Slow Learners

In my last post, I described the problems I had with Zoey transitioning to the Amber phase, so I went back to the Red phase. JC and Zoey both seemed a bit "relieved" (yeah, I'm punny...) to have their solid red tray again. I thought that I would let them use the red tray for a couple days, then try to switch to the amber tray once more.

This time, I was going to do what I should have done the first time and use the amber tray with the smaller hole.

JC quickly redeveloped his problem of missing the toilet, but I suppose women who live with men - of any species - just have to get used to the occasional splash zone. Still, it pretty much ruined my night a few days later when I woke up in the early hours of the morning and stepped in something wet. Later, when I was fully awake and functional, I tried installing the amber tray again.

No luck. Again, it was Zoey who was having problems with the transition. One day and some carpet cleaner later, I gave up and put the red tray back in. I'm really at a loss for what to do next. Zoey may need more time, but it's been five weeks now. She may just not be cut out for toilet training, but I'm hoping that's not the case.

I'm still using the red tray, but starting tomorrow I'm going to change how I put the litter in it. The circular body of the tray is divided in half by a small ridge, so I'm going to leave the inner circle empty and only put litter in the outside circle. It's like Toilet Training Your Cat for Dummies - or Toilet Training Your Dummy Cats - the smaller the transitions, the better.

It'll still be solid, but maybe it will get Zoey more acclimated to having an absence of litter in the middle, and eventually we can try moving on to the amber phase again. If anyone has any other ideas, I'm open to suggestions!