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Old 06-08-2009, 12:03 AM
 
Location: Maryland
1,667 posts, read 9,365,285 times
Reputation: 1654

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We went to PetCo and got a rescue cat. What a wonderful pet and he finally gets along with the dogs. That took awhile. Anyway, his litterbox smells like a BioHazard. It almost needs cleaned every time he uses it. It's horrible! We're slowly moving his catbox to the bathroom to begin toilet training. There are many sites telling how, and many differ widely. What really works?
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Old 06-08-2009, 05:39 AM
 
Location: California
10,090 posts, read 42,326,225 times
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Not to sound negative, but I wish you luck on the toilet training. Not heard of too many people who tried and actually succeeded. We did have one years ago who just decided to use it on her own! I kept blaming the kids for not flushing! Finally figured it out, when she was "caught in the act". I've read the problem with it, is it is not natural for the cat and they have a very uneasy sense tettering over the commode. Why ours did it, I have no clue!
As for the stench....some par tof the cause is definitely the food she/he is being fed. What are you feeding?
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Old 06-08-2009, 01:53 PM
 
Location: Maryland
1,667 posts, read 9,365,285 times
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We've always had at least one cat, and never had this problem before. Right now we use a Purina product, but the food was our first thought. We've tried expensive veternarian products. Nothing helps. This cat really turns cat food into nuclear waste. We put paper in the bottom of the catbox because it's like glue and is extremely difficult to wash out otherwise. I researched this forum and saw peoples' cats using the toilet automatically. Our new cat, about 2 years old (guessing) seems to acclimate to new things well. We're hoping this works, but I agree that it seems unnatural for a cat to do this.
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Old 06-08-2009, 01:57 PM
 
Location: California
10,090 posts, read 42,326,225 times
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Anything Purina is "garbage"! Just take a look at the ingredients! Nothing but fillers. A better food would help his digestive tract greatly...may cost more up front, but in the end, he will not be eating as much and you will have a healthier cat in the long run. There are many threads running, do a search, on healthy foods to feed your cat..

Keep us posted on the toilet training!


PS....Here is one helpful link: http://www.catinfo.org/
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Old 06-08-2009, 02:18 PM
 
Location: Mostly in my head
19,855 posts, read 65,677,629 times
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I had a male who taught himself to use the toilet and I didn't know why it was so smelly in the bathroom until I caught him in the act. I agree that poor quality food is the likely culprit but has he seen the vet, just to be sure?
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Old 06-09-2009, 12:22 AM
 
Location: Maryland
1,667 posts, read 9,365,285 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShelbyGirl1 View Post
...Here is one helpful link: Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi
Wow! That's a lot of information. "Mr. Henry Jose Cuervo" doesn't use his scratch post either and his claws are getting caught in everything. Bet he didn't plan on having to learn new things when he got adopted. I hadn't planned on this either, but thanks so much, so far, for all this help. The catbox is within 10 feet of the toilet now so, any day now... We really didn't need to sneak it through the house as we don't need "Clorox" the "Tidy Cat" bloodhound to find it, you know. I'll let you know how he does.
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Old 06-10-2009, 08:34 AM
 
Location: Summerville, SC
1,149 posts, read 4,198,936 times
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I'm curious to see how your cat does, ESFP. I think I feed my cat a healthy food (California Natural), but she has a sensitive stomach at best, and her old litter box (self cleaning with crystals) stank to high heaven hours after we replaced the litter. We considered toilet training her, but my cat believes she is a dog, and prefers to *drink* out of the toilet - good human training for us to always keep the lid down now!

The only thing that ended up helping was dropping money on a Cat Genie. Absolutely love the thing, completely worth the money for us... I just wish she didn't have loose stools half the time she uses it. I manually scoop the poo into the "hopper" because the rake would probably make a stinky mess of things, but I really don't mind since the area smells completely clean after I run the wash cycle. Worth it not to smell cat pee, ever!

