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!

Foot in Water!

Ack!

Today was "New litter pan Day" which means I cut a larger hole and replaced the old litter pans. Pictures to follow.

Unfortunately, I JUST stepped into the bathroom and found Rex had accidentally let his foot slip into the toilet!! This could be really bad. He jumped out and began kicking his leg. I cleaned his leg not knowing what was in the toilet, but the problem is that I was not sure if he had already gone or not!

If the cats become traumatized while using the toilet like this, then we could have a problem.

More later...

________

UPDATE: Ten minutes later - Ok, so apparently Rex had NOT used the toilet and just freaked out when his foot fell in. The good news is that I just watched him put three legs on the seat and do his business straight into the toilet. There was some splashing, and that's something I need to find a solution for, but he was does not appear traumatized. I immediately gave him a treat.

The Pros and the Cons

Since cutting a hole into the litter pan, I have started developing some pros and cons. I will probably republish this again and again with updates. It'll be like a game.

Pro - Um, Pascha pooped and it literally (accidentally) went straight into the toilet. Cleanup consisted of flushing the toilet. Ahhh....

Con - Lifting the pan out of the toilet to go to the bathroom has now become a messy, no, much messier experience. I recommend getting an old flexible cutting board to place it on so you can easily put the spilled litter back in to the pan when needed.

Pro - Both cats are taking to this quite well. We'll see how that turns out when I cut the hole bigger soon.

Con - Duct tape likes to come off easily.

Pro - I forsee this being finished in a month

Con - I started this in November

Big Day - Moving the Pan into the Toilet

So the basic process for this whole thing goes as follows:

1) Make the pan smaller and use flushable litter
2) Move the pan up the side of the toilet
3) Move the pan into the toilet
4) After a month, cut a small hole in the pan
5) After cat gets used to it, make the hole gradually bigger
6) Once the hole is practically gone, take the pan away

Of course, if it were this easy we wouldn't have books and blogs and things telling us in detail how this process works.

As of December 2oth or so, I decided it was time to move to step 3 - into the toilet!!

This sounds really fun and great - but certain things had to be considered:

1) My toilet seat is angled inward, making it hard for Rex especially to balance well on it.

Solution: I bought a new $20 toilet seat from Target. It had a flatter seat and was made with an antimicrobial plastic material. This made me feel a little better, and the cats have a much easier time standing on it.

2) A turkey roaster disposable pan is great for holding turkeys (or say, cats) when it's resting on something like a table. Once you suspend it, the risk of puncturing through can be higher. Cats stand on their toes when they poo, and the small surface area of their foot made me a bit nervous. I actually punctured my first one with the litter scooper and had to replace it.

Solution: Two turkey roasters, with the inner pan's rim folded in. This provided a stronger surface, and will help later with the hole puncturing process (more on that later).


3) Securing a litter pan - If you have a couple of toilets in the house then duct tape the hell out of that pan and don't worry about it. But what happens when you have only one. What are you supposed to do? Un-duct tape it each time you want to go to the bathroom? No.

Solution: Velcro strips! Oh man, how nice it is to just lift the pan out to use the toilet, knowing those Velcro strips can hold something like 40 lbs before they split. These have worked great. Just lift the toilet seat and place some strips on all four sides of the toilet rim, making sure to measure where they will meet up with the pan.





4) The newspapers next to the toilet seat - If you just take them away, then they will not recognize where the pan has gone.

Solution: Like everything else in this process, gradually take more and more away until they only need a couple for a step stool (if desired.)

Holiday Break

I've been sort of absent from this blog during the holidays - but I can assure you that I have not been absent from the toilet training process. No, sir.

To recap - the cats' litter box was right up next to the toilet last (check out that pic of Rex below), and certain issues needed to be resolved before we moved on.

Issues

Preference to use other places as litter box - Pascha has become ever-picky about the cleanliness of her pan/box. Before, when we had a huge litter box, we could be a little lazy and clean it out every other day and be fine. Now, if it is not entirely clean (and she will inspect), then she'll hop into the sink.

How I fixed this - I made sure to take note of when they used the box. Then, right afterwards I'd clean out the bad litter and spray a little pet litter refreshing spray. If Pascha went over to the box and used it immediately, I made sure to have a declious treat waiting for her. If she hopped up in the sink and started pawing, I put her in front of the pan until she used it. Then I'd also give her a treat. The trick is to stop getting her to expect that the box is dirty. As soon as she could reliably hop into the box knowing it would be clean, then the problem went away.

Messy Bathroom - The bathroom became a complete, disgusting mess ... real fast. Litter kicked everywhere. In order to keep this process healthy for me and the cats, I had to make sure the area around was in good condition. Don't just clean the pan, be prepared to sweep every day, and mop at least once a week in the bathroom. Keep deodorizers nearby.

Drinking Toilet water - Just one or two sprays of bitter apple in the toilet helped a lot. This problem will fix itself once the litter pan goes inside the toilet.

One Month

The header now says "in three months or less"

I did some rethinking and found out that it will probably take about 2.5 - 3 months to complete this task, and that's if there aren't any complications - complications like Rex deciding he'd rather drink from the toilet, or ... Rex not agile enough to stand on the toilet seat without his leg falling in.

In order to prepare for moving the litter pan INTO the toilet, I'll need to secure it and purchase a few more things.

I will need a better step stool that is a little taller and sturdier. Something like a step stool.

