How To Toilet Train Your Cats
Toilet training your cat is not as difficult as it may seem. It is not nearly as difficult as training a puppy to go outside, or a baby to use the potty!
All that you have to is be patient, get the right supplies, and follow the steps below and you will have a potty trained kitten!
Should You Toilet Train Your Kitten?
If what scenarios should you toilet train your cat? The truth is potty training is a personal preference. We chose to potty train our kittens for a few reasons.
We were tired of scooping our cats litter, it was A LOT! And two of our kittens were already very interested in the toilet in general. One would hop on it while I was getting ready. In my own mind, she was ‘acting like mom’. Total speculation, but that’s what I’m choosing to believe.
When Should You Not Potty Train Your Cat?
So should everyone toilet train their cats? The real answer is no. First, not all cats are interested in the idea, and it truly is not suited to all cats.
If you have a cat that NEEDS to cover up their business, potty training could end up being a real mess. Some just need to do the motion of covering up and they are happy. Others will stick their paw in the toilet to cover up their mess, which no one needs that.
If you notice your cat starting to put their paw in the toilet while you’re going through the potty training process, I would take a step back and see if maybe staying with the litter box is best. You could always move to an automated litter box if you REALLY hate scooping the litter too!
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What Supplies Do I Need?
Want to know what else is great about potty training your kitten?! Your only need TWO supplies in order to do it. Well besides a litter box, which I would hope you already have.
The first is a cat potty training ring. These rings sit in the lid of your toilet are lined with cat litter. They literally make the training portion a….cat walk. *insert groans here*
The other supply is honestly the most important! That is flushable cat litter. You want to make sure you get litter that is considered flushable.
I have linked the one we used below, which luckily works like a charm. If you don’t use flushable cat litter, you run the risk of clogging up your toilet with cat litter.
Which, trust me! You do not want that.
And even with the flushable cat litter, you don’t want to dump that cat litter in the toilet on purpose. The point of it is that it isn’t harmful to go in the toilet.
But if you put an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet, it will also clog it up. Too much of anything is not a good idea.
Six Steps To Potty Training Your Kitten
Step One
Move your cat’s current litter box to a spot right near to the toilet. Make sure your cat is comfortable using this litter box and keep it there for as long as you feel it is needed for your cat to get used to the new spot. If you notice your cat not using the litter box and you have multiple, try switching out the litter boxes so their “favorite one” is in the bathroom
Step Two
Raise the height of the litter box gradually.
Pro Tip: We put the litter box on a little step stool. If you use the squatty potty, this can be a good option as well. The point is to start associating litter boxes to around the height of the toilet.
Step Three
Replace your litter box with the training ring mentioned earlier. It’s really important that the training ring fits in your toilet comfortably. If you get one that’s too big or too small, when your cat jumps up on the toilet, the motion will freak them out and it will slow down the training process.
Pro Tip: I know some people have made their own training box on a budget with wax paper and flushable litter. My personal recommendation is to go with the training rings. It’s less stress on you to make sure everything is secure and your cat feels comfortable.
Step Four
Start the ring process. Start with all the rings in the toilet seat so your cat cannot see into the toilet. It gives the appearance of a normal litter box. As your cat gets used to this, slowly take away a ring from the inside week by week until there are barely any litter rings in your toilet.
Pro Tip: This may be considered step four, but this is by far the longest part of all of it. I gave my cats a week into between each ring so they were able to get used to seeing the toilet, then seeing more and knowing that was where they were supposed to go to the bathroom. If you rush it, it will confuse them.
Step Five
Flush the toilet after each use by your cat.
Pro Tip: Do not teach your cat to flush the toilet. Although cats are able to learn to flush, they sometimes enjoy it a little too much – wasting water.
Step Six
Give your pet a treat! Rewarding your cat for a job well done is essential to their success.
Pro Tip: Like little kids, try and watch your cats for using the litter box/toilet and reward them with praise when they do! They will start associating that toilet with long and attention…and most cats can’t get enough of that!
Now you know how to toilet train your cat! Are you ready to start potty training your cat or kitten?!