Day 39: Nightmare...starting all over.

One advice for all you thinking about toilet training your cat: MAKE SURE TO NOT SCHEDULE A TRIP! This was a major fail on our part. We had a unscheduled vacation that came up last minute. We had a friend come over one a day for an hour, and attempted to keep the CitiKitty toilet seat on while we were away. I really didn't want to start the training all over, so I told my friend if everything goes well keep up the training. During the week, my friend told me everything was going well and Montee had gone in the CitiKitty every single time. I was excited.

However, the day we got home we entered a very poop stenched apartment. Apparently, sometime between my friends visit and us getting home Montee just about had it and decided to poop on the bathroom floor and go pee on our rug several times. While we were cleaning everything up, he went pee and poop on the floor again. There was no saving our rug so we tossed it, and were forced to go back to the litter box and start the process completely over.

Now I am faced with a dilemma--We have a trip scheduled for the beginning of November, so do I attempt to start the training process all over again, hoping he is completely trained by then? Or do I wait until after the holiday's and start the training process in January, when I know we will not be leaving for a few months?

It seems the hardest part about toilet training your cat is that life happens.

Day 22: Making My Own Hole

Today I made my own hole in the CitiKitty. I was confident that Montee was ready to increase the size of his whole, but I was not confident that he was ready for the predetermined hole outlined in the CitiKitty (since last time at this step he decided to pee on the floor). So, what I did was try to cut out the hole a bit larger than the hole that was already there.

Since there were not a perforated guide for me to follow, it was bit difficult to get a smooth line, but definitely doable. Just make sure you have a sharp knife. I think this is what I will do from here on out, to make it an easier transition for Montee when we increase the size of the hole.

I am hoping this will not increase the length of training, but rather speed up the process because hopefully we wont have to go back any steps.

Day 18: Let's try this again

For the past 6 days, we went back a step on the CitiKitty toilet training seat by inserting the CitiKitty backup tray with no holes. Over the past 6 days there have be no mistakes on Montee's part. Montee doesn't have any trouble going potty in the CitiKitty when there are no openings. Over the past couple of days he has been going to the bathroom a lot more frequently, which leads me to believe that he is ready to move on to the next step.

The nice thing about the CitiKitty backup insert is that the first opening is half the size of the opening in the original CitiKitty toilet training seat. I am hoping because of this we won't have any mistakes of Montee peeing on the floor again. This being said, I wish that CitiKitty would of had a smaller first opening on the original CitiKitty toilet training seat, perhaps we would not have had to go back a step if this was the case.

So my suggestion for all you who are considering toilet training your cat with CitiKitty is--the first time you cut out the hole do not follow the guidelines that are suggested on the original training seat, cut out the hole to be HALF the size. I think this will help the cat transition much easier and you wont have any kitty potty mistakes.

Responding to Amazon Reviews

So, as you know Montee decided to not use the CitiKitty training seat yesterday, a day after the first ring was removed. This might be a good thing as I was getting very cocky about how awesome my cat was and how easy it was to toilet train him.

However, I might have jinxed the whole experience when, yesterday at work, I went on Amazon.com and started reading all the low reviews on CitiKitty. I was curious to see the negative experiences people had with CitiKitty, since I was having such a great one.

Of course with a product such as this, one has to take a negative or positive review with a grain of salt. Every cat is different; thus, every experience with CitiKitty will be different. However, I did find that there were some common challenges that cat owners experienced as they tried to toilet train their cat with CitiKitty.

1. No Going Back 

"Once you take out a ring there is no going back. If your cat is not ready you are stuck or need to buy a new CitiKitty." 
-By gshoes on September 4, 2008

My Response: 

Note the date that this was written: 2008. This seemed to be a common complaint a few years ago; however, it seems that CitiKitty has responded to this problem by providing an extra CitiKitty Training Insert for free in the same box your CitiKitty comes in. 

However, me, having to use my CitiKitty Training Insert yesterday, was a bit weary to use it because what if I cut out some rings in the EXTRA seat and then I have run out of CitiKitty seats?! Would I have to buy another $29.99 CitiKitty Training kit? Luckily, the answer is no. I found out that CitiKitty also sells extra training seats for $5.99, so all hope is not lost.

2. Plastic is Flimsy

"this product is made of very flimsy plastic. I have an 8 yr old, 20+ pound cat. It held her ok until rings started to be removed - then it started to bow."

-By Jane on October 7, 2007

My Response:

As I stated in my first post and video, when I was opening the CitiKitty I was shocked at how thin and flimsy the product was and couldn't believe that I paid $29.99 plus shipping for it. It definitely is over priced, but I rationalized it by telling myself  "I am paying for the idea" not necessarily the materials. I know there are ways to toilet train your cat by using "household" materials, but that seems really messy and a lot of work. I was impressed at how nicely the CitiKitty fit on my toilet and how easily it is to take off and on (since we only have one bathroom). I do not think you could get this from putting a bowl of litter inside your toilet (as some people suggest). 

Now, concerning the weight issue. I have no experience with having a heavy cat, as my kitten probably only weights about 3 pounds. The plastic is thin and I would not be surprised if a 20+ pound cat stood on it, once many of the rings were removed, that it would bow. 

On CitiKitty.com under their FAQ section it states: 
Q. Is my cat too heavy to toilet train?
A. The CitiKitty Training Seat works for cats weighing over 25lbs; most cats weigh between 10-12lbs. If your cat can jump up on the toilet then they can be toilet trained.

