Day 102

On the verge of quitting enlightenment came!

The last weekend away was a total disaster. Because the cats could go out side in my mothers place, when they came back to the apartment both of them pooped outside the toilet: Ziggy on the bath tub, as usual, and Mimi began going to the floor on the side of the toilet.

It took going back to the plain plastic bowl for them both to poop on it. Peeing was never a problem, they both always do it in the toilet no matter what is on it.

After three months we were going back to stage 0… I was on the verge of quitting.

 

The big round hole on the bowl was always too much for Ziggy - he would only pee.

So I began looking at more advanced options to the old litter box…

The electronic versions like Litter Robot, Litter Maid or Cat Genie are all expensive and people complain about the trouble maintaining and/or cleaning them. Some are not even covered – so the smell comes out anyway, as well as the litter in the paws of the cats.

The manual versions that allow sifting seemed a good option. Many years ago I had a covered box that had several trays – I just had to sift from the used one to the new one. The box went with my cat Peste Negra, the black plague: he was adopted by a friend when I went to live abroad (after some years she had adopted six black cats – Peste was worst than the plague).

However, the sifting boxes I find nowadays are not covered…

Online I found interesting models like Kitty A Gogo, LitterQuick and Litter Spinner which are not available in Portugal or the Omega Paw (demands too much space to roll it) and the Smart Sift. I found this one here, on a local pet shop, and it seemed a good choice if you did not use the liners they suggest (just a way to take more money from the client) but normal plastic bags. However after checking the measures (way too big a thing) and reading all the negative comments on Amazon, I quit.

So I was about to go back to the old covered box, to back bending to clean the expensive clumping litter and to asking my boyfriend to carry bags and bags of it from the supermarket.

The bowl with little holes (colander style) and a hole on the side.

When I told him about it he complained and said I should keep the cats toilet in the toilet! I just had to use a bowl with the flushable litter and a hole on the side to throw the solids on the toilet. And that is exactly what I am going to do: it is easier to clean, and the litter lasts longer. And the bowl goes on the side when the humans need to use the toilet – everyone is used to doing that anyway.

In fact, his suggestion reminded me of the Taiwanese Good Cat system (see Commercial Kits page) – you can use it to train cats to go to the toilet or just use it as a litter box. I already bought a colander and may adapt it, with rodents litter (wood pellets).

The next step, but with a hole on the side, like the Good Cat model.

So that is what I am going to do until maybe, one day, they will relinquish the litter and the bowl….

Day 93

The weekend away was a set back as usual because the cats have access to the garden. Ziggy on arrival, pooped in the room downstairs, next to «their toilet», I did not even have time to close the door. When closed in the house they always went to pee in the toilet.

Ziggy, still scratching around after I made him throw in own poop down the drain.

We were back today after a stormy weekend – no surf for me, no scaring the seagulls in the rooftops for the cats.

Back at home, Ziggy called me when he felt like going. After some effort he peed in the toilet. I gave him a treat. Then, while I was going away he went to poop in the bathtub. I let him finish – no use in transferring him to the seat, he will stop pooping and that may not be to good for the cat. My new strategy: I close the toilet door, transfer the poop to the bowl, put some litter on it (since now there is almost no litter) so he does not soil his paws, and have him dispose of it. He scratches around but does not touch the poop, so I make him throw it in the hole. Lets see how this goes.

That is how the next phase looks like: the hole is just a bit larger and I punctured the bowl.

Day 89

I finally understood what was causing problems for the cats: the plastic cup inside the bowl! As it got bigger they could not set their feet inside the bowl.

So, I removed the cup and there is only the bowl with a hole and a little litter. However, I had to go back to the orange bowl – the hole in the green one was too much for them.

A friend came to stay over yesterday, and as I was explaining how to work out the contraption in the toilet, so that he, human, could also, use it, Ziggy came to demonstrate how a cat does it: he put the four paws on the seat and peed! Pity there was no more battery in the camera...

No more cup in the hole, and a lot less litter.

Of course he still tends to go to the bath tub for #2s, but I have been couching him not to: when he is doing it I move him to the toilet seat!

Mimi does it on target: right in the hole!

But a long weekend away approaches…with flower beds and the neighbours garden as temptations...

