Stay Tuned

The family actually bought a Litter Robot!!!

http://www.litter-robot.com/


























(achem... ours is in black.)

Concession Speech

Ok, people. I'm giving up.

The more I tried to do this, the more I realized that toilet training was just not in the cards for one of my cats.

I reluctantly put the litter box back out and hoped Rex would continue to flawlessly use the toilet like he did, but alas he was temped back to the box.

I have since taken the Litter Quitter off.

It was a sad day, but I knew that what I did is truly what will make Pascha happiest. And boy was she happy.

She hasn't had a mistake since, and that has in turn made the family happy.

Pascha DID NOT GET IT

I don't understand it.

Pascha was doing so, so well. But then she pooped on the downstairs kitchen floor.

The toilet was upstairs, and my mother would not allow the same apparatus downstairs.

I gave her the benefit of the doubt and cleaned the Litter Quitter until there was no chance she would avoid it because of its dirtiness.

A few days later, she did it again!

Fail. Fail.

Pascha is Getting It

Each time it becomes more natural for her. This is awesome.

Dallas

Well, I've officially moved to Dallas. The ride was long - Pascha went #2 twice in the car on the way, but fortunately with regards to the toilet training it seems that the Litter Quitter has been a huge success both in Austin and now in Dallas as well.

Because we had prior training, we started the cats out in Austin on the Yellow, intermediate ring. That worked wonderfully, and we kept them on it throuought the move so as not to change it up too quickly on them.

In Dallas, we introduced them to the house by keeping them in my bedroom and bathroom at first. The Litter Quitter was totally transferable (though it didn't fit as well on the toilet), but unfortunately so was my sink. Pascha instinctively found the sink and has only used that to pee in. The good news is that she seems to understand the difference between using the sink for pee and the toilet for poop. Honestly, if that's the way it has to be, I know it could be worse and so I'm alright with the outcome.

They've been in Dallas almost a week. Bathroom use is normal, instinctive, and they don't appear to want to go anywhere else (other than the sink for Pasch, of course). I yesterday moved them to the next level, and just discovered that it works well. Pascha let her foot slip in the toilet once, but it was before she used the bathroom and I still think she is pleased with how little the toilet releases smell. Time will only tell to know if this foot slip was devastating or not.

More later...

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

There's been a whirlwind of things happening in the Pascha likes/dislikes the toilet realm. Let's just assume Rex is trained already, cause he is. For instance, I took a sample of his pee to the vet today, and all I had to do was place little cup under his stream and got, like, 40 mL. The nurses were pleased.

So as we discussed before, Pascha just doesn't know what to do with herself on that toilet when she pees, and has sometimes turned to the sink for her gratification. *Sigh* Yeah, OK, she really really likes to pee in the sink. Better the sink than the floor! But still, it's not the toilet.

For the record, she has pooped repeatedly in the toilet like a perfectly toilet trained cat. This is all about the pee. Yeah, I don't get it either.

So I got to thinking, "OK, I should make her more comfortable. Perhaps I should let her pee in the sink."

Blaspheme!!!

Well, I did, because it's still sanitary and easy to clean up. And she likes it. So I did and things went smoothly for a few days.

But then.

I walked into the bathroom one day and saw her pawing furiously in the sink (as she always does pre-pee) and I found her start to do something horrid. She started to get in position to poop in the sink!!!!

No Way! No! Not in my sink!

So, instinctively I picked her up and put her on the toilet and she was upset and her foot fell in the toilet and it was bad. She finally positioned herself on the toilet and did her thing, but that got me thinking that his sink allowance would not fly.


I came to the conclusion that this whole setup was bad for her, and maybe she needed to start over entirely.



I bought a Litter Kwitter with the additional intermediate rings (for stubborn cats). It hasn't arrived yet, and since I'm moving to Dallas in June I will begin to use it for her as soon as we move. New bathroom. Clean slate.

I like the fact that the Litter Quitter keeps it close to the rim. Right now the turkey roaster pan is so low down into the toilet it must be hard for her to know what to do. Hopefully this whole new approach will be easier, especially since she's already got half of it down. She just needs to know how to place her feet when she pees. Nothing else has worked. I'm hoping this will.

In the meantime I bought a new turkey roaster litter pan and have started placing it on the ground like a regular litter pan for when she needs to pee. Then I take it up, clean it, and place it in a cabinet so it won't always be there to use (cause, you know, I have nothing better to do!). I'd rather take it this many steps back than for her to go sideways thinking the sink is OK. When she hops in the sink or the bathtub I now turn the water on quickly and that usually keeps her out.

So that's what's been going on. I'll fill you in when we get the Litter Quitter or if anything traumatic/miraculous happens.




