Shandong Lion Cat

　　To prevent cats from urinating and defecating all over the house, we usually train them to use a fixed spot, setting up a cat toilet or having them use the household toilet seat. After long training, we happily watch cats proficiently use the toilet seat by themselves, with no more urine or feces scattered around. But have we ever thought about whether this is really good?

　　In fact, many cats imitate humans by standing on the toilet to go, and some owners deliberately train this. There are even related training tools sold on the market.

　　So what are the benefits of training cats to use the toilet seat? First, of course, it's cleanliness in the home. Owners do not want to see their house smelling bad from cat urine and feces. Secondly, if you're too lazy to buy a special cat litter box, find it troublesome, or think it's expensive, then directly guiding your cat to use the toilet seat is a good choice. Of course, you can also make a homemade cat toilet yourself. If you are not confident about your skills or can’t find a method, then using the toilet is also an option. Lastly, it can obviously show your good guidance skills and you can brag in front of others: "Look, my cat can use the human toilet by itself."

　　However, this is not actually a behavior worth encouraging. When cats abandon the litter box and replace it with the toilet seat, it brings potential risks. Urine is a way for us to observe a cat’s health; we can check color and volume. Yet the problem is not just observation of urine volume — if the cat only recognizes the toilet seat and not the litter box, what if it gets old, with joint degeneration and cannot jump up? Or if it needs hospitalization or stays elsewhere, it will cause significant problems.

　　So the main reason to oppose letting cats use the toilet seat is that, unlike the litter box, toilets or washbasins are higher up and cats must jump up to use them. If one day the cat ages and its legs and joints deteriorate, it might not be able to do this easily anymore, causing lots of trouble. Mildly, it would urinate or defecate carelessly at home; severely, it might cause urine retention or even fatal harm. Older cats (over 6 years) are like humans: the older they get, the less agile they are, the worse their adaptability, and the harder to train. Also, cats trained from a young age to use the toilet will eventually decrease in balance and jumping ability as they age. You should be considerate and let them return to using the litter box (similarly, if the cat is sick or weak, please be considerate).

　　Furthermore, in case of unavoidable situations like hospitalization or staying elsewhere, it’s impossible to move the toilet seat. If the cat has long stopped using the litter box and the habit cannot be quickly changed, this will cause many troubles.

　　Additionally, toilet training cats is not an easy process. If you are a cat parent who cannot bear to see your cat suffer a bit, this may not be suitable. Because during training, you might have to force the cat to accept something it dislikes. The whole training is gradually teaching the cat to accept something it might not immediately accept — using the toilet — but one tries to keep this pressure within what the cat can tolerate.

　　Training older cats to use the toilet might cause them too much psychological stress. Cats affected by illness or injury with impaired movement and balance cannot easily balance on the toilet seat, making training very difficult. Therefore, if possible, it’s better to let cats use the litter box.(Source：PetsZone)