Day 86

Phase green bowl is not going very well. In the beginning I just cut half of the top of the cup. Everything was ok. Then, I rushed and cut the all bottom. Crisis! Ziggy went to the bathtub. I was tell him off when he began scratching the floor near the left side of the toilet. It was a hidden poop! Mimi went running out of the toilet – she has been discovered. The next morning Mimi was meowing and calling me all morning. Didn’t get any work done. She was complaining about the green bowl arrangements. I end up changing the litter to the yellow bowl where I usually set the contraption and she did it , relieved. Yesterday Ziggy did the same routine and after my patience wore off I offered him the same easy way out.

After setting up the green bowl with only half the cup's bottom cut I decide to cut it all. Disaster! Even Mimi pooped outside.

A sturdier bowl may help. It will look like this.

On top the green bowl tends to sink into the toilet which I do not understand since it is made of the same mould as the others before; the cup falls off into the toilet and last but not least it got cracked.

So I am sacrificing my good yellow bowl – which I used for clothes washing before – since it fits perfectly in the toilet.

It will be the last one.

Day 80

On Facebook someone posted a German Shepherd peeing in the toilet.
If a dog can do it of course a cat can too!

Day 80

Tomorrow we are leaving phase orange bowl which lasted two weeks.
Two weekends ago I was away and Ziggy went to the bathtub in protest twice. When I came back everything went back on track.

Mimi.

However, whenever Ziggy finds the litter is not to is taste (too humid from pee?) or I do not pay attention when he wants to go poop, he does it in the bathtub.... Anyway, no more going to the carpet, so I am moving to phase green bowl, with a bigger hole/cup.

Ziggy.

As it can be seen by the pictures, both cats are putting their hinder legs on the bowl, not on the seat. We may have trouble when the bowl disappears...
Also I may try to get a bowl that better fits the seat for the next phase, so Ziggy - that is almost 7 kilos and a long cat - can feel more confortable.

Day 73

Today I posted in a thread about cat toilet training in the The Cat Site:
«An answer to those that say teaching cats to use the toilet is not natural: having cats in an apartment is not natural and having cats poop in a box is not natural. But, still, you do it... Cats muscles do no suffer from positioning in the toilet - in fact they assume a very similar position to the one they take in the litter box or outside. They have excellent balance: my 19 year old cat, Mao, used to poop with the four paws on the side of the box (I should have taught him how to use the toilet). In nature they dig to cover they scent from prey or predators. When they understand that water does the same (better, because poop is flushed), they accept the toilet.
Plus some cats do not dig much - like my Mimi - and are really fast to get a hold of it. Others, like my Ziggy, are diggers and you may have to be more patient. For them it is a kind of play  - from which they get treats on top! It is not a kind of punishment or a violation of animal rights like some people are writing on this thread. Of course if the animal shows big behaviour changes and doesn't really want to do it you should not force him. 

As for some veterinarians and some pet experts opinion that the toilet is bad for the cat: they are the ones connected with the cat litter brands that make a million on us!
My experience: when I was 6 I visited a friend of the family and saw her cat pee in the toilet. No one taught her: she imitated the small daughter of the owner, that was very surprised.»

Day 70

I am so happy! We all are. Phase silver bowl went perfectly and the cats are now on phase orange bowl. I didn't even roll the dinning room carpet (although I still have some heavy stuff on the corners, like chairs).

That is how Ziggy's snout gets after so much excavating.

Mimi even aims for the centre of the cup, peeing directly in the water!

My main concern today is that I will spend three days in my mother's house by the sea where they have access to the garden and things my go wrong like it happened before.
I may not take them and ask some one to take care of them. Poor darlings... they love to run after the seagulls and climb the fig tree. They can do it later after the training.

The orange bowl with a cup from fresh cheese.

 

Introducing the orange bowl.

Ziggy, investigating where Mimi's poop goes.

Conclusions until now:
a) No carpets in the house if you have a digger;
b) No going from one method to the other: I began with the DIY bowl with a hole system and should have stayed with it instead of trying the glass bowl inside the plastic bowl (check DYI Systems page here) and the commercial kit Servicat.
c) No moving to the next phase imediatly after the cats use the bowl - you have to stay at least a week - or even two - in each phase.

Day 67

I was away for Easter weekend and the friend that is staying at my place said the cats behaved well, although he once found a #2 covered by the carpet. When I arrived, there was a #2 in the bathtub – but that was probably because my friend forgot to put the bowl in place when he left in the morning.

As I put the bowl back in the toilet Ziggy went immediately to it but he couldn’t do anything. Then he tried again – having all my attention – and quit again. Finally, as I was in the kitchen, he peed.

I melt the hole in the bowl with hot iron from a butter knife.

