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How I trained My Cat,
Oscar, to Use the Toilet by Brandy Connery
The first thing was to get a Cat Training Kit that has been around forever
and that has a proven track record. I chose Kitty Whiz because my parents
used it for our cat when I was growing up and my son recently used it for
his cat with great success.
My cat, Oscar, isn't the brightest of cats, so I didn't want to fool
around with one of those Johnny-come-lately imitations. Plus, they are all
so over-priced! One is about $90.
Anyway, my experience in training Oscar paralleled instructions in the
kit. Oscar always needed more love with everything because he's a little
slow. I figure that if Oscar can get it, any normal cat can.
The Kitty Whiz package included a bag of herbs, a plastic form, a clever
cartoon style instruction booklet and a diploma for when Oscar graduated.
The diploma was a nice touch and it gave me a confidence boost.
There were standard warnings. And Oscar was to have been litter trained
already. Warnings could be summed up as good sense. My personal advice
here is to schedule a little me-time to do this thing right. You can't be
jet-setting around the world or working 168 hours a week on a corporate
merger.
The process was to take about 2 weeks. I lost track of time, but it was
about that for Oscar to get into the groove.
There was a recommendation to use a padded toilet seat cover for
off-balance cats and Oscar qualified because he is pretty clumsy. The poor
thing stumbles over his own shadow.
Kitty Whiz divided their training into stages. Everything I personally did
was covered in the instructions. I do have additional recommendations,
which you will read.
STAGE 1
I took Oscar into the spare bathroom where nobody would bother him.
Remember to start this training in the evening because your cat will need
to stay in the restroom overnight so they will do their first poops and
pees.
While Oscar was meowing around, I put the form together. It was simple so
don't be alarmed.
I chose to train Oscar with the toilet seat down because I thought it was
safer and it is usually down anyway. The padded lid stayed up. I figured
that the more routine things were, the better.
I then took the old litter box out to the shed so Oscar couldn't find it
and he would be focused on his new toilet facility. Good riddance to that
smelly thing. Now my husband will hope for Oscar's success so he can get
rid of the litter box in his tool shed.
Per instructions, I filled the bowl part of the form with regular litter
so it looked similar to Oscar's regular litter box. This made for a
smoother transition. A slow smooth transition is the key in my opinion.
Since Oscar had been known to poop and pee in everything resembling
nature, I covered my houseplant soil with aluminum foil where possible and
rocks where possible.
In the restroom where Oscar was training, I put his bowls with his
favorite food and fresh water. Any place with food is a good place to
Oscar.
I opened the herb package and took a whiff. It did nothing for me and I
felt no sudden urge to use Kitty Whiz myself, but Oscar responded. He
followed the package as I led him up onto the toilet seat.
I sprinkled a little on the litter and Oscar sniffed around. This was to
help Oscar take note of where his new kitty litter box was now located.
It was a little heartbreaking, but I closed Oscar in his restroom for the
night. He needed to poop in peace, and he doesn't like for anyone to
interrupt his work. Instructions mentioned that cats are that way.
In the morning I checked on Oscar and he was perfectly content and maybe a
little too proud. The litter was saturated with pee and there was a
healthy mound of poop.
There are instructions for cat owners who may not be as successful at this
stage as I was with Oscar. But, neither my parents nor my children had any
problems.
I read over the steps to take if one is unsuccessful. They boil down to
doing things over, keeping things real clean and encouraging one's cat
with love and finesse. Oscar may not have been blessed with smarts, but he
was blessed with a loving family. I'm sure your cat also has a loving home
environment.
STAGE 2
I was glad to move on to the next stage because Oscar was leaving me with
mounds of love each day. I was anxious to flush instead of clean up
litter. I think Oscar was laughing at me during this stage. He always had
a slightly twisted sense of humor.
After four days, Oscar was accustomed to using his new litter box on top
of the toilet. So, I saw the principle involved here. I gradually removed
parts of the plastic form until nothing was left. After about two weeks,
Oscar was going into the restroom all by himself and using the toilet like
a regular human.
This is my own personal touch to the toilet system. I secured the toilet
seat lid so it was always in the up position. Otherwise, someone might
leave it down. I also had the door fixed so it was always open enough for
Oscar to walk through. I did these two things to make sure Oscar was never
prevented from doing his work.
Nowadays, it is quite humorous to see Oscar get up from his favorite TV
program and wander off to use the restroom. My only responsibility lately
is to flush the toilet. Maybe Kitty Whiz will someday invent a way to
train Oscar to flush the toilet.
I think Oscar was proud to officially join the human race as a toilet
user. He always knew he was human, but it was good to have official
recognition in the form of a degree. We gave him a graduation party and
presented him with his Kitty Whiz Degree. He wore a blue winner ribbon and
we framed his degree and photo together and hung them in his office, right
above the toilet.
Here is my personal testimony about Kitty Whiz as opposed to other cat
trainers:
I remember Kitty Whiz from the 1970s. It was around a long time before
other cat toilet training systems. It is proven and trusted in my family.
And I know other families that used it with success and I recommend it to
first-timers. I've seen many imitations on the market lately and they are
usually way over priced. I saw one for about $90 dollars. All I can say
is, Get real!
I trained Oscar for less than $20 and got quick delivery from an online
pet store named Bluejayz Pet Supplies. http://www.bluejayz.com Questions
and comments? brandyconnery @ hotmail.com. Article courtesy of Animal Pets
and Friends http://www.animalpetsandfriends.com
Article Source: http://www.animalpetsandfriends.com
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