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I am toilet training my 20 lbs. orange tom cat, Erik.  We are using the City Kitty method (combined in part with the Mingus method).  Has anyone else tried this task?

I can tell you ONE thing... cats are pretty possessive about their litter tray, and if your cat is indoor/outdoor like Erik, this does complicate things a bit.  He's been holding it since we moved his catbox next to the toilet, the little stinker. 

I haven't actually tried this, but if my two get any bigger, I'm going to have to check it out.

Keep me posted. 

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up." - Jimmy V
 

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People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it. - Edith Schaeffer

Well, we are taking it VERRRRY slowly.  Moving his litterbox next to the toilet was far more traumatic than we expected.  We were going to skip the "raising the litterbox up to the height of the toilet" step, but I don't think that would go over well.  I'm sure we will be successful, but I think it will take much longer than anticipated... In part because he is indoor/outdoor.  I'll keep posting progress updates here.

I look forward to hearing how things progress -- I'm confident that it'll work, but I'm curious about how long it will take.  Of course, various factors come into play here (age, indoor/outdoor, general demeanor, etc.)... One of these days, I'll have a cat again, and would probably look into this.

Of course, if someone perfects this system for dogs... then that'll be a glorious day.    

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I was dreamin' when I wrote this, so forgive me if it goes astray...

Well, we've moved to the next stage.  Erik (that's the cat) has finally acclimated to having his litterbox moved.  I was amazed at how much that ticked him off (see how I nicely avoided a pun there?). Normally, each "stage" takes about 3-7 days, but it took nearly two weeks for him to get over it.

 We now have the box "up on blocks" as it were, so the litterbox is now about half the height of the toilet.  He didn't really even seem to notice, which is miraculous considering the fit he had about the "big move"  This weekend, the box goes to toilet height.  If that goes well, the following weekend, the litter box goes AWAY!

I think Erik's transition to the toilet and complete litter freedom will take longer than usual since he is indoor/outdoor.  Hopefully winter and snow on the ground will speed things up a smidgin. (He hates the snow and tends to stay in more). 

Unfortunately, I don't think dogs are nimble enough to do the toilet thing.  I can only imagine a clatter of nails, some whining, and then a loud splash... 

CONGRATULATIONS !

 I really don't think there is hope for the dog version.

I have a 120+ pound Shepard and I guarantee he would have nothing to do with the idea.  In fact, the clatter of nails, whining and splash would be the humanoid trying to get him up there.

Well, we are now at the next step.  We've raised the litterbox a bit higher than last time.  He didn't seem to care at all last time, but he has once again resorted to "holding it" until he goes out.  I'm sure he'll get over it in a day or two... He may be a bit put off by the new flushable litter.  Maybe I should have only changed one thing at a time. The height and the litter may have just been too much.  He hasn't thrown a fit, but he's not exactly cooperating either. I hope he gets over his aversion soon!  I think Erik will take a couple of months to train instead of the 4 weeks they claim at City Kitty!  Let's hope that a whole day indoors today brings results that aren't on my carpet.

October 10th, 20th, 24th and 30th.  Looks like you are averaging an update on almost a weekly basis.

I can't imagine how frustrating it might be for you (OK, for Erik too) some days.

If you are able to report small successes nearly each week then it has got to be good!

Congrats to both of you!

 

Sorry for the delay in updates.  We had a HUGE major setback and kitty trauma.  Apparently, phone books are NOT optimal for raising up your cat's litterbox if said cat is enormous.  All the websites and literature recommend that you raise up the litterbox to the height of the toilet, and the preferred material is phonebooks.  Not for a nearly 20 lbs cat. Erik hopped in his newly jacked up litter box to do his duty and it promptly shot off the phone books causing mass hysteria and trauma.  TERROR!!  HORROR!!  Meowing in the streets!!

It took a whole week for him to finally being using the litter box AT ALL.  He's been holding it and refusing to go until he heads outside.  We had to take the litter box back down to the ground and start "over" but, he seems to be finally okay with the litter box.  My husband has built a more stable riser for the box to go on that I think we may install this weekend.  I'm going to start setting Erik on the actually toilet trainer starting tonight, and then give him treats, to see if he starts to get the idea.  So, what I have learned:  Indoor/outdoor cats are more difficult to toilet train, big fat giant kitties are too much for phone books alone.

