Kiku during the early days of his toilet training...

Meet my cat Kiku, the “poster kitty” for Toilet Train Cat Blog. Kiku, short for Kikuchiyo, of “The Seven Samurai” fame, used the litter box for about the first 4 months of his life. After that, he graduated to using the toilet. Yes, the same kind of toilet that you and I use!

First, I’ll give you a little background info on Kiku. (If you’re not interested in hearing about Kiku’s pre-toilet trained kittenhood, go directly to Day 30 where I’ve mapped out the step-by-step process I used to train him to use the toilet…)

Day 1

(Making Kiku’s acquaintance)

Long before it had occurred to create the Toilet Train Cat Blog, I had my mind made up that I was going to get an all-black kitten. I made regular visits to animal shelters and animal adoption agencies, checked craigslist daily, and basically told everyone I had contact with to be on the lookout for an all-black kitty in need of a good home.

Kiku his first day home.

One day I got a phone call from a woman I had met randomly and talked to about my desire to find the perfect, all-black kitty. She informed me that she knew of a couple who was looking for homes for a litter of kittens, one of which was indeed all-black!

I wasted no time in contacting these folks and drove across town to meet them and the kitty who would become my new companion and pet.

When I arrived, I was almost immediately greeted by a very gregarious, all-gray kitty. I reached down and gave him a “hello pat”. He reciprocated by giving my hand a quick and decisive bat and then tore away, up the stairs. I introduced myself to the owners, explaining that I was the one who called about the all-black kitty.

“Oh… Yeah, the black one… She’s really shy. Honey, have you seen the black kitten?” Sheila called to her husband, Tom. “No. Probably under the couch again.”, came the answer.

Tom came down the stairs and helped Sheila look for the kitten. They looked in the living room, the dining room, peeked under the couch, peered into the bathroom and from what I could tell, looked everywhere for this elusive all-black kitten. The whole while, I was waiting patiently in the chair next to the sofa.

with his new toys...

While I was waiting, there was a certain someone keeping me company. He seemed to be determined to make my acquaintance and get me to play with him. It was that all-gray kitten again – the brother of the all-black one.

Finally, when Tom actually lifted up the couch, they could see that the black kitten had been hiding under there the whole time. I held the black kitten, feeling like I was somehow betraying her gray brother. She was sweet, but I wondered how she would deal with my German Shepherd, Tosh. For that reason and for the simple reason that I was thoroughly amused by this gregarious, gray kitten, I ended up going home with him instead of his all-black sister.

And that’s how I met Kiku.

Day 2

First things first.

Curiousity...

Before we could even think about toilet training or even litter box training, for that matter, there was Kiku’s new housemate who needed to be reckoned with – Tosh. Tosh had to satisfy his curiosity. He really looked like he was ready to gulp the new kitty up at any moment. He even licked his chops lots of times, looking at the kitten like it was a new morsel I had picked up for him at the pet shop. (“Tosh” by the way, is short for Toshiro Mifune, the famous Japanese actor who played the character of “Kikuchiyo” in The Seven Samurai. So you see, Tosh and Kiku are related. Kind of.)

I felt I had to protect Kiku, so I didn’t leave the house for three days! (Luckily it was Labor Day Weekend.) I tried putting Tosh on the choke chain and a down stay and getting Kiku close, but Tosh would lunge for him every time. Back under the couch Kiku would run to hide.

sweet nothings...

Finally, I had to resume my daily routine, which of course, required my leaving the house. With great trepidation, I went about my business, returning three hours later. I half-way expected to find a mauled kitten on the floor when I got home – or at least for Kiku to still be hiding under the sofa, as he had been doing the past three days.

When I got home, I was greeted at the door by my loyal German Shepherd, as usual. …And Kiku! Yep, without the human muddling things up and just generally getting in the way, they had been able to quite successfully define their relationship and begin to peacefully co-exist. There they were side by side, looking up at me to welcome me home.

Toilet Train Cat: Week 1 (Day 30)

10 weeks old

one of his favorite toys...