Before going away I prepared the silver bowl with a plastic cup – much more durable then the yellow bowl with the paper roll. We are sticking to it for a week, and so, for two more days. Then I will see if it is possible to move on to the orange bowl with a bigger hole.

I also made a hole in the bottom of a plastic cup.

Now there is only one carpet/rug in the house, in the dinning room. And tomorrow it is going to be rolled. No more hiding poop under the rug…

(The toilet seat looks silly, I know... I put some stickers on the girls mouth, but it looks even worse.)

Day 64

Today Mimi jumped to the building in construction next door. Recently they build scaffolding and now it is accessible to the cats in a short leap from my clothes line. The waiter from the restaurant in the basement, that alerted us, was kind enough to go inside the building, catch her and hand her to me over the balcony.
No big scare: she has folen out of balconies three times, and got in complicated situations twice (once she got locked in a garden shed). We are getting used to it.

Ziggy digging on the bowl with a hole and a paper roll.

Ziggy is meowing a lot when it comes time to do #2. They both pee on the yellow bowl without problems but when it comes to poop it is a difficult for him to do it.   
I was reading a forum from one of the commercial kits, Litter Kwitter, and most people complain about that: cats pee on the apparatus but have trouble pooping – they prefer carpets and sometimes even beds… I would like to know the percentage of success of this commercial kits.
 

Ziggy, always digging, under the sceptical look of Mimi.

Day 63 (9C)

The experiment with the commercial kit, Servicat, is over. Today I sold it for half the price to a girl that may be luckier since she does not have a digger at home (her cats prefer the bathtub to the litter, so they may adopt the toilet bowl).

The basic scheme for this phase, without litter and roll. When I use the toilet I set their litter bowl on the other yellow bowl.

While I was away for four days the cats went to the sitz bath with no problem. Today I upgraded to the yellow bowl with the roll of toilet paper in the middle. They will stay at it for a week, come rain or come shine, poop on the carpet or not. I am going to follow the original plan with no more detours.

Day 3C (or 57)

I just found the same kit I bought – Servicat – on OLX… for half the price!!! It serves me well for not searching the information properly.

On top, the same problems persist with the kit: both cats use it for peeing, Mimi does something else but Ziggy does not. He went to the carpet yesterday and this morning.

The contraption is too shallow, does not have enough litter for his taste. I tried to compensate with a new toilet seat (the old one was already ruined) that is larger so he has more access to the litter and less chances of missing it and pooping in the seat and the floor.  I know the seat is weird (a woman with a tong sticking out) but it is made of excellent material and I bought it for 12 Euros in a local shop nearby. I do not have time to go to the big malls just for a toilet seat. It was either that or a childish black one with two fluffy dogs. I may just put some stickers on the cover...

The kit goes on the yellow bowl when the human inhabitants need to use the toilet.

After almost two months of this experiment my conclusions are: if you have a cat like Mimi go forward, you will have success after one to two months. If you a have a digger like Ziggy you have to consider whether you want to put a lot of effort into it. Prepare yourself to pick up crap from the carpets. In this case, the commercial kits, like Servicat and Litter Kwitter, are not a good option because they do not hold much litter. You should consider going back to the litter box…

Ziggy using the toilet contraption to pee. Never to poop....

As I am as stubborn as my cat Ziggy I will go on with this experiment for a while more. I will be away for four days, but a friend is staying over, so he will have the burden of convincing the cats to use the toilet.

Yesterday I upgraded them to stage two – the smaller hole. If this evening Ziggy does not use it to poop, I will leave the experiment at stage one. Again…

Today I am also spraying cat nip on the seat and litter.

I only go on with the experiment because the cats do not show signs of stress. If their normal behaviour changes I will stop.

Day 1C (or 55 altogether...)

So, the Chinese Soup bowl was a problem for Ziggy and three days ago I decided to change method again. I went back to the plain bowl or sitz bath, so they (Ziggy, mostly) would not loose the habit of going to the toilet until my new purchase – a commercial kit – arrived. They behaved well, always went to the bowl, no carpet pooping. However, while Mimi does it in the centre of the bowl and covers it carefully. Ziggy makes a big mess and poops half in half out. I do not know what happened: in the beginning he was doing it in the centre… Maybe he is just too big (6.5 kilos and very long) for this soft toilet seat. I will buy a new toilet seat soon.

The Chinese bowl was no problem for Mimi but it made the carpet suffer with Ziggy's poo....

On Friday I ordered one of the commercial kits (that you can find here on this blog) but it only came today, Tuesday.

