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The Top Five Steps to Toilet Train Your Cat

by Kathrynn Kelley

Litter training is a simple solution to the alternative which is running over and letting them out of the house whenever they need to relieve themselves. Then, you have to hope you are home during these times. Yes, a litter trained cat is much easier to live with.

Then again, with litter trained cats comes a dirty litter box that stinks up your house. Wouldn't it be nice if your cat could use the toilet? Well, did you know there is a way for you to train your feline friend to use the toilet? Sound hard? Well, it's not. Here are the 5 simple steps to toilet training your cat.

1. Litter train with Newspaper

Before you can toilet train your cat, they first need to be litter trained. Ideally you should provide them with a solid box and newspaper to cover up their business. You should not use actual kitty litter as this will not flush down the toilet when it comes time to toilet train the cat. So using newspaper is the best idea.

2. Gradually Move the Litter Tray

Since cats are creatures of habit it is not a good idea to move their box quickly. They may lose where it is or refuse to use it at all. So, you will have to move the box in stages. Think of the box as if it were walking to the toilet. Everyday scoot the box a little closer to the toilet. (Or whenever you notice your cat is comfortable to where you moved it previously.)

3. Lowering The Sides Of The Litterbox

As you move the box closer to the toilet then you need to trim down the sides of the box. Since the box needs to be as similar to the toilet as possible. If you don't trim the box down your cat will notice the drastic difference. (Use caution when using a plastic litterbox. Make sure when you cut it down that it does not have any sharp edges.)

Lower the sides of the litter tray down as you move the box. That way once again the cat will be getting used to the new routine gradually.

4. Put The Litterbox In The Toilet

When you have managed to successfully move the litter tray into the bathroom and you have trimmed the sides down, it is then time to place it in the toilet. Make sure that it is tied to the toilet at first so that the cat will not fall off it once it jumps onto it. If something were to happen it would scare your cat and they would not go near it again. So ensure that it fits properly. Be patient with your cat as they learn to use the new tray. It could take them a while to get used to the new routine!

5. Cut a Hole in the Tray

Finally, once your cat is used to jumping up onto the toilet and using their new litter tray, it is then time to cut a hole in the bottom of the tray. This will ensure that whatever the cat does in the tray will immediately fall into the toilet. Once the cat is used to this setup, you can then take the tray away completely and they will happily use the toilet without any fuss.

Have a cat behavior problem that needs solving? If so, visit http://www.secretsofcats.com today to get expert information on how to train your cat and eliminate cat problems fast.

Published July 28th, 2008

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