I will need to either get no-slip pads for my toilet seat or a new seat that's flatter, thicker, and more tactile. My current one is rather old and kind of slopes down towards the bowl. It's very thin and made of slippery plastic. Pascha is capable of hopping around on it, but Rex's weight is distributed differently throughout his body and he has a harder time.

The biggest worries I have involve the cats getting wet. If they poo and there is splash back, then it's over - at least for a while. I want to make sure it's all in place and everything is figured out before I make my next move. Thoughts?

Small Litter Pans Smell Trouble!

Warning: when using a small litter pan (like this freaking 9 inch disposable turkey roaster!) be prepared to clean it at least 3 times a day.

This morning, before I had a chance to clean the litter box, I caught Pascha as she discovered the dirty litter box, only to change her mind and hop into the bathtub. I saw her pawing at the drain and I knew what was coming. So I quickly cleaned the box and placed her in it. She did not like the idea of being back in there so she hopped out, lept instead into the sink and proceeded to pee there!!! I didn't know what do do so I waited. I thought she was finished but she raised herself like she was going to defecate. I picked her up up gently and placed her into the now-clean litter box, but she lept out and instead pooed on the floor in the corner of the bathroom.

I feel defeated. And now I have a lot of sanitizing to do.

But the good news is that eventually we won't have this problem. This would have happened to any dirty litter box and the difference is that before this small one I had an enormous one that only needed to be cleaned once a day. Nine inch turkey roasters are not suitable for 2 cats.

This does, however, reinforce the notion that the cats just want to go to the bathroom in a sanitary, smell-free place. I'm pretty sure Pascha will be happier when she won't ever have to worry about dirty liter pans again.

By the way, if your cats do this then please do not, under any circumstances, scold them. I wanted to so badly and in fact I did ignore Pascha for a little while afterwards. Ignoring is not the same as scolding (blowing off steam is more like it!), and negative reinforcement just does not work with cats. In reality, any human would have done what she did. I will make sure to praise her wildly next time she uses the litter box. Wildly.

Onward!

Moral Thoughts on the Subject

Lately I've been reading opinions from people saying that potty training your cat is a bad thing to do. Reasons given are similar to the following:

1) It can kill sea otters
2) It makes them jump which can be uncomfortable
3) It's not natural for them

I am very concerned that I don't want to do anything that could hurt them, so I welcome feedback to flesh out these concerns. As for these three, I do agree that they all could do what they say, but I believe there are ways to explain why they aren't necessarily relevant.

For instance, the poo can kill sea otters because of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, whether they use the toilet or you use "flushable litter." It is not a given, however, that your cat will have the parasite, and this is very easily tested for. If your cat does not have the parasite then there is no reason to worry.... especially if your cat is indoors and will most likely not become exposed to it. More on this problem here.

To solve the second problem I will do what I have been planning on doing all along - I will get for them a very easy and comfortable step stool. No jumping necessary, not ever. I'd like to find a stool that folds up easily and is portable, incase we ever are out of the house.

The third problem has been the most concerning for me. I don't want to force them to do anything they don't want to, so if it goes that it is not natural for them in the end I will gladly move them back to litter.

But the reality of house cats is that much of their lifestyle is not "natural," yet they live longer, happier lives indoors (assuming they have stimulation and room to run around). If we truly wanted them to live "naturally" then we would make them hunt for their food. We'd also keep them outside, which I know some cats are used to. If Pascha suddenly roamed around outside I fear she wouldn't last a month.

Anyway, I'm not blindly going into this. I ask questions, seek answers, and definitely keep my mind open to the possibility that this may not be best for them as individual felines. But there's one thing I do know: my cats hate the smell of the litter box, they hate being in the litter box because it can be dirty, and they may just enjoy the experience of being able to go to the bathroom and not have the smell linger in their paws and nose. For this reason, and the obvious personal benefits to training them, I am going to keep at it.

What do you think?

Unsophisticated or just Uncomfortable

Note: this post is all about poo.

Rex has a problem that Pascha does not. After he defecates, often times he'll find the nearest carpet (aaak!) and scoot his butt along it in what I thought was a very unsophisticated way of cleaning his rear.

Pascha has never done this, and I ignorantly never questioned the difference. I guess my subconscious thought she was better taught than that.

But when Rex did it today I decided to look it up. Maybe find a way to stop it, since, I really don't want that stuff on my carpet.

It turns out he may have a problem with his anal sacs, and he'll probably need to go to the vet to have them treated.

More on that HERE, in case you ever noticed this about your pet.

Day 6

Everything is going smoothly, except for the more frequent cleanup of litter on the floor. The cats are using the litter pan about 4 inches from the ground, still way too low for them to need to jump.

I am thinking that in order to make sure they are entirely comfortable I will eventually buy or make for them a little step stool. That way they wont ever have to jump if they don't want to.

I also need to find a way to secure the litter pan to the ground or the papers while it is getting increasingly taller. Any suggestions on how to do this?

Day 2

Day 2



Just to make things clear, the date on the post might be a different day than the actual day of the context of my post. This photo, for instance, was taken yesterday. This post is about Day 2.

So, my cats like to kick litter around!! This was expected, but the constant cleaning was something I was hoping not to encounter.

I am continuously telling myself that this will be worth it, even though I cleaned the litter box approximately 4 times yesterday.




Onward!