If you are a cat person you will undoubtedly agree that our cats are our tiny fur children—they are the little whiskered saints with silken paws that can do no wrong (except when they foul up the litter box). Nobody likes to deal with kitty litter, and since the top professional sewage backup New Jersey companies warn that toilet plumbing systems are extremely fragile, we tend to regard the toilet as being practical for human use only. But did you know there is a way to safely train your cat to use the “porcelain sitter” so that your pipes are not jeopardized? Furthermore with a little hard work you can train your cat to do his business on the toilet and say goodbye to cat litter stench forever!

How can a Cat Cause Sewage Backup?

You have likely spied your cat knocking things off the table, mantle, and counter tops just for the sake of his desire to watch random objects fall to the floor. This is just something most cats like to do and it is why cat owners tend to keep their breakables under lock and key. Before you start taking the steps to toilet-train your pussy cat, be sure all objects are removed from the toilet area. All it takes is your cat knocking a loofa into the toilet and flushing it, and you will find yourself making an emergency phone call to a 24/7 water damage specialist in no time!

Step One: Find a System

When it comes to toilet-training your cat you must first do some research and find the best solution to meet yours and kitty’s needs. If you want to avoid the toilet all together you can invest in the Cat Genie—a litter-free cat toilet that hooks up to your water line and that flushes the waste out of the home via your plumbing system. However, this system is bulky and is generally attached to the pipework in your laundry room and many people prefer keeping their laundry room spotlessly clean.

The alternative and more popular option would be to train the cat to actually use the toilet itself and flush upon finishing. The most popular potty-training device for cats is the Citi Kitty Cat Toilet Training Kit—an inexpensive contraption that has multiple sized rings that hold cat litter and fit over the toilet. As kitty becomes accustomed to using the “litter box” on the toilet, start gradually removing rings until there are none left and he is perched on the seat like a little whiskered gentleman.

Step 2: Watch for Litter Hazards

Although the Citi Kitty Toilet Training Kit requires the use of cat litter in the early stages of teaching your puss how to use the toilet, litter is not intended to be flushed. Cat litter is a dangerous product to flush down toilets, so after removing a few rings watch your cat and make sure he isn’t pushing litter into the toilet. Most cat litters are designed to clump upon contact with moisture, and clumping can cause your pipes to clog. Furthermore, most litter contains sodium bentonite—a natural clay-like substance that swells when it gets wet, even in loose minimal amounts.  All it takes is for a few grains of litter to get stuck to the inside of your pipes one day, with more to follow, and eventually you will get a wall of litter buildup that can create pressure in your plumbing and result in a massive pipe burst.

But What if Kitty Keeps Trying to Flush Litter?

Never spank kitty; instead use a water gun to correct such behavior. However, if he persists to push the litter into the toilet, you must abandon the training and go back to the familiar old litter box. Some cats just aren’t trainable on the system, while others are. And you don’t want to tolerate any amounts of litter in your toilet bowl otherwise a blocked pipe could cause a small, unnoticeable leak somewhere and in time you could develop a black mold spore problem and require an immediate mold inspection to ensure you and kitty are safe.

Protect Your Plumbing

Your plumbing system keeps your home functional and healthy. All the top sewage backup New Jersey companies say you will want to protect it from becoming compromised, even from clumps of cat litter. Continuously changing a cat box is never fun so it makes total sense to train your cat to use the loo. However, if he starts kicking litter into the bowl and shows no sign of curving his behavior, abandon the toilet-training; a litter box-free zone isn’t worth the risk of an expensive plumbing disaster.