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 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 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 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.