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Old December 18th, 2011, 10:42 AM
smartskittles smartskittles is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: wisconsin
Posts: 1
Training cat to go to bathroom outside

This is my first post and my first cat I have ever tried potty training. I have trained cats to play fetch, stop scratching and biting in the past. This is my 5th indoor/outdoor cat. This cat turned up as a stray and decided she wanted to live with us. She spent the first month camped out on our covered front porch in early spring. We fed her and she was very hungry and didn't seem like she was anyone's pet. We began letting her in the house and she became comfortable. After a couple of months I called around and found a clinic that would spay friendly strays. Make a long story short we ended up with a cat. A cat that is as comfortable outside as inside. She was still sleeping outside so we never got a litterbox. I saw that my friend trained her dog to ring a bell to go outside. So I put three small bells that hung down 12 inches on our door handle. Then everytime she would go stand by the door I would pick up her paw and ring the bell. Then I would pet her and say good Skittle. It took a couple of months for her to start doing it herself. It was random. I wouldn't let her out until she rang the bell. If she whined for a little bit I would ignore that and point at the bell. Eventually she started ringing the bell each time. She was6 month old before I started training her. She loves being outside and catching mice. I don't think there is anything wrong with training your cat if they are capable. And I also think it is good to spend time working with them like people do with their dogs. They are very smart animals. I also believe that if you have the acreage, cats are in their natural environment being able to go outside. And who would want to poop in a box if they didn't have too? We have a lot of sand by our house and she love rolling in it and has her areas she likes to use as bathrooms. It is amazing how clean she is and how clean our house stays. So I say ... give training a try and whether it is the toilet or outside, your cat can learn if you have the time to teach.

Last edited by smartskittles; December 18th, 2011 at 10:45 AM. Reason: typo
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