Author: Maurice Savaryego, M.Sc.Eng. (Learn More)
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Is Toilet Training a Cat Possible?
Cat using the toilet!
Having understood the advantages of toilet trained cats, the next question that pops to mind is whether that is just a gimmick or something that can really be achieved. Well, with the proper method and equipment, and enough patience, yes, cats can be toilet trained. It is all based on a principle that finds its source in nature:
Cats have a natural need to hide the smell of their waste which is why they try to bury it in litter or elsewhere. This need has its origins in nature when cats were wild and free and needed to hide their waste to become untraceable by potential predators. These facts have scientifically been proven and can be used to toilet train cats. Therefore, using the major cat toilet training systems and kits available today, you can modify the cat's behavior in small behavioral steps until the animal starts using the toilet by discovering that the water in the toilet pan is more efficient than litter for hiding the smell.
The time required to train your cat will depend on the particular physical and behavioral characteristics of your cat, such as age, intelligence, temperament, etc., but most cats get successfully trained in about 8 to 10 weeks, as long as you keep at it with patience and determination. It will take longer, though, if the cat is older than 8 years or never litter trained. It is recommended that a cat should be at least three months old before toilet training starts to make sure that the animal is strong, agile and nimble enough to go through the training. Also ideally, cats should already be litter trained before they are toilet trained. This is because the toilet training systems use cat's existing litter tray behavior and modifies it to use the toilet. But most kittens sold by breeders are already litter trained when you buy them, so this is not a major problem.
Cats have a natural need to hide the smell of their waste which is why they try to bury it in litter or elsewhere. This need has its origins in nature when cats were wild and free and needed to hide their waste to become untraceable by potential predators. These facts have scientifically been proven and can be used to toilet train cats. Therefore, using the major cat toilet training systems and kits available today, you can modify the cat's behavior in small behavioral steps until the animal starts using the toilet by discovering that the water in the toilet pan is more efficient than litter for hiding the smell.
The time required to train your cat will depend on the particular physical and behavioral characteristics of your cat, such as age, intelligence, temperament, etc., but most cats get successfully trained in about 8 to 10 weeks, as long as you keep at it with patience and determination. It will take longer, though, if the cat is older than 8 years or never litter trained. It is recommended that a cat should be at least three months old before toilet training starts to make sure that the animal is strong, agile and nimble enough to go through the training. Also ideally, cats should already be litter trained before they are toilet trained. This is because the toilet training systems use cat's existing litter tray behavior and modifies it to use the toilet. But most kittens sold by breeders are already litter trained when you buy them, so this is not a major problem.
Litter Kwitter and CitiKitty are the most popular cat toilet training systems and kits available on the market today, and they are presented below.
If you're in a hurry and wish to see Amazon product and price information for the selected Cat Toilet Training Kits, please click the following link:
Selected Cat Toilet Training Kits on Amazon
Litter Kwitter Cat Toilet Training System
Litter Kwitter Cat Toilet Training System
The Litter Kwitter is the award-winning 3 stage training system designed to train cats to use a human toilet in about 8 weeks. The training protocol and the equipment were developed with animal behaviorists, veterinarians and cat breeders to make sure they work with the cat's natural instincts. The three stages involve progressing your cat to using 3 different training discs inserted into the provided special white seat until no more special seat or training discs are required.
The red training disc is used first. It has no hole in it and is covered with some litter. The cat is easily trained to jump on it and do its business into the litter. The other two discs (amber and green colored) have holes in the middle, with the green disc having the largest hole. Some litter is placed around the hole. By the time the cat is trained to progress from the red disc to the green disc, most of the urine and feces fall into the water. Eventually, the special seat and the discs are completely removed, and the cat uses the toilet like every other member of the family!
The Litter Kwitter comes with a special white seat that fits all standard toilets, three color-coded discs, a comprehensive instruction book, and a step-by-step training DVD so you can see how to do it. The DVD training is very easy for cat owners to understand and apply.
Note that Litter Kwitter can also fit elongated toilets, so long as it’s width is no more than 38cm (15”) on its outer rim, by 25cm (9¾”) on its inner rim. Any gap behind the tray on an elongated toilet will not impact training.
Mark Townsend, CEO of RSPCA, the world's most important animal welfare agency, has personally recommended this product to help cats to be toilet trained, and he considers it as one of the best pet innovations in recent years. Note also that Litter Kwitter is used by many professional cat breeders so they can provide their customers with toilet trained cats.
The red training disc is used first. It has no hole in it and is covered with some litter. The cat is easily trained to jump on it and do its business into the litter. The other two discs (amber and green colored) have holes in the middle, with the green disc having the largest hole. Some litter is placed around the hole. By the time the cat is trained to progress from the red disc to the green disc, most of the urine and feces fall into the water. Eventually, the special seat and the discs are completely removed, and the cat uses the toilet like every other member of the family!
The Litter Kwitter comes with a special white seat that fits all standard toilets, three color-coded discs, a comprehensive instruction book, and a step-by-step training DVD so you can see how to do it. The DVD training is very easy for cat owners to understand and apply.
Note that Litter Kwitter can also fit elongated toilets, so long as it’s width is no more than 38cm (15”) on its outer rim, by 25cm (9¾”) on its inner rim. Any gap behind the tray on an elongated toilet will not impact training.