Also, there are many positive reviews, such as this one below, that states that it DOES hold over 25 lbs. So it must just depend on your toilet or your cat. I am not quite sure!

"Most important -CitiKitty's training seat advertised it holds over 25 lbs which it does and the training guide and tips & tricks brochure are easy-to-follow and have good information. My cat has been litter free for over two months! Clearly the better product out there."
-By Christina Nadeau on April 5. 2006 

3. First Hole Blues 

"I followed the instructions precisely. It all worked great and we were excited. The cats were going on top of the toilet into the liter, up until the point where we punched out the first hole...Rather than attempting to use it, they would just hold everything in until they finally did their business else where."
- By  Daniel L Wells on June 12, 2011

My Response:

As of today this seems like this could happen to me, but I certainly hope it doesn't. This seems to be a common problem that is addressed in many of the reviews. However, in the extra CitiKitty training tray the first ring is much smaller than the ring in the tray that is placed on the toilet. I am hoping that by starting again with smaller opening that my cat will be able to adjust easier. We can only PRAY!

4. Limited Resources 

"I have e-mailed CitiKitty several times for suggestions and their only response was to check the FAQ's, which I told them I had already done with no success."
-By E. Cunningham on May 7, 2007

My Response: 

I have this complaint as well. When researching CitiKitty I didn't find many sources explaining the process in detail or offering suggestions, this is why I started this blog. Just recently, when Montee had his mishap of peeing on the floor, I went to the CitiKitty website hoping to find some suggestions or perhaps a forum with peoples suggestions of how they dealt with the same or similar issues...but there was absolutely nothing. The only suggestion I found from CitiKitty was in their "User Guide" that was included in the original shipment. Their suggestion is to use the extra tray and go back a step. I was hoping for a little more guidance. 

5. Multiple Cats 

"We have two cats and they both refuse to use this product for going #2. Instead, they have taken to doing their business on the new carpet and new couch. While other reviewers have been patient enough to wait it out past 2 months, we're not willing to deal with anymore of these accidents. It's really not designed for two cats since once one cat does their business, you have to be vigilant about cleaning it or the other cat won't use it."
-By Kumara on November 12, 2007

My Response: 

Training multiple cats to use CitiKitty does seem to be a common challenge. My friend also faced this challenge when he tried to train his two cats to use CitiKitty. One cat took to the process quite easily, as the other did not. It was not too long until both cats refused to use the CitiKitty.

However, once again it just depends on your cat. He is a review that states the opposite:
"When I first decided to toilet train my cats (I have 2), I was really dreading the process. I found the CitiKitty, and I can't tell you how easy it was to use. Just follow the instructions, punch out a new ring every couple of weeks, and your cats will be toilet trained in a couple months."

By D. Walter on June 13, 2008

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Whenever I consider buying a product I look at the reviews because I feel this is a good indicator of how good or bad a product actually is. After reading through tons of reviews on Amazon for CitiKitty I started to notice how for every negative review there is a positive review. So what is one to believe?

It is encouraging knowing that toilet training a cat can be done. Many of the complaints were not towards the CitiKitty product exactly (the number one complaint towards the product I would say is how thin the plastic is), but rather, that their cat was not taking to the actual toilet training process. So with this being said, I think the question is: Is toilet training for me and my cat, or for you and your cat(s)?

I really do hope that toilet training is for me and my cat. I want this to work so badly. So to give you and me hope I will end with a positive review, as I am not one who likes to dwell on the negatives:

I got a CitiKitty kit last fall as a bit of a skeptic... now I brag about my toilet-trained cat to strangers in the grocery line. The kit is very straight-forward and simple to use. It sits on the rim of your toilet underneath the seat. You fill it with about a quarter-inch of litter and gradually punch out the holes in the middle so your cat will start going in the water and weaning off of litter. (You do have to get flushable litter to use with it.) I took things super slow with my cat and it was only a couple months before we had eliminated litter completely! She sits on the toilet seat and goes right in the water without any problems whatsoever, all I ever have to do is flush. Everyone compares her to the cat in Meet The Parents. I can't even imagine how I used to live with smelly messy litter in my apartment!
-By Andrea Marcus on April 3, 2006

Day 3: CitiKitty on the Ground

It has been 3 days since we have started CitiKitty and it definitely has not been easy, and we had to adapt the CitiKitty training method.

On Day 2 Montee did not go to the bathroom at all. We could tell he needed to go by him continuously entering the bathroom (where his litter box used to be), trying to go potty in different parts of the house, and pawing at the litter in CitiKitty but refusing to actually jump up onto it. I would pick him up and put him on top of the CitiKitty, but he would just jump off.

By Day 3 I was getting nervous because he hadn't gone to the bathroom and he was acting very irritated. I decided to put the CitiKitty tray next to the toilet on the ground, where his litter box used to be. It may be a step back, but maybe he just needs to get used to the CitiKitty tray for a few days.

Finally, a few hours after we did this, we had success: Montee went to the bathroom (Number 1 and Number 2) in the CitiKitty on the ground with no help from me at all.

So it seems that we will keep the CitiKitty on the ground for a few days until he gets totally comfortable with using CitiKitty as his new litter box. I am actually surprised that the CitiKitty manual did not suggest doing this in the first place. It seems like a logical transition.