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How to Toilet Train Your Cat

Before you launch into drill-sergeant mode with young Mr. Whiskers, understand that not every cat will master toilet training. Their instincts, after all, are to scratch, sniff, and bury, not squat and flush. For pet owners who go the distance with their felines, it could take three weeks to three months to achieve success. The upside is obvious: no more cleaning or smelling litter boxes. However, we would be remiss if we failed to warn you about a few downsides to toilet training your cat. As your cat advances in age, she may experience difficulty leaping up to her ceramic waste portal, and you'll be forced to teach an old cat new tricks with the litter box. During and after successful training, you'll need to keep the door to her bathroom open 24/7 so she has access, and you'll need to keep the lid up and toilet seat down at all times.

The ideal kitty cadet is big enough to straddle the toilet opening without difficulty, and lives indoors full-time. Older cats can be more set in their ways, and indoor-outdoor animals may opt to run through the pet door when training gets confusing. Remember, accidents and mishaps are part of the process. Only the patient will prevail.

The following points represent just one of many schools of thought on how best to toilet train your cat.

1. Designate a bathroom that will be your cat's go-to potty room, and transport her current litter box to the side of her future toilet. Work with one toilet only while training. Use a large box and ample litter to keep it heavy.

2. Over the week, gradually increase the height of kitty's litter box, propping it up incrementally each day with phone books, small boards, anything stable. You can create steps for her if you like. Don't use slick items that will cause her litter box to slide off and spill. Continue this until your cat's litter box is level with the toilet next to it. Give your cat several days to get accustomed. She will probably use the toilet as a landing pad, and then walk into her litter box-that's perfect for now. She's getting closer to the toilet!

3. Now move her litter box over the toilet seat. Allow space for kitty to land when she jumps if she's reluctant to take this next step.

4. Once she conquers this, lift your toilet seat and measure the inside of your toilet bowl at its widest diameter. Find a circular receptacle, a metal mixing bowl, wooden fruit bowl, or thick plastic container that fits inside the toilet with its rim as close to level as possible with the toilet boil. Toilets are oval, bowls are round, what's important is that her new litter container fit snuggly and is stable once in place. Don't use Tupperware, as it may bend or tip under her weight. Fill her container with litter, and put the toilet seat back down. Now-drum roll please-remove her original litter box from the bathroom. Since you'll now be scooping litter right at the toilet, we recommend using the flushable kind.

5. Observe your cat in her new spot. Be as vigilant as possible, and whenever possible work with her just after she leaps onto the toilet and prepares to do her business. Your next feat is to get her to squat on the toilet seat with all four paws-and it could take weeks, months, progressing one paw at a time, before she gets it right. If she insists on keeping all her feet in her litter, work on placing her front two paws on the toilet seat first. After she masters that, work on her back two. Remember to praise her whenever she makes progress. Try using treats on occasion during periods of slow progress.

6. After she has been squatting properly and doing her business where you want her to, begin to decrease the amount of cat litter in her toilet container. It can get smelly with less litter, so shoot for a three-day weekend to complete this training portion. After this phase, dump and flush, and replenish the container with a small amount of tap water. If kitty adjusts, dump and flush after her next movement, and this time add a bit more water into her bowl. Repeat this process gradually until she has three inches of water in her container. Your aim is to assimilate her to the water in your toilet.

7. Once she is using her toilet receptacle while it has three or more inches of water in it, it's time to remove it and let her go directly into the toilet. Finally, whether successful or not, let us know how you fared. Tell us how your cat responded to the different phases, any best practices you found, and any unexpected hurdles you faced. Take a photo of your genius feline and email it to us, along with your tales of training, to acrist@animalsamaritans.org . When possible we will post it on our website!