Is it possible to toilet train a cat? Yes, but you won’t be able to do it overnight. As with any animal training, it’s going to take time and consistency.

First of all, what are the reasons anyone would even want to train their cat to use the toilet?  Well, replacing the cat litter is going to add convenience to your life as well as save you money. You will no longer have to clean up after your cat (except to flush, unless you can teach him that too!) and your wallet will be a bit fatter from not having to buy litter regularly.

Sound good? Ok, so how do yuo go about actually convincing your cat to use the toilet?

First of all, you’re not going to just throw him on the toilet and see what happens. You’re going to want to ease him into things.

Step one will be to move his litter box near the toilet if it isn’t already. Give him at least a week or two to get used to that change. Cats aren’t big fans of change as it is, so you don’t want to rush him into this.

The next thing you want to do is raise the litter box up closer to the height of the toilet. You can use a pile of books or a small sturdy box that is an ideal size. You might want to even secure the litter box with tape or some other means so that the cat doesn’t knock it over when jumping in and out or kicking the litter around.

After keeping the litter box around the same height as the toilet for a few weeks, now you’re going to get him to move on over to the human toilet. Put a low pan with litter inside on top of the toilet and remove the original litter box. Keep doing that for a while and then remove it, keeping the seat up of course.

This step by step progress is the best way to train your cat to use the toilet instead of the litter box. It’s best if he is eased into it by using the steps above.

Photo: Wikipedia

Cats like to be clean and can be seen grooming themselves on a regular basis with their tongue. As a result of bathing themselves with their mouths, sometimes their fur will end up being ingested. Typically, this is pretty harmless, but occasionally, it a hairball can get stuck in the cat’s intestines and form a blockage that can lead to more complications. This is why it is important, and a natural reaction, for cats to cough up hairballs.

If you are concerned about your cat coughing up hairballs, there are a few ways that you can help prevent it from happening, or at least decrease the chances of it recurring often.

• Regular Grooming
  If you can make it a point to groom your cat daily and brush away the bulk of the loose hair, then less hair will end up in your cat’s stomach and you will drastically decrease the chances of your cat ingesting and coughing up hairballs.
• Hairball Diet
  Since coughing up hairballs is a very common issue for cats, there are cat food brands that offer special formulated cat food designed specifically to prevent hairballs. Be sure that the one you choose has ample nutrients though.
• High Fiber Treat
  You can try giving your cat a high fiber treat such as canned pumpkin to prevent him or her from coughing up hairballs.
• Gel Or Butter
  A couple other common remedies is to give your cat a little butter a couple times a week or sometimes a little petroleum-based gel.

It’s important to consult your vet before making any changes to your cat’s diet. Your vet may also have detailed specifics on how to introduce any changes that you might be making.