Old Cat, New Trick?

31 Days of Order - Day 24

The reactions to my declaration about training the indoor cats to use the toilet were varied.

My kids thought it was funny and cool. My husband wasn't too keen on the idea. Many of my cat-loving friends were cheering me on hoping they could do the same with their cats. My very dear friend who just so happens to be a counselor told me she worried about me having gone crazy. (Love you, too, Janet.) A handful of people said, "Ewww - gross!" Some simply stared at me.

Before I tell you our progress to date, allow me to introduce you to my indoor cats.

This is Hershey....

...and this is Snickers.

Hershey, the reigning queen, sits around like this most of the time. 

She is calm and in control. She can take you or leave you.

However, she is a fierce protector and great family cat.

Once she jumped on the back of a large dog that was barking threateningly at me and

she always joins us when we play in the yard.

 Snickers is high strung and generally freaked out.

She meows loudly and bolts whenever slightly startled.

As you can see, Snickers is not cuddly. Not in the least.

Okay. Enough chatter. Here is the progress report.

1. Put the new litter in the old box. Check. No problem. A week went by.
2. Put the new pan up on the toilet. Check. No problem.
1. At this point there were no accidents.
2. After a few days I began to suspect that Hershey was not using it, but going outside.
3. Removed the first disk in the pan of litter, leaving a small hole in the middle.
1. Hershey definitely not using it; going outside. (And this is the cat who will come in from playing outside to use the litter box inside.)
2. Snickers was NOT happy about the hole in the pan.
1. The first night there was nothing in the pan, but the next morning I found that the back door rug had been wet on.
2. The second night she paced and yowled. She ran into the bathroom and upstairs, then back down again, meowing wildly the entire time. I finally picked her up, talking calmly, set her in the litter pan on the toilet and closed her in the bathroom. It got quiet for a minute, then she meowed again so I checked on her. I could tell from the - uhhh - smell that she had done something, but there was nothing in the pan. She opted for the sheet that was on the floor. Sigh!
3. The third night, same routine. More pacing, yowling, and running up and downstairs. This time she made herself at home in the sink of one of the upstairs bathrooms and wet in it. Even after that she continued to roam the house hollering. 
4. I felt sorry for her and caved in. Bringing the litter box back into the house, I refilled it, showed it to her and she promptly made use of the familiar facilities. Peace and calm came over the household.

So, that's that. The grand experiment didn't work on my cats. Oh well, it was worth a try. Guess I'll be heading to the home improvement store for supplies to convert the cabinet under the sink to a litter box holder. I can live with that!

Have you ever tried to train your animal to do something unique? How did it go?

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This post is part of my 31 Days of Order series. See the rest of the posts here. 

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