From Day 1, I had Kiku’s litter box in the bathroom next to the toilet. So, on Day 30 at 10 weeks old, (mind you, much younger than what is usually recommended), I took Step 1, the first step in Kiku’s becoming “Toilet Train Cat” of the Toilet Train Cat Blog. I got a one or two inch stack of old newspapers, bundled with duct tape, and then taped them to the bottom of the litter box, making a platform for the box to sit on. That’s it! That’s all you do on Day 1. And then you leave it that way for a week.

Why such a small change? Cats get very nervous about change. And when cats are nervous, scared, angry, or just plain “in a bad mood”, they sometimes get revenge – like peeing somewhere else. So keep all the changes gradual. Really gradual. If your cat starts to veer from the program by relieving himself somewhere other than the litter box, back up in the process. Take the newspaper away, give your kitty another week at the original height, and then try again.

Day 1. In the bathroom, hiding from Tosh, with a bin of Tidy Cat kitty litter behind him, which will soon become obsolete.

Toilet Train Cat: Week 2

More newspaper. An inch higher. Gradual, remember…?

Toilet Train Cat: Week 3

More newspaper. One more inch.

Toilet Train Cat: Week 4

Still more newspaper. Yet another inch higher.

Toilet Train Cat: Week 5

Yep. Same. (OK. Maybe you can try two inches at a time…)

OK. So you get the idea. Now let’s assume that the litter box is finally the same height as the toilet by Week 10. Go to Week 10, where things start to get exciting…

Toilet Train Cat: Week 10

The Litter Box Goes ON TOP OF The Toilet

ready to bolt...

Alright then. Now that the litter box has been the same height as the toilet for one week, you’re ready for the next step – to put the box on top of the toilet. Of course, it’s much easier if you purchase a product like Litter Kwitter or CitiKitty, which is designed to fit your toilet in the first place.

If you don’t buy one of those products, you’ll have to get out the duct tape again. Yes, you need to make sure the box is securely fastened to the toilet. Again, cats don’t like change and you’ve been giving him lots of changes over the past few weeks. If he jumps up onto the litter box and it moves or scares him in the least, you just set yourselves back a couple weeks. So get out the duct tape and make sure the box sticks fast to the toilet.

Toilet Train Cat: Week 11

Replacing the litter box with a colander.

Ah... The red, catnip mouse...

The next step will require that you measure the toilet bowl and then purchase a colander of the same size. (Or you can break down and buy Litter Kwitter or CitiKitty…) When I say “the same size”, I should say that the colander needs to have a lip on it that will keep it from falling into the toilet.

If the colander fits perfectly in the toilet, just put it in and then pour in some kitty litter to the usual depth. If the colander wobbles, it’s advisable to use the old duct tape again. Fasten it to the toilet. Don’t make any changes for a week, except of course, the usual daily cleaning.

sitting on the imac, checking out the camera

Toilet Train Cat: Week 12

Decreasing the amount of kitty litter.

Now that your kitty is used to his new litter box being inside the toilet bowl, you can start to decrease the amount of litter – gradually. Or if you’ve purchased Litter Kwitter or CitiKitty, you can decrease the litter and start to take out the rings.

Toilet Train Cat: Week 13

Continue decreasing the amount of kitty litter.

Continue decreasing the kitty litter until there’s none left. Now your kitty is peeing in the colander without any litter! (Or if again, you’re using Litter Kwitter or CitiKitty, you’ll be down to the last ring and there’ll be no litter remaining!)

Toilet Train Cat: Week 14

Removing the colander/last ring.

a little older here... closer to the age when he was actually going through the training...

Once your cat has gone one week without any litter in his colander or on the rings of his Litter Kwitter or CitiKitty seat, he’s ready to try “his business” with the bare toilet seat.  Just remove it and see what happens.

At this point, it’s possible that he’ll regress and relieve himself somewhere else.  If that’s the case, just get the colander out again and just a teaspoon of litter.  Kiku went back and forth through this phase a few times.

And viola! you now have your own toilet trained cat!  Congratulations and welcome to your new, litter-free life!

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