It looks like it shows on the picture here: it is quite shallow and after one of the cats used it to pee (I do not know which one) there was litter all over the toilet floor. I do not want to put too much litter on the contraption, but not doing it can be discouraging for the cats. We will see.

The fact it is shallow may be a advantage in relation to the bowl – the cats have the paws higher, almost at the height of the seat cover, and may begin to use mostly this one to balance themselves.

This commercial kit – Servicat, made in Spain – has five stages and the first hole is really narrow, so I hope I do not have problems until then. They advise a week for each stage, but since my cats are already used to the toilet, I may not waste too much time on phase one. It all depends on Ziggy, of course.

This kit seems better than the Litter Kwitter (which can also be purched online, here in Portugal, for more or less the same price) because it has more stages and the first and second holes (the most difficult ones to overcome) are narrower. If they are too threatening, the solution is to cover part of the hole with cardboard, as I did with the tins in phase A of this experiment.

The plastic this kit is made of is very thin. I was expecting something sturdier; I hope it can cope with Ziggy's claws, weight and temper. 

 

Mimi, welcoming the commercial kit.

This is my last attempt at toilet training the cats, or I should say, Ziggy, since Mimi was managed every phase of any process.

In a month we will see if we are successful or back to scooping and sweeping litter all over the floor of the apartment…

Day 6B

Changing the litter from the biodegradable saw dust like thing to the silica was a bad idea. Cats do not like sudden change, I should know that by now…

 

Ziggy, protesting against the changing of the type of litter.

The cats peed on the silica. However, when the time came to do a #2, Ziggy went around the house meowing and running like mad. I went after him avoiding a disaster in the carpets. Finally, he did it in the floor of the toilet, right in front of me! Five minutes later Mimi began complaining too, so I changed the litter right back to the biodegradable one.

Mimi, after using the toilet, receiving a treat.

 

From then on things have been developing more or less well. We went from the whisky glass to the desert bowl and we are now at the Chinese soup bowl.

Ziggy went to the carpet when I was away for one evening and someone (the good student Mimi?) went to the carpet this morning because the litter was too wet from pee.

I am continuing with the bowl of water method for some more days. If it does not take I have to consider another option - even a commercial kit - before going back to the god damned litter box!

I know its graphic, but it is the document of a vitctory!

Day 44 or Day 1B

After much fuss with Ziggy, tin number 2 and the carpet, I have decided to change the training method. I am going for the bowl of litter with the ever increasing water container inside (check the DIY Systems page on this blog and relaxedcat.com).

To attract Ziggy, I switched the dissolvable litter for silica, which has more traction for a digger. Since in this method there are no holes in the bowl the silica does not go into the toilet (in which case it would clog it, since it does not dissolve in water contrary to what some sellers may advertise). Just to be sure, I added a strip of card board to the part of the toilet that the sitz bath does not cover.

The cats were enthusiastic, and Ziggy vehemently dug the silica and peed. The glass of water inside the sitz bath was no problem. We will see what happens when I increase the width of the glass.

For a moral boost I decided to begin the counting again: today is Day One of Method B.

Back to phase 0 (simple bowl), but worst than 44 days ago: Ziggy lost his aim.

Conclusions until now:

When you are training the cats do not move – even for two days – to a place where they have access to the outside. It is better to leave them with a friend or neighbour that can come over twice a day to clean and encourage.

After a certain width, the hole in the bowl (or tin or whatever you use) becomes a source of stress, specially because it comes together with a reduction of the litter. For a digger – like Ziggy – it may be a point of no return. That is why so many people complain about some commercial kits, like Litter Kwitter, in which the step between phase 1 - no hole - and phase 2 - a very wide hole - is just too big for most cats. Other systems seem better, with more intermediate phases (like Servicat or CittyKitty) and may be worse a try if you are willing to spend 50 to 70 bucks. However, if you have a digger, he may consider this systems too shallow and just dig your carpets!

If you have a non digger, adaptable and intelligent cat, like Mimi, you can use whatever system: in less than one month you will succeed. If you have a sensitive cat, that demands constant attention and a lot of petting, like Ziggy, expect various setbacks, much carpet cleaning and despair. You may just give up after some weeks, or you may persevere, expecting to put up three, four or even more months of your life into this enterprise. I am giving him two to four more weeks....

Ziggy, using the sitz bath with a glass of water: phase 1 of the new method.

