Drawbacks of Kitty Toilet Training

Although toilet training your cat may seem like a good idea at first. There are some situations where it may not be the appropriate thing to do.  

For instance you might find it hard to teach an old cat new tricks. An older cat may find it difficult to jump up on the toilet lid or balance itself. The result might be an animal that urinates or defecates beside the toilet instead. Older animals might also get angry with you and defecates elsewhere in your home anyway.  

Toilet training on kitties will also not work if any one in your house (including your spouse, guests and your kids) forgets to leave the toilet lid up. This is incredibly frustrating for a feline who is trying to please you but can’t because you won’t let him. If the cat constantly encounters a closed lid he or she may eliminate elsewhere in your home. One solution to this problem however is to simply remove the lid from your toilet permanently.  

Visitors and guest might be disgusted by the idea of having to share a toilet with a furry animal. They may not like seeing cat hair on the toilet seat.   In some cultures this idea would be very objectionable as cats are seen as vermin or rodents.  One plus about having a litter box is that it can be easier to see if your kitty is suffering from health problems if you are looking at his or her feces. It is harder to see problems in their feces or urine if it is diluted by toilet water.  

Some cats will naturally object to fouling where they like to drink. Your cat may refuse to use the toilet because it would rather drink from it. Cats like to drink cold, fresh water and may see attempts to convince him or her to go in the bowl as being a sin that is hardwired completely against their natural instincts.  Your cat may leave footprints on the seat or decide to play in the toilet water. This means that you may need to clean the toilet seat every time before you sit on it. This is also something that will not be enjoyable to your guests.  If your cat is fluffy he or she may shed in the bathroom so bath mats and towels could be covered with cat hair.  Another drawback is that training your cat to use the toilet can take a long time , as long as six months in some cases.

All of these months you will be looking at a messy bowl or tray of some kind filled with feces, litter and also possibly water. This will be in your bathroom, beside your toilet and then eventually in your toilet. If you don’t like the smell of cat urine or feces in your bathroom then toilet training your cat may not be for you.   Many people who have two or three bathrooms reserve one especially for the cat to solve this type of problem.

Advantages of Toilet Training Your Cat

There are tons of advantages to toilet training your cat and in this blog I am going to describe just a few of the ways cat toilet training can improve your life.  

First of all you are going to eliminate that musky smell of kitty liter mixed with ammonia that is always so much a part of being a cat owner. No longer will you suffer this stench as urine builds up in clumps in your litter box.   You will also not be subjected to the smell of feces.  The other good thing about getting your cat to use the toilet is that most bathrooms are ventilated with fans.   This helps eliminate any odor caused by a cat. Most cat litter boxes really smell simply because they are always located in places where there is little air such as behind doors or under staircases.  

No more lugging around heavy bags of kitty litter from the grocery store. Your arms will thank you.   It will also eliminate the absurdity in life for paying absolutely good money for what are essentially designer brands of dirt (Multi-cat, with baking soda, flushing, clumping, anti-bacterial etc.) Everything simply gets flushed away instead.  

You can also stop spending money on baking soda, deodorizers and candles as there will be no more kitty litter box odor to disguise.   The odor will also be less noticeable on your clothing.  Another bonus is that you won’t be vacuuming up all that cat litter that gets tracked all over the house once your cat is done using the box. Sometimes you just don’t feel like cuddling your cat if it smells too much like the litter box.

Another problem that is eliminated is that kitty litter that gets caught between your cat’s toes and then is tracked all over you bed, linen and pillows at nap time.  If you go away for a weekend you no longer have to get someone to enter your litter box for you although they might want to visit to flush the toilet.  There will also be more cash in your pocket as the need diminishes to spend money on things like big plastic trays, hoods for kitty litter boxes, automatic litter cleaning devices and all of the other things one needs to maintain a clean litter box.

No more spending money on cleaners to wipe up spills or get ground in kitty litter out of your carpet.  You also keep the environment in general more hygienic. This is especially important if you have a pregnant mother, a new baby or toddlers in the house (who may try to play with cat feces.) If the feces are flushed away there is nothing for vulnerable individuals to be concerned about.  Another perk is it makes your cat look really smart. In fact, toilet training is one of the better cat tricks that you can teach your feline and she will look very clever if one of your guests catch her in the act.