We are now 11 days into our CitiKitty toilet training! We’ve made it 11 days with only one noteworthy incident...which I will address at the end of this entry…
Although Kitty is only supposed to be on level 1 of her training seat, I made the decision to put her on the fast track, a.k.a. ‘mom’s about out of patience, accelerated training program’ – so we made the leap from level zero to level 2 in one week. And although I am ecstatic over the thought of losing the litter box, there are a few things you might want to know about toilet training your cat with CitiKitty before you begin:
1. You will need a strong stomach and a weak sense of smell. Just like toddler toilet training, training a cat will only get messier before it gets cleaner. So, if you thought dealing with all the dirty litter and waste was bad with the box, it’s much worse with the training seat – the seat is very shallow which doesn’t allow a lot of room for the cat to ‘kick’ the litter, therefore it ends up all over the bathroom and toilet…keep a dustbuster or vacuum handy! Along with a yard mask and rubber gloves….I’m telling you it’s pretty bad, but just think of how clean it will be once the training is over – eye on the prize!
2. You will need to buy flushable cat litter. We did not have any on hand when I began the trainer last week, and at that time it didn’t pose a problem (or so I thought...) because there was no hole in the seat for the first week. But now that we have graduated, flushable litter is a must since, again, litter ends up everywhere.
3. Flushable cat litter is not easy to come by. I searched high and low for this stuff: Target, CVS, and the BX (base exchange – kind of like a mini Walmart on our military base) – no luck. Finally, I tried Walmart and found it! They only had one type on hand, it is called Desert Sand.
Now, here’s the low-down on the ‘noteworthy incident.’ As I mentioned above, the CitiKitty trainer requires flushable cat litter. Our cat has become quite accustomed to her Scoop Away (non-flushable) litter – and I should interject here, that Kitty, like most cats out there, is very forthright about her likes and dislikes and will let you know when she doesn’t approve of something…usually by delivering a poignantly-placed hairball to show her displeasure – so when I had the audacity to replace her Scoop Away with Desert Sand, Kitty was sure to object by, get this: Waiting at the top of the stairs for me to come get the boys from their morning nap. Meow like crazy once I got to the top, so that I would follow her to the bathroom with the training seat. Once she led me to the bathroom, she stopped, turned and looked back at me, placed her bottom on the bathroom floor and proceeded to deliver a poignantly placed poop!! Oh boy! I couldn’t (well, yes I could) believe she did that and could only gasp in horror at what had just unfolded right before my eyes…
Kitty’s message was read loud and clear. I decided to add a small amount of her Scoop Away litter to the Desert Sand, which has seemed to satisfy her highness...for now….
CitiKitty Word of Wisdom #1: Put the flushable litter you plan on using during training in your cat’s litter box for at least one week before beginning the toilet training program…
Let’s hope we can make it through the next week of training...eye on the prize!
Although Kitty is only supposed to be on level 1 of her training seat, I made the decision to put her on the fast track, a.k.a. ‘mom’s about out of patience, accelerated training program’ – so we made the leap from level zero to level 2 in one week. And although I am ecstatic over the thought of losing the litter box, there are a few things you might want to know about toilet training your cat with CitiKitty before you begin:
1. You will need a strong stomach and a weak sense of smell. Just like toddler toilet training, training a cat will only get messier before it gets cleaner. So, if you thought dealing with all the dirty litter and waste was bad with the box, it’s much worse with the training seat – the seat is very shallow which doesn’t allow a lot of room for the cat to ‘kick’ the litter, therefore it ends up all over the bathroom and toilet…keep a dustbuster or vacuum handy! Along with a yard mask and rubber gloves….I’m telling you it’s pretty bad, but just think of how clean it will be once the training is over – eye on the prize!
2. You will need to buy flushable cat litter. We did not have any on hand when I began the trainer last week, and at that time it didn’t pose a problem (or so I thought...) because there was no hole in the seat for the first week. But now that we have graduated, flushable litter is a must since, again, litter ends up everywhere.
3. Flushable cat litter is not easy to come by. I searched high and low for this stuff: Target, CVS, and the BX (base exchange – kind of like a mini Walmart on our military base) – no luck. Finally, I tried Walmart and found it! They only had one type on hand, it is called Desert Sand.
Now, here’s the low-down on the ‘noteworthy incident.’ As I mentioned above, the CitiKitty trainer requires flushable cat litter. Our cat has become quite accustomed to her Scoop Away (non-flushable) litter – and I should interject here, that Kitty, like most cats out there, is very forthright about her likes and dislikes and will let you know when she doesn’t approve of something…usually by delivering a poignantly-placed hairball to show her displeasure – so when I had the audacity to replace her Scoop Away with Desert Sand, Kitty was sure to object by, get this: Waiting at the top of the stairs for me to come get the boys from their morning nap. Meow like crazy once I got to the top, so that I would follow her to the bathroom with the training seat. Once she led me to the bathroom, she stopped, turned and looked back at me, placed her bottom on the bathroom floor and proceeded to deliver a poignantly placed poop!! Oh boy! I couldn’t (well, yes I could) believe she did that and could only gasp in horror at what had just unfolded right before my eyes…
Kitty’s message was read loud and clear. I decided to add a small amount of her Scoop Away litter to the Desert Sand, which has seemed to satisfy her highness...for now….
CitiKitty Word of Wisdom #1: Put the flushable litter you plan on using during training in your cat’s litter box for at least one week before beginning the toilet training program…
Let’s hope we can make it through the next week of training...eye on the prize!
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