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.