The CitiKitty is supposed to get your cat to use the toilet, much like Mr. Jinx in Meet the Parents. If you can wrap your head around the idea, it’s something that can be a cleaner way for your cat to do their business for everyone involved. But how well has it worked so far for those that have tried it?
Overview
Having a toilet trained cat might sound like a good idea at first, the draw of a litter box-free home is hard to resist. But the process of training your cat to use the toilet can be a tricky one, and not exactly accident-free. Some owners might have the patience for it, and it’s possible to train your cat to use the toilet without having to buy a product like this, but the idea here is to make it easy and natural for your cat so it can happen more quickly, and with fewer “misses”.
The Claim
They say you can save over $2000 by not having to buy litter anymore. They are likely calculating the cost over the lifetime of your cat. They also say you’ll be able to get rid of your litter box when they’re fully trained. They say it doesn’t matter how old your cat is, they can still learn to use this, and that it has worked for thousands of cats. They claim that it fits all different toilet sizes, and that if you have more than one cat you can train them both simultaneously.
The Hype
The creator of this cat potty trainer was on the television show Shark Tank looking for a $100,000 investment back in 2011. She’s also been written up in newspapers and featured on other TV shows. Before the Shark Tank episode she had managed to sell 40,000 units from the website, which is pretty impressive for a start-up. A lot of that buzz has died down in the last few years, and they haven’t had any press releases for some time now, relying more on positive word of mouth to get the job done.
The Cost
The CitiKitty kit can be found for less than $30, either at the official site or at Amazon. It’s far less than the Litter Kwitter, which is sold for $50. The two share a lot of common features, so many cat owners would opt for the CitiKitty first for the low price to see if it’s something that will work for their cat. They only accept unopened unused products for returns, so there’s no guarantee in place if it doesn’t work for your cat.
The Commitment
You’ll have to commit to the training on this, as it’s not an instant process. You’ll also have to get used to the idea of sharing your toilet seat with your cat. If you don’t like the thought of getting up close and personal with your cat while it’s learning to use this, you might want to opt for an automatic litter box instead.
Evaluation
The CitiKitty concept is a solid one, initially giving your cat a good-sized litter tray, and then gradually removing the center until they’re hovering over the toilet. It addresses several issues that cats have at first, namely not wanting to perch themselves on the toilet seat in order to go. They’ll also gradually be weaned from wanting to scratch and dig at the litter, an instinct they have that gets them to use the litter box in the first place.
There’s also the Litter Kwitter system that says it was the original toilet training system for cats. Some users of CitiKitty have complained about the quality of the plastic used, and point to Litter Kwitter as a better-made product. The two systems are very similar in design and function, and both start off with a full litter tray and take away rings until the cat doesn’t need a support system anymore. Both have videos showing cats successfully using the toilet without any trays, the idea being that they learned to do so by using the kit.
Even though there are videos showing cats successfully using the toilet, and assuming for a minute that they did learn to do it with the CitiKitty, there are sure to be some videos in existence that show a cat not wanting to use it. More impressive than seeing the end result are the videos out there of the actual process, which show a cat’s willingness to use the practice trays that get you to the goal. Here’s a video we found of a cat using the system for just the second time, so you can get a better idea of what it will be like to do the actual training.
Final CitiKitty Review
The CitiKitty system is getting our Solid Try rating, but be aware that this is still going to involve some effort and persistence on your part, and even then it still might not work out for you. The reviews are mixed, but this is not surprising, as each cat is different, and each owner is too. Some owners will have a better intuition than others as to how to interpret their cat’s behavior, and give them the proper guidance to use this system properly. Some cats might have a defiant personality and not take to it at all.
But it’s proven than when things line up nicely it can work, and there are those that are now without a litter box.
Our Recommendation
If you’re serious about getting your cat to use the toilet, it’s a matter of persevering until they get it. This may involve trying different products, reading books on the subject, and visiting forums online to get tips from other cat owners that have been successful.
So I gave the Citikitty a good try. My year old cat did learn to use the toilet with the insert but the closer we got to no litter the harder it was. He would hold on when he obviously had to go. I realized I was stressing the poor cat out. He tried. He had a few accidents but prior to this process he was absolutely clean. Also I wonder what it was doing to his urinary tract and his bowels. I spent weeks on this and then said it’s not for us. He’s much happier.
Ps. He said “I’ll use your toilet if you’ll use my kitty litter”. 😳
I have been working on getting my 7 month old kitty to potty train for about 2 months now. The litter started in the basement so I had to gradually move it up to the bathroom to even get started. Since we started soley using the toilet litter box she has had maybe 10 accidents total that generally happened when I would remove a ring and progress the process. Overall, she pretty regularly uses the potty, even with my 2 toddlers right next to her. Not having to smell or scoop litter has been a great experience. Still getting used to walking in on the cat on the toilet but so far so good.
This is a really funny product. My brother was considering training his cat to use the toilet and this would be a good way to go about it. It has a good premise because it makes the process gradual and natural for a cat, because they can still use the litter for a little while until they’re comfortable.
I can see some draws to teaching a cat to use the toilet. You don’t need to use a litter box or spend money on the litter, but I’m not sure if avoiding that is worth the possible messes you might find on your toilet seat. Maybe if the cat can really teach your cat to use it really well, you won’t find a mess on your toilet seat. But to me, I’d rather clean a litter box than wake up in the morning to kitty waste on my toilet seat when I have to go to the bathroom. But if you think it’s worth it, then this product seems like a good way to go.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to work for every cat, but I think it’s still worth a try. Sure it’s thirty bucks out of my pocket if it doesn’t work, but what if it does? Forget the money savings and just think about the convenience and also not having to deal with the smell around the house. Not that the litter box smells much, but keeping it in the bathroom would surely be more hygienic.