Days 1 - 14

New year, new tricks, right?

Skeptical.

So, first of all, I feel VERY lucky that we have an extra 1/2 bath to serve as "The Cats' Bath." Although the system we are using CAN be removed if needed, I think for my little friends' (and our own) sanity, it's best if we keep our 'places of Business' separate.

CitiKitty is pretty cool. It's a shallow pan that fits in the toilet bowl and under the toilet seat. The bottom is made up of concentric rings that can be punched out on a perforated line as you progress through the training.

(image found somewhere on the internet.)
The hole in the middle of the pan gets wider with each step until eventually the cats are standing on the seat and poo-ing right into the toilet - like the civilized creatures they should be.

Step 1: Pooping on a pedestal
The cats and I moved into Curtis's place in early December and right from the beginning we started prepping the cats for their toilet-training ADVENTURE.

Our initial set-up:


Toilet-under-side table-under-litter box. And a little step stool for the big guy.

Speaking of whom... Hanni is, how shall we put it... burial-y challenged? He can make a deposit NO PROBLEM but doing the follow-up work is a whole different story. Poor guy scratches EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THE LITTER. I don't know if he doesn't like the feel of it on his dainty paws or what but he prefers to 'bury' with the walls, the floor, the sides of the box, ANYTHING but litter.

To spare the beautiful new paint job in The Cats' Bath, Curtis went out and bought thin plexiglass, cut it to fit on the portions of wall closest to the toilet + little 3M clips to hold it in place. End result: Hanni-proof walls. Genius.
The cats had NO problem adapting to this.

The Tools:


We are using Swheat Scoop wheat litter which is FLUSHABLE and does not have the scary silica dust that conventional litters have. And it's digestible which makes sense if you happen to lick your feet clean after using the toilet.
I have been using Swheat Scoop for years - even before the toilet training. Living in the city it's nice to be able to flush the occasional offending doo-doo rather than emptying the whole box.

Also essential is Arm & Hammer cat litter deodorizer. Hanni is a PROLIFIC pooper and this is nice to freshen up the box.

Step 2: Installation of the Citikitty!


Pan goes on the toilet bowl. Litter goes in the pan. Seat comes down.

Set-up was a piece of cake and the cats seemed interested though a little confused.


There were numerous inspections of the new arrangement, some forlorn mewling and a couple of times Hanni ambushed Mischa in the bathroom and attacked her - OBVIOUSLY she was to blame for someone changing the way he will be using the restroom, she's always full of terrible ideas. (H has always had some litterbox-territory issues, possibly related to the occasionally irritated bowel that lives within him.)

Eventually everyone settled down and we either went to work or went to sleep but we were absent for quite some time. When we returned to check and see how our friends were coping with their new toilet...
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IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND GOOD IN THE WORLD - WHAT HAVE WE DONE!?



Whoops.
Looks like some cats I know need to work on their aim.

Over the next few days there were a few more 'situations' like this one but eventually they got the hang of it.

Looks good!

Citikitty recommends 2 weeks at each step if you're training 2 cats.

So on January 15th, 2011, we moved on to Step 3: The Appearance of THE HOLE.