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Below you will find a list of all the items you will need during the “toilet training month”. If there is anything you currently don’t have in your household, make sure you purchase it before proceeding with the training itself. You will keep things more organised that way.
Imagine how it would be to take a walk to the supermarket every time you realise another item is needed!
Checklist
Spare Bathroom
A spare bathroom would be an advantage. There’s no need to hide the truth: your bathroom will be a mess for an entire month. The litter box might fall.
As you already know, for hygiene reasons, cats scratch through the whole litter box in order to cover up their mess. Scratching will throw small quantities of litter outside the litter box. You will have to clean those, and imagine you WILL be having guests in a month’s time…
Flushable Litter
Flushable litter would spare you some effort or even unclogging costs, should the contents of the litter box ever spill into the toilet… accidentally, of course!
Litter Box
A litter box you will have to destroy OR a metal bowl that could easily fit into the toilet bowl.
Also, books, boxes, everything that can be used for piling up.
Bathroom Cleaning Items
Bathroom cleaning items, including a strong disinfectant – you’ll need plenty of them. Cat urine is highly concentrated and contains ammonia, a toxic compound which can be extremely harmful to living beings if constantly inhaled. This is why you will have to disinfect the bathroom floor (in case of spills) and litter box daily!
Treats
Treats… but that also depends on your cat. Some cats are in love with treats, whereas others couldn’t care less!
Decide whether you wish to purchase additional items which are specially designed to facilitate the training process. Many of these items will also be covered below.
Do make sure you have set up the wooden or padded toilet seats in their place (if you chose to purchase them); with their help, your cats can use their claws to ensure extra grip and balance…
This is a list of items you will need in order to train your cat properly. However, you should decide if you need any additional items to make your life easier. Once you’re done with this part, you’re all set.
Additional Items
If you fancy toilet training your cat like a professional, you might consider purchasing additional items that are specially designed to ease your effort and spare you from improvising.
Below you will find a list containing the most popular equipment cat owners have chosen to use during training:
Water drinking fountains
It was curiosity that killed the cat, wasn’t it? Based on owners’ past experiences, we would be justified to predict some curious cats will have the tendency to drink toilet water. Why not? It’s cold and fresh! In order to prevent this, you can purchase a water drinking fountain. Water drinking fountains are specially designed for cats.
A water drinking fountain’s job is to ensure the water in your cat’s bowl is constantly fresh and chilled. During toilet training, this might draw your cat’s attention and therefore you can prevent your cat from developing new habits…
Toilet training kits
Toilet training kits usually consist of easily removable bowls or bags to fit in your toilet bowl. You will have to fill them up with flushable litter at a certain point in the toilet training process. The advantage is that by using them, your toilet will give the impression it is filled up with litter!
Your cat will therefore be able to sit on your toilet as if it were a huge, weird-shaped litter box. As for you, you will no longer have to worry about improvising this system using a regular litter box!
Toilet training system trays
These items are designed to help cats ignore the need of burying their waste (since they won’t be able to do this when using a human toilet!). Moreover, you can use them to help your cat find the appropriate balance while using the toilet. The way they work is quite tricky. These products usually come with a DVD, so you won’t have problems in setting up and using them.
Will the toilet training process be negatively influenced in the lack of these items?
Absolutely not. As said, they will only make your life easier. So don’t worry, you will get the same results, it’s the training procedure, patience and attitude that matter most!
Tips for Toilet Training
No matter how trivial cat toilet training might seem, there is a slight chance you might face some unexpected situations. Cats are very territorial, and therefore react to any change in their surroundings, especially when it comes to their litter box. Since prevention never harmed anyone, it is advisable that you should take note of the most common ways to avoid such accidents.
Feed your cat wet food.
You should help your cat maintain a balanced diet. Excessively feeding dry food to your cat can cause it to become overweight and develop bladder dysfunctions. Since cats can get “shy” and keep themselves from urinating after the place of the litter box has been changed, wet food will give them no other option. They will need to use the litter box more often, whether they like it or not.
Schedule every meal.
You should never neglect meal schedules. It is very important to get your cat’s organism used to organised, scheduled and balanced meals. This will be a vital contribution to the synchronisation of all chemical and biological processes taking place in its organism. This applies to you as well!
Don’t leave plants (unattended) near your cat(s).
Some cats may think plant pots can be a great substitute for litter boxes. There are many cats that use plant soil to hide their mess. If this happens, you will have a hard time convincing them to quit this bad habit. So the best way would be for you to keep them away from plant pots during training weeks.
Put away all mats and rugs.
Mats and rugs are fluffy and, therefore, absorb cat urine in a matter of moments. This is why they are also very hard to clean! If your cats get confused about the litter box, they might want to use your rugs as camouflage for waste. Unfortunately, cats are not familiar with the meaning of “hiding”, the way humans perceive it, as a clean litter box (or a clean substitute for litter boxes) is one of their most important needs, and they will do anything in their power to fulfil it!
Fill bathtubs and sinks with a small amount of water.
No plant pots, no mats, no rugs… things start to get complicated, and cats aren’t dumb, especially when they’re in a desperate need to relieve themselves. You can find a little surprise in your bathtub, shower or even sink. However, owners learned to take advantage of one of cats’ greatest fears: water. If you fill bathtubs and sinks with small amounts of water, (preferably to the level of 5 or 10 centimetres in case of sinks) your cat will definitely stay away.
Take it slow…
If your cat feels pressured or you happen to notice a strange behaviour, take a break or slow down the progress a bit. If this persists, you should stop the training. What’s wrong with having an “untrainable” cat?
Becca The Crazy Cats Lady is an experienced and knoweldgeable cat owner with years of experience caring for a multi-cat household. She curates, writes and shares cat content at https://CrazyCatsLady.com.