Day 42

The move to the seaside house was a set back, as I predicted. They did part of their business in the toilet but the rest outside. This happened although they know exactly what was expected of them, Ziggy included: once he did a small poo and came to my room, calling me to check it and get a reward. He never did it in the floor or carpet.

Back to Lisboa there was trouble: I had gone back to cake tin number 1 in Peniche and here I went forward to pudding tin number 2. Ziggy went to the living room carpet. Mimi, as usual, adapted. By now she could be doing it in the toilet tout cout. The problem is that I have two cats. And I love them both.

Mimi, after using tin number 2, with a perfect aim.

Today I went back to phase number 0 – the plain bowl or sitz bath. Still, Ziggy went to my studio carpet the moment I forgot the door open.

He understands perfectly what I want him to do  but he does not want to do it.

This time I scolded him harshly and he is sulking in his bed.

I am staying in phase 0 for one day and checking whether he wants to cooperate. If not, this experiment may be over…

Ziggy just wants to dig!! And he is digging the carpet...

Day 36

 

Yesterday Ziggy used a full roll of paper, just to pee...

Today I woke up to a nightmare. Ziggy went to the toilet to pee. Nice…. Gave him a treat and cheered. Next he began going around the house, meowing and digging the corners of the two only standing – or lying – carpets (because they are two big to put away). He tried to get into my studio – in which carpet he relieved himself yesterday, exactly at the time I was at the door saying goodbye to someone which I hope did not feel the stench.

However, today, my studio door was closed, as usual and he could not use his, now preferred toilet ground.... So I went after him trying to avoid the unavoidable. The moment I turned my back to get a mug of tea it was done, on the living room, under the corner of my Indian – very difficult to clean – carpet.

Seconds later, when I was on the process of cleaning the mess Mimi was on the toilet, no fuss, no need for treats or attention.

I am divided… shall I stop the experiment because of Ziggy’s stubbornness? Or will he pick it up like Mimi did?

Today I am going to the seaside house, a change that may bring more trouble…

Day 34

When I was getting my expectations high, things slowed down…

The cats where doing well with tin number 1 so I upgraded to tin number 2. Ziggy seemed to have no problems at first...

The cake tin, tin number 1, was completely accepted. I was 24 hours away last weekend and the cats used the tin without any problems. It was full when I came back which could have been a problem and lead to devious behaviour. 

The construction of the contraption for tin number 2, the pudding tin.

Tin number 2 in place with the hole half covered.

The reception of tin number 2.

Thus, yesterday morning I moved a step further: the pudding tin, with a much wider hole and less litter. However, I was cautious: I covered half the hole with milk carton, to begin with.

My champion, Mimi, has no problems: discreetly she pees down the hole and does her solid stuff on the litter. However, Ziggy went to my studio carpet twice, once just right NOW!

Mimi doing it on tin number 2 without problems.

Once again, I picked it up and called him to watch the gross stuff go down the drain, so he understands the water covers it all up. Plus, I sprinkled the carpet with an old cloth deodorant I found in the pantry.

In face of this set back I covered even more of the hole in the tin. So now ¾ are covered. I hope Ziggy gets back on track soon, because in two days we will be travelling to the my mother’s seaside house and you never know what can happen when he has access to the outside flowerbeds…

Deodorant for the carpet to discourage Ziggy.

Conclusions until now: the time it takes you to toilet train your cat depends on the cat. If you have a highly intelligent female like Mimi – that likes challenges and may even see it as game  –  it will take you less than a month. If it wasn’t for her brother, Mimi would be doing it directly in the toilet today.

If you have a stubborn digger like Ziggy, expect much opposition as you diminish the litter and open the hole.

Of course if you have two cats you have to go according to the slow one. And never rush because you are only setting back the process. It’s a bit like in life: sometimes it is more productive to take it slow.

Just now I covered the hole in more than 3/4.

Day 29

After regressing to the sitz bath I decided to go slower and used a water pipe to make a bowl with a small hole, that, nonetheless, would not let all the litter out.

Here are the photos of the contraption.

However, I decided to go all the way back to the cake tin – just for one day. If they (and I mean Ziggy…) went back to using the dinner room as litter box, I would use the bowl with the water pipe.

I was so happy to see they adapted – with lots of attention seeking meows – to the tin. But there was a secret to this: I covered two thirds of the hole in the tin with a piece of card from a milk carton and tape. Today I cut a little bit and in two days I will have removed it.

Today Ziggy made a big mess and pooped a little outside of the toilet cover – but that is probably because I am using too much litter. Just removed some.