That said, I bet toilet training would definitely help your issue! Now if we could only teach them how to flush, haha!
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Old 06-10-2009, 06:59 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,145 posts, read 56,858,112 times
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The Toilet Trained Cat - Toilet Training System for Your Cat

Charles Mingus wrote an article about toilet training his cat "nightlife"

Mingus: Charles Mingus Cat Toilet Training Program

Charles Mingus' cat learned to flush on his own, having been taught to use the loo by Charles. Cats are pretty smart, if I don't give "Mr. Biggs" enough water in his bowl, he will open the bathroom tap. Unfortunately he never re-closes that tap...
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Old 06-11-2009, 05:16 AM
 
1,121 posts, read 3,656,834 times
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I have had 6 cats who lived to be 20-25 years old. All of them ate Purina Cat Chow, Friskies canned food and boiled chicken a couple of times a week. I have always used Johnny Cat multiple cats for the cat boxes, but taught my cats to also venture outside. I think what has worked for me is that I have one more box in my home than there are cats. I currently have two male cats, a 16 year old and a 23 year old. In one location there are two boxes. They urinate in one and poop in the other. This makes cleanup a lot easier. The other box is in another location near the door and and is used for both in the middle of the night when no one is there to open the door. The younger cat sometimes goes out at night so doesn't use the boxes as much. There is never any cat box odor in my house with the Johnny cat.
Sometimes, cats do not like the smell or underfoot feel of certain litters. As a result they will reject them and refuse to bury their waste or will stand in the box and eliminate on the floor.
I found this particularly true of clumping litters. It could be that my older cats did not like them due to not being familiar with them. But, cats are individuals and you need to figure out their needs. My cats hate Tidy Cat. and all clumping litters.
It is very important to scoop your box every day and empty and rinse boxes with urine as soon as you see wet spots appear which is approximately at lease once every 4-5 days. Cats don't like to get their feet wet. They also don't like foreign scents. You should never clean your cat boxes with scented cleaners like Pine Sol or Lysol. Take them outside where the hose is and use a couple of tablespoons of bleach or vinegar and scrub them with a toilet brush and a lot of water instead.
Also the size of the box and the depth of the litter is very important. I have two big cats and so I have 3 big boxes that require about 20 lbs of litter per week to refresh or refull all of them.

Last edited by yukiko11; 06-11-2009 at 05:38 AM..
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Old 06-11-2009, 09:26 AM
 
Location: California
10,090 posts, read 42,326,225 times
Reputation: 22173
Quote:
Originally Posted by yukiko11 View Post
I have had 6 cats who lived to be 20-25 years old. All of them ate Purina Cat Chow, Friskies canned food and boiled chicken a couple of times a week. I have always used Johnny Cat multiple cats for the cat boxes, but taught my cats to also venture outside. I think what has worked for me is that I have one more box in my home than there are cats. I currently have two male cats, a 16 year old and a 23 year old. In one location there are two boxes. They urinate in one and poop in the other. This makes cleanup a lot easier. The other box is in another location near the door and and is used for both in the middle of the night when no one is there to open the door. The younger cat sometimes goes out at night so doesn't use the boxes as much. There is never any cat box odor in my house with the Johnny cat.
Sometimes, cats do not like the smell or underfoot feel of certain litters. As a result they will reject them and refuse to bury their waste or will stand in the box and eliminate on the floor.
I found this particularly true of clumping litters. It could be that my older cats did not like them due to not being familiar with them. But, cats are individuals and you need to figure out their needs. My cats hate Tidy Cat. and all clumping litters.
It is very important to scoop your box every day and empty and rinse boxes with urine as soon as you see wet spots appear which is approximately at lease once every 4-5 days. Cats don't like to get their feet wet. They also don't like foreign scents. You should never clean your cat boxes with scented cleaners like Pine Sol or Lysol. Take them outside where the hose is and use a couple of tablespoons of bleach or vinegar and scrub them with a toilet brush and a lot of water instead.
Also the size of the box and the depth of the litter is very important. I have two big cats and so I have 3 big boxes that require about 20 lbs of litter per week to refresh or refull all of them.
She was speaking of teaching the cat to literally use the toilet...not litter boxs So, why this is all helpful information, it does not pertain to her question.
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