Potty-Training Your Cat

You can do it yourself, with household items.

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Why?

"Now is this really necessary?" Is that what you're asking? Maybe your first question is "How'd you get them to do that?" I'll get to that. But first I'd like to explain myself. . .

Well . . . If one kitty would potty and the other had to go before we could flush for the first one, the second one might not want to use the "used" toilet. I dreamt of a half dozen devices I might develop to either flush for us on a timed schedule or flush for the kitty when on the toilet. The problem with a timer device was. . . How could it be frequent enough to guarantee it would happen in between two closely timed potty "events?" There was also a chance that it would flush when a kitty was getting ready to potty, and startle him/her. The problem with an electronic sensor, like ones in public restrooms or one you can buy on the internet, is that the kitties might circle a bit, and move around before they settle in to potty. So they might also be startled in this case, before they went. I was trying to think of a way for it to flush ONLY AFTER there was poop/pee in the toilet. -not before or when the first stuff was there, but after it was all in. It seemed to me that it would take a complicated device that might chemically sense what was in the water and maybe pause a minute or so before activating the flusher. There was also the issue of maybe having to remove such a device if we wanted to use it when visiting my sister-in-law's. I guess I finally figured that I would just try and take advantage of the kitties' sense of habit and desire to cover their scent.

How?

The key contraption is just a simple handle extension. Kitties aren't as strong and heavy as we are! They need a little leverage. At our previous condo, I fashioned one out of some electrical conduit, that I wrapped with some sisal rope. At the new place, I found that this didn't fit the handle. So I just taped the end of a paint stirring stick to the handle. This ends up working better because it is not as heavy, so there is less chance of the handle staying down due to the added weight, thus holding the tank valve open.
The training for this just started with us holding their paws on the flusher and pushing down. For this, they were initially rewarded with lots of praise and a treats. After they were more used to the new motion and sound of the toilet flushing, we nudged them forward to encourage them to try on their own. At first they just put their paws on the flusher and then jumped down to get their treat. We'd immediately try again but would help them push and realize that the toilet has to flush for them to get a treat. Eventually they realized that it was easier to get it to flush the first time rather than to have to get back up and try again. They are not fully self-sufficient yet, as they often don't do it when we are not around to give them a treat. But they do know what to do after they've pottied and we say "flush," from another room. I've got to work something out so that they don't get "punished" for pottying and flushing on there own; i.e. they might not get a treat for pottying or flushing when they do it while we are away, since the evidence is gone. Ah, the next project. . . .