Mark Townsend, CEO of RSPCA, the world's most important animal welfare agency, has personally recommended this product to help cats to be toilet trained, and he considers it as one of the best pet innovations in recent years. Note also that Litter Kwitter is used by many professional cat breeders so they can provide their customers with toilet trained cats.
CityKitty Cat Toilet Training Kit
CityKitty Cat Toilet Training Kit
CitiKitty offers a five-step gradual transition system from litter box to toilet using a special training seat and a special insert in the form of rings. It can be used with cats of all breeds, temperaments, sizes, and ages. In one-week intervals of training most cats progress from ring 1 to ring 4 and at the end of the training no more seats or rings are needed!
This product comes with a specially designed training seat and a training seat insert that gradually transition your cat to the toilet. The seat fits all standard toilets whether round or elongated. The training seat insert is made of concentric different size rings which allow you to move backwards and forward in the training process. An easy-to-follow training guide with step by step instructions is included together with an Insider Tip Card with training transition tips that will answer all your questions. Finally, the product comes with CitiNip, a naturally grown catnip to motivate and reward your cat throughout the training.
The kit is very simple to use. You basically place the training seat with the ringed-insert on the rim of your toilet just under the seat. You fill it with some litter and gradually open the rings in the middle to let the cat start going in the water until all rings and special seat are completely removed. Any healthy cat, three months of age or older, that has been using a litter box, is a good candidate for this type of toilet training.
This product comes with a specially designed training seat and a training seat insert that gradually transition your cat to the toilet. The seat fits all standard toilets whether round or elongated. The training seat insert is made of concentric different size rings which allow you to move backwards and forward in the training process. An easy-to-follow training guide with step by step instructions is included together with an Insider Tip Card with training transition tips that will answer all your questions. Finally, the product comes with CitiNip, a naturally grown catnip to motivate and reward your cat throughout the training.
The kit is very simple to use. You basically place the training seat with the ringed-insert on the rim of your toilet just under the seat. You fill it with some litter and gradually open the rings in the middle to let the cat start going in the water until all rings and special seat are completely removed. Any healthy cat, three months of age or older, that has been using a litter box, is a good candidate for this type of toilet training.
So which cat toilet training system is better?
As can be seen from the above descriptions, both products use the same method of gradually progressing your cat to adapt to new litter environments (implemented either by a special seat and color discs as in the case of Litter Kwitter, or by a special seat and rings as in the case of Citi Kitty) until no special seat, discs or rings are needed.
However, the Litter Kwitter is more sturdy, it has a design that holds the discs better in place, and it provides better protection from litter falling into the toilet bowl. It also provides detailed step by step instruction videos which show you exactly how to progress through the three stages of training. Even though the Citi Kitty comes with a step-by-step training guide and an insider tip card, viewing the detailed training steps on video is a lot more helpful than just reading a guide.
Of course, all this makes the Litter Kwitter more expensive, but the difference in money is worth what you get for it.
Finally, note that not all Amazon customers who have used these products were successful and happy with the results. At the time this article was written, 49% of Amazon customers who have used Litter Kwitter and 46% of Amazon customers who have used CittyKitty had given a 5-star or 4-star rating to these products (in a 1 to 5 star rating system) and were more than happy with the results. But, the rest of them gave either a 3-star, 2-star or 1-star rating. This can be explained in part by some of the important but difficult to control factors that come into play here, such as your determination and patience levels as well your cat's character which will impact its adaptability to the new setup. Before you decide if you should get a cat toilet training kit, to gain more insight into these type of products, we recommend you read some of the Amazon customer reviews which you can access by clicking the Amazon product links you will find in the next section below.
However, the Litter Kwitter is more sturdy, it has a design that holds the discs better in place, and it provides better protection from litter falling into the toilet bowl. It also provides detailed step by step instruction videos which show you exactly how to progress through the three stages of training. Even though the Citi Kitty comes with a step-by-step training guide and an insider tip card, viewing the detailed training steps on video is a lot more helpful than just reading a guide.
Of course, all this makes the Litter Kwitter more expensive, but the difference in money is worth what you get for it.
Finally, note that not all Amazon customers who have used these products were successful and happy with the results. At the time this article was written, 49% of Amazon customers who have used Litter Kwitter and 46% of Amazon customers who have used CittyKitty had given a 5-star or 4-star rating to these products (in a 1 to 5 star rating system) and were more than happy with the results. But, the rest of them gave either a 3-star, 2-star or 1-star rating. This can be explained in part by some of the important but difficult to control factors that come into play here, such as your determination and patience levels as well your cat's character which will impact its adaptability to the new setup. Before you decide if you should get a cat toilet training kit, to gain more insight into these type of products, we recommend you read some of the Amazon customer reviews which you can access by clicking the Amazon product links you will find in the next section below.
Litter Kwitter and CityKitty Toilet Training Kits on Amazon
Please click the Cat Toilet Training Kits below to check their exact price or to purchase.
Note: Amazon often provides a good discount on the List Price of sold products. If a discount is available, the List Price and the actual Amazon price will be shown when you click the images below:
Note: Amazon often provides a good discount on the List Price of sold products. If a discount is available, the List Price and the actual Amazon price will be shown when you click the images below:
Litter Kwitter
Cat Toilet Training Kit
CityKitty
Cat Toilet Training Kit
