Problems Toilet Training Cats

After seeing a cat use a toilet on many online videos and movies, toilet training your cat may seem ideal. After all, it eliminates all cat-box cleanup. Although the situation is ideal if you can perfect it, there are many problems you may encounter trying to toilet train your cat. Depending on your living arrangements and your particular kitty, you may find it to be too much of a hassle and choose to stick with the box.

  1. Occupied Bathroom

    • Feline toilet training kits include multiple cat boxes that fit inside of toilets. There are different levels of training and different rings to hook onto the toilet. Often, they aren't easy to remove and reattach. If you have only one toilet in your home or need all the toilets you do have, this could be an issue. Removing the toilet cat boxes could be messy, hard for kids to do themselves and difficult for guests to comprehend.

    Door Left Open

    • If you normally leave your bathroom door closed, you may have a problem toilet training your cat. Although it may use the toilet, it probably won't be able to open the door with its paws, thus you'll have to leave it open or install a cat door on your bathroom door. If you forget to leave the door open, kitty will have no appropriate place to urinate and might choose to do so on the floor.

    Frightened Kitty

    • If your cat gets to the point of having its waste plop directly into the toilet bowl, the sound may end up frightening your cat. It may splash your cat, as well, which would also cause fear. If your cat gets used to the noise and doesn't mind it, you'll have no problems. However, if your cat is traumatized, it may start associating the toilet with that fear, which may cause it to avoid the toilet altogether. Positive reinforcement with training may help with the problems.

    Covering Instincts

    • You may notice your cat digging before going potty and covering up the waste afterwards. This habit is actually part of your cat's instincts, to cover up any smells that may alert predators or prey that the cat is near. Your cat will still have these instincts when it's using the toilet. However, the narrow seat of the toilet could cause the cat to fall into the toilet when it is covering its waste, which would traumatize the cat and possibly leave a wet mess on your floor.

    Older Cats

    • Although you can train older cats to use the toilet, it's much more difficult, since they've already grown accustomed to using the box. Very old cats may have difficulty getting up onto the toilet, since it can be slippery and oddly shaped. One slip or fall could set your training back weeks if they're traumatized. If you want a cat to be toilet trained, start at a very young age if possible.