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!

Becoming Domesticat-ed

I love my cats, but I hate their litter box. I think 98% of indoor cat owners would agree with that sentiment. The other 2% have dogs that eat what's left in the litter box, so they feel the same way but with different reasons.

Litter boxes smell. Bad. Along with the smell, every time a cat hops in the box, it's stepping in its own mess. When the cat comes out, it tracks litter and poo particles all over the house: on the dining room table, on kitchen counters, on your pillow.

I was tolerating my cats' litter box by keeping it out of sight. The less I saw it, the easier it was to avoid thinking about how disgusting it is. Toilet training kits for cats had piqued my interest, but I didn't give it much thought until I was about to move into a new apartment. In my previous apartments, there had always been a decent spot to hide the litter box: a closet in the office, a crawlspace in the bathroom. In my new apartment, however, there was not.

I refuse to have a litter box in my bedroom. The kitchen is not an option for obvious sanitation issues. If I don't like being around the litter box, my guests probably won't, either - there goes the living room. That leaves the bathroom, but my new bathroom is too small for my cats' large Breeze litter box.

Toilet training my cats suddenly became a valid option.

After doing some online research, I purchased the Litter Kwitter kit, as well as the extra training trays because I have two cats. The extra trays make the transition phases a little more gradual. I decided to start our training as soon as I moved into the new apartment, hoping that since my cats would already be familiarizing themselves with a new environment, they would be able to accept a new bathroom arrangement easier.

I am not sponsored by Litter Kwitter; I simply wished when I was doing my research that there were more in-depth personal experiences about other peoples' triumphs and fall backs while toilet training their cats. Hopefully, I can provide that to others.

Wish me, JC, and Zoey luck in our attempt to quit litter! One step at a time, we'll become "domesticat-ed".