blogAll cat owners know too well that litter trays can be a bit of a nuisance! However, setting up a convenient toilet space for your cat is always going to be preferential to you finding mess on the carpet. Once you’ve got the hang of filling up and disposing of litter, there’s really nothing to it. But what if there was a more convenient option?
Some people have successfully trained their cats to actually use a human toilet – which to most pet owners probably sounds like a fantastic trick to teach. Rather than having to mess around with litter trays on a daily basis, you can encourage your moggy to go to the loo the same way you do! There are plenty of different devices and training tools available on Amazon to help you get started.
However – is it necessarily a good idea? Yes, it’s convenient, and it might even save you a little bit of money in litter bills, but what is this training actually doing to your cat? Is it sending the right message?
Some sources, such as the Cat Behavior Associates, feel it’s a bad idea to take your cat out of the litter box. Not only is there an argument that the training is stressful and unnecessary, but it may actually prevent you from looking after your pet in the long run.
Hosting a litter tray, and regularly changing it, allows us to see if there are any changes in our cats’ cycles. Any leavings your cat drops into a human toilet are going to be very difficult to diagnose. Some cat owners will tell you that if you spot changes in their urine – such as changes in smell or colour – they will likely need the attention of a vet. However, if that pee is getting diluted by toilet water, you’re going to have no way of being able to tell if your cat is healthy inside and out.
What’s more, there are risks involved. If you are training your cat to use the toilet, you are going to need to leave the lid up at all times. Otherwise, they will simply relieve themselves on the lid top! While cat litter may not be able to absorb all the odour you’d like removing from your home, toilet training isn’t really going to change this. If anything, it’s going to mean the smells stick around for longer.
The most crucial takeaway is that it could be potentially dangerous for your pet. What if you leave the lid all the way up by accident? What if your cat accidentally slips and falls? This is a nightmare scenario which you will want to avoid at all costs. Is it really worth the convenience, and the minor savings?
Pet-Happy.com also confirms that toilet training isn’t natural for a cat. Cats should be digging and covering their leavings. What works for humans, isn’t always going to work for moggies. Therefore, you have all the more reason to leave their toilet habits be.
Training your cat to use the human toilet is tempting. Litter trays can smell bad if left for too long, and it’s added time, effort and money for you in cleaning everything up and setting back up. But with toilet training, the alternative may be far worse. While there are plenty of products out there which claim to help train your cats safely, do always take these instructions with a pinch of salt – and consider how important it is to you that your litter routine changes. Some things are just worth leaving be! 
