Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Buh Bye Kitty Litter

Some of you wanted to see Miss Bella on the potty.


Here she is, investigating the set up. Does she have to go? Yes, she does:


Notice that she still has both back feet in the roasting pan inside the toilet bowl. As more and more of the pan is cut away, she'll have no choice but to place all four paws on the seat. Also note that she hops up on the sink to get her treats and praise after a job well done. :-)

I use The World's Best Cat Litter, which is made from whole kernel corn and is biodegradable and flushable, so even if she kicks some down in the little "cut away" parts, it just disintegrates and one flush, it's gone.

The method we are using is The Toilet Trained Cat by Aston Lau. We got the book and DVD set.

He makes it very easy to understand. It's very logical. He provides good tips and tricks along the way to make it a smooth transition.

We're going a little slower - and not because Bella is having trouble, but because I want to be super cautious about letting her become comfortable with each step and make sure it sticks with her. Soon, there will be no pan and no litter in the toilet bowl and I don't want her to find an alternative "potty area" somewhere in the house.

When you think of how many pounds of cat litter and cat waste is in landfills, and when you think of how nasty and germy a cat box can get with all that waste in it and the cat scoops around in there and then transfers those pee-pee and poo-poo paws all over your house: on your couch, your bed, your counters (you know they're up there when you're not looking!), well, I'd rather have a cat with clean paws. I wipe down every toilet in this house (3 of them) almost every day with 409 and clean the bowls, so I know they're all sanitary.

Right now, that bathroom is a mess with litter all over the floor and we have not been using it. I figure the big payoff will be after all this is over, the floor can be cleaned and disinfected, all the mess can be cleared out and we will once again have use of that toilet.

I'm not going as far as teaching her to flush. I figure as a stay at home mom, I can swing by that restroom every so often and check to see if it's in need of a flush. Pressing that flush handle is a lot easier than scooping poop and pee from the litter box every day!

The big thing is going to be training the Evil Twin to lower the seat after he uses that potty himself! Bella can't go if the "girl" seat is up! LOL.

And there you have it! Cats will aim to please for a treat and praise, even though they still know they're the boss of the house.

12 comments:

  1. That's...um...great? Cheers ETW!!

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  2. that is awesome... i want to get another cat and when i do, I am def. going to potty train it! i hate litter boxes... esp. with having dogs...and them wanting to eat the poop! eeww..

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  3. Awesome... but I noticed she is out of toilet paper.

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  4. Ha funny! I too noticed she was outta toilet paper.

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  5. That is amazing. I have a cat and I can't even begin to wrap my brain around trying to do this. You are my hero.

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  6. I'm impressed!

    I'm not worried about her lack of toilet paper though, unless you're training her NOT to lick her butt anymore too!

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  7. Matt-Man - I will never buy litter again if this works out for me!

    OM - Yes, the turd eating dogs is definitely an ewww factor. If I can do this, anyone can.

    Ron - Along with not teaching her to flush, I will not be teaching her to wipe! LOL.

    RW - We've had to lift that TP and transplant it to a different toilet. We go thru that stuff!!!

    Jennifer - It is much easier than you would think!

    MC - No, she'll still be cleaning up the "kitty way". I only have so much patience for training! LOL.

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  8. Wow! That is so cool! Just got 2 new kitties, do you make house calls?

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  9. My concern is there's no loo paper! Poor mite what's she to use to wipe her bum.

    I think you should teach her to flush the loo. She can then boast what a clever cat she is!

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  10. Karen - I knew she'd be receptive to it, because she likes the swirly flush. :-)

    PG - You can train 2 at the same time. It's SO easy!

    Barry - When she is finished with the training, there will be more toilet paper added!;-)

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