Unfortunately for Erik, he also just got all of his annual shots and a nice checkup from the vet, which involved far more poking in his hind-end than he's comfortable with.  Good news, though!  He's down to 17 lbs. from 25 lbs.  Not that he's happy about it. All that, and the rump-poking seems to have given the litter box trauma a run for it's money.  He's momentarily forgotten that the litter box is fickle and not to be trusted. I guess the answer is that whenever he gets toilet trauma to haul him to the vet for an exam.

So, we continue on in our struggle for a toilet trained cat, but I think this adventure will take much longer than previously thought.  I think that snow on the ground will much improve our chances of success, since he'll be less likely to "hold it"  If I can just get him up on the seat, I think it will be relatively smooth sailing, but I think that the transition from litter will be a doozy, too!! 

I have owned many varieties (Genus-Species) of fish, fowl and mammalia and the only time I ponder the raison d'etre of my choices is when I consider Felis Domestica.

Why? Why? Why!!!!!!!!! Am I a masochist?  Do I need to punish myself for some transgression I got away with? I once shared my house with 8 cats but now only 2. The only cat I ever paid money for was a rare Siamese breed that my consort whined for. Otherwise they were rescued from the pound or taken in from the streets. So, if a Bozo like Bush can garner votes in a blue state I guess a pschologically savvy person can be seduced by a cowardly and viscious predator who will occasionaly give us a rub (to claim us) and allow us to stroke its fur that it coats with allergens.

My neighborhood has lost the benefit of a variety of beautiful songbirds thanks to pampered cats that kill for reasons other than sustenance. It's time we rethink our inner needs and motivations for sustaining bird killers who are too cowardly to attack even small rats. When's the last time your kitty laid a rat at your feet??

Oh, you couldn't be more wrong! But it sounds to me that you are a dog person trying to get along with kitties.  Cats will never be dogs and vice versa. If you want a pack animal that will suck up to you for hours, then get a nice needy boxer or something.

 
Need your cat to kill things? If that cat was raised inside and coddled like a baby, probably not going to happen. It probably helps that my cat is very calorie motivated just due to sheer size.  Erik is quite the wily hunter, and he has killed 9 rats (yes, RATS!), countless mice and shrews.  He's not killed any songbirds, but almost exclusively grackles and starlings (which are interloping non-native blights on the bird community) He does keep the roost here quite vermin free, and more than "pays for his kibble" on a daily basis with affection and play.  Erik comes to his name, sits on command, plays fetch, as well as a wide variety of other playtime activities. He also sits in my lap and lets me pet him, and keeps me and my hubby company.  He values our company, and prefers to have both of us within paw's reach, or at least within view.  He prefers to sit with one paw on each of us, actually.

I think cats, like any animal or child, are a product of time spent.  Did you bother to learn anything about cat psychology or behavior?  Cats, being solitary predators CHOOSE to be social, so you need to give them a reason for such. I also have had many varieties of mammal and fish, and cats are by far the top of the line.  I enjoyed my ferrets very much, but nothing is as satisfying as a furry kitty that asks to sit in your lap and purr for a few hours.

 On THAT note, the kitty toilet training has started back up!  We really thought that it was important to wait until fuzzpants had chilled out before pushing the issue.  He seems to be completely comfortable now with the new litter and the "open' position of the box, so tonight we are going to once again attempt to put the litter box up on blocks. This time with an improved, slip-proof base.  Wish us luck!  Hopefully I'll have good news to report tomorrow.
 

Glad to see you are back to the training - - good luck to you and the critter!

Thanks!  We'll have that cat using the toilet come hell or high water, I tell ya!!

OMG - these posts are cracking me up!!   Imagining the kitty horror at sliding OFF all those phonebooks was the best....  it should be a scene in a movie!  

h……….

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I would like to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather..... not screaming like the other passengers in his car.

cassar11, I know!  I felt bad, but it totally made me laugh.  The betrayed look on his little face made me feel like a bad person, though. 

So, last night, the litter box once again made it's journey upward.  We now have the cat box on a very STABLE riser that my husband built out of plywood. It has wood stops all the way around to prevent a reoccurrence of the sliding "incident."  I set Erik in the box to show him it was stable, and all the claws were out, the base of his tail puffed up HUGE in horror.  I've been luring him back to the box with treats.  This will probably take him a while to adjust to.  Luckily, it's snowy outside, so he's spending quality time indoors.  He did NOT use the box overnight last night, but he's inside all day.  We'll see what happens!

It does make me feel fairly silly that I have to be so concerned about his toilet habits, but I suppose it's not as bad as potty training a toddler.