to be litter trained (most likely), then what happens? Will your parents tell you to get rid of the cat?
If they don't want the litter box in the bath room, then can you keep it in your room and keep it clean, etc.?
Its a 50/50 chance on training them. Personally, I don't recommend it. I think its too unnatural to force them to use a human toilet. And its not an "easy" thing to do - it takes longer then just a few weeks. Sometimes it may take months, but there is NO guarantee that you will be successful.
I tried it with my first cat cause it seemed cool. Well I got him to jump on the toilet and use the liner. But when the liner was taken out, he refused to have anything to do with eliminating in the toilet. So it was back to the normal litter pan and I never tried it again with any of the cats.
If they don't want the litter box in the bath room, then can you keep it in your room and keep it clean, etc.?
Its a 50/50 chance on training them. Personally, I don't recommend it. I think its too unnatural to force them to use a human toilet. And its not an "easy" thing to do - it takes longer then just a few weeks. Sometimes it may take months, but there is NO guarantee that you will be successful.
I tried it with my first cat cause it seemed cool. Well I got him to jump on the toilet and use the liner. But when the liner was taken out, he refused to have anything to do with eliminating in the toilet. So it was back to the normal litter pan and I never tried it again with any of the cats.
I was absolutely going to do this before I got my kitten. I didn't want to have a litter box to take care of. After I got my kitten, he was so good at using the litter box (not one accident since we got him 9 months ago!) I didn't want to screw anything up. I decided to go with the silica litter - its not the typical type, absorbs liquids, and i just flush the poo. (The box is right next to the toilet, so this is really convenenient. I think I could have trained him and been successful, but now I'm really glad I didn't because my little guy is a total water bug and will play in any pool of water he can get to. Can you imagine toilet water splashed and tracked all over? Yuck. But, I've read a few success stories about people who've successfully done it. I was just pleasantly suprised at how little maintenance goes into the litter box we have.
Ditto to what the others have said...
If your parents are absolutely against a litter box being in the house, then don't get a cat...
If your parents don't want to have to clean out the box, then that responsibility will fall on you... AND if this will be YOUR cat, then it should be your responsibility to take care of the box, feeding, grooming, etc. and leave your parents with as little cat-related hassle as possible.
If it is the latter of the two, you need to consider a few things:
1. Are you willing to keep the box in either that not-often-used bathroom or your bedroom and keep it scooped at least once a day (and clean up any tracking, etc.)?
2. Are you aware of easier to maintain litters and boxes?
You need to look into different types of boxes and litter as you will AT LEAST have to start off with a regular box while the kitten/cat is confined... IF the toilet training works, then you can eliminate the box later, but, will at least need it to begin with...
You can get automatic boxes (the litter robot seems the most popular) that only need maintenence and emptying every few days. You can also get boxes that are easier to deal with... I personally like the omega paw roll-away box...you roll the box and it sorts the clumps and poo out into a drawer that you empty.
You can get litters that are low dust, low odor, and biodegradable and FLUSHABLE! I am a big fan of World's Best Cat Litter. It's corn-based, has little odor, does a good job on cat odors, and is very flushable. If you kept the box in the bathroom, one of these litters would be easy to use... Scoop into toilet and flush.
As the others have said, it is possible that you will be able to train the cat to use the toilet, but there are downsides (i.e. the missing, etc.) and many cats don't ever get the hang of it... so, you need to have a contengency plan that you are comfortable with... You have to think about what you will do with the cat if.... this or that doesn't go as planned. Unless you are willing to stick with the cat, for the long run, you shouldn't get one.
If you just want an interactive pet that can be somewhat shorter lived and easier to take care of, perhaps a small rodent (i.e. guinea pig or chinchilla) or even a ferret might be better for you. They do use litter, but they are smaller, their poo is smaller, and they are easier to clean up after.
HTH,
Art
If your parents are absolutely against a litter box being in the house, then don't get a cat...
If your parents don't want to have to clean out the box, then that responsibility will fall on you... AND if this will be YOUR cat, then it should be your responsibility to take care of the box, feeding, grooming, etc. and leave your parents with as little cat-related hassle as possible.
If it is the latter of the two, you need to consider a few things:
1. Are you willing to keep the box in either that not-often-used bathroom or your bedroom and keep it scooped at least once a day (and clean up any tracking, etc.)?
2. Are you aware of easier to maintain litters and boxes?
You need to look into different types of boxes and litter as you will AT LEAST have to start off with a regular box while the kitten/cat is confined... IF the toilet training works, then you can eliminate the box later, but, will at least need it to begin with...
You can get automatic boxes (the litter robot seems the most popular) that only need maintenence and emptying every few days. You can also get boxes that are easier to deal with... I personally like the omega paw roll-away box...you roll the box and it sorts the clumps and poo out into a drawer that you empty.
You can get litters that are low dust, low odor, and biodegradable and FLUSHABLE! I am a big fan of World's Best Cat Litter. It's corn-based, has little odor, does a good job on cat odors, and is very flushable. If you kept the box in the bathroom, one of these litters would be easy to use... Scoop into toilet and flush.
As the others have said, it is possible that you will be able to train the cat to use the toilet, but there are downsides (i.e. the missing, etc.) and many cats don't ever get the hang of it... so, you need to have a contengency plan that you are comfortable with... You have to think about what you will do with the cat if.... this or that doesn't go as planned. Unless you are willing to stick with the cat, for the long run, you shouldn't get one.
If you just want an interactive pet that can be somewhat shorter lived and easier to take care of, perhaps a small rodent (i.e. guinea pig or chinchilla) or even a ferret might be better for you. They do use litter, but they are smaller, their poo is smaller, and they are easier to clean up after.
HTH,
Art