Oh yes - just one more thought: if, for some reason, I find her already pooping in the sink, I think I'm just going to let it sit there for a long time. Cats hate that. That's one reason why they like to poop in the toilet - the smell goes away really fast. If she poops in the sink shes going to have to endure that smell for a long, long time (cat time). That's my backup plan.

What may have been Missing

So, I recently discovered this other toilet training product called the Cat Seat by Feline Evolution. It uses a different tactic - it's a mountable toilet seat that you use on the ground at first, but train the cat to just use that on the ground and remove the litter until the cat is just using the pan with disposable bags. Once that's successful, begin lifting the pan eventually to the toilet, and the cat is already used to not having any litter. The training is done before they get to the toilet!

And it hit me - Pascha is having such a hard time transitioning because she is trying so hard to aim her urine over the litter. She won't put all fours on the seat because she wants to squat on that little patch of litter. Poor thing - and I am making it increasingly uncomfortable for her.

Rex is practically already trained. He could care less if there was a pan there or not. In order for this to work for both cats, however, I need to take extra care to make sure Pascha is comfortable.

There are a couple of ways I can do this:
1) Cut a similar hole - slightly smaller and reduce the litter before making the hole any bigger.
2) Wait until I move in May and start over after purchasing this Cat Seat
3) Put a tray - without a hole- in the toilet with a small amount of litter and gradually reduce the litter before putting any hole in the toilet. That way the hole will eventually be preferable to her peeing in the foil (with her feet nearby).

I'm deliberating and will make a decision soon.

Slow and Steady

...will hopefully win this race.

Words of Wisdom

"That I did not fail was due in part to patience...."
- Jane Goodall, talking about something most likely higher on the importance chain than toilet training cats, but nevertheless still relevant

Update

Rex: Couldn't be better. Puts ALL FOURS on the toilet seat without hesitation, even though the hole in the litter pan is not significantly bigger than before.

Pascha: Hit or Miss. Puts two paws on toilet all the time when she pees, and sometimes puts ALL FOURS on the toilet seat when she poos. This sounds good, but just yesterday she missed the toilet all together. I'm taking her to the vet.

General: This should work out in the end. If Pasch can get all fours up there sometimes, then I believe it's only a matter of time. We are already using about a fourth of the litter we used to. The cleanup has never been easier, and they are comfortable with the sounds and the view of the water in the toilet.

FACT

According to www.kidshealth.org, potty training a human child can take between 3-6 months.

Why should a cat learn in any less time? Am I right!?

It worked!

Not only did Pascha jump into the toilet pan without hesitation after I moved the hole back a bit, but she also put her two front paws on the toilet seat! Usually I had to place them there carefully for her, so this is truly a good sign.

Also, in other news, Rex put all fours on the toilet seat the other day. He's practically already there.

Better Placement

Getting axious to set things in the right direction again, I decided it would maybe work to make more subtle changes more frequently. This change, though not as subtle, may make Pascha more comfortable seeing as there is more front room to stand. Let's see how this works, shall we?

Scaling Back a Bit

Not too much, but I think this will be better in the long run. Pascha has already moved the litter around in this one, which means she's not worried about getting wet. I have treats ready. I mostly want proof from her that she'll use this at least.

I'll keep this on for a little longer than a week and make the hole bigger more gradually.

As long as it takes!

It's Come to This

Hunt the Hunter (or misbehaving Pee-er)

Today, I will follow Pascha around to see when (and where) she decides to use the bathroom next. She's gotta poop somewhere. That somewhere better be in a toilet. I need to know she still uses it at all. This freewheeling, unruly behavior must stop right now, mostly because I don't really know how long it's been carrying on.

Also, I will convince her that peeing in the sink, bathtub, or any other non-toilet location will get her nothing but a nice faucet full of water. Using the toilet, however, will get her a delicious Wellness brand treat.

Go ahead, Pasch, show me what's up.

Bummed

So, I just walked into the bathroom only to find Pascha peeing in the sink. Trouble is, she only used to do that when the litter pan was really dirty and she would have had to step in something. This time, the pan is clean, and I have a worry that I may need to take the litter pan hole back a little bit.

I knew this progress was too good to be true. In order to make sure I know if she's using the toilet or not, I'm going to plug up the sink and the bathtub with water. I did this at first and it worked, but I assumed she was over it.

Guess Not!

Point of no Return?

This is what the litter pan looks like!!

They use this as if there was no hole in it. It's kind of surreal to watch.

I am going to change the shape of the hole from now on. I'm going to cut away at most of the back of the pan and then slowly cut to the front. This way they'll learn how to face the right direction each time since they won't be able to put their paws in the back of the toilet.

Wow!

Putting things in Perspective

I just mopped my bathroom floor with (sigh) Litter Box Disinfectant and Deodorizer.

Still worth it? Yes.

When They're Not Pooping