Still going strong!

So we have been out of town a lot the past month and did not want to mess what we had going with Popes (which has been really good!). So now we aren't leaving her again, Adam decided it was time to try the next stage. The green stage!!

I'm a little nervous about there being so little there, but Adam thinks she can do it. I guess I do too, or we wouldn't be here. :)

It's WORKING!

So, it's been a while since I've updated. Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure that I didn't update when nothing new was going on! (I don't want to waste your time!) Popes was doing great with the litter kwitter at the last pictured stage: one hole in the middle about the size of a half dollar. Adam was feeling ambitious and he thought Popes would be ok if we switched to the Amber stage without any cardboard under it to make the hole smaller. The hole is this big : click here

I was really nervous because the last time we put that amber stage on, Popes refused to go to the bathroom for over 35 hours. We made the switch and waited and waited. It was over 24 hours and she still hadn't gone. Then one afternoon, we hear her scratching a LOT. You know, it's that 'just went potty' scratch. We were excited, but when I went into the bathroom, it looked like she just scratched all the litter down the hole. We weren't sure if she actually used it! I think she did. Then later, she actually pooped in it! I wasn't home, but Adam was and he said some of it went down the hole into the toilet and some didn't. Awesome!!

This was the first time that I actually thought, "This is actually going to work!! Our cat is going to be using the toilet and we'll never have to buy or scoop litter again!"

The next day, she pooped again! Adam was worried that she hadn't peed in a while (like days). So times like that, we follow her around the apartment saying, "You have to pee don't you? C'mon Popes, go! I know you have to!" haha. Then yesterday, I was in the kitchen and Adam in the living room says, "She's peeing!" He could tell because he HEARD it. Because she was totally peeing down the hole, in the toilet!!

Oh I'm so proud! Pretty soon, we're going to have the COOLEST cat on the block. ;)

At this stage, Popes is learning:

• Superior balance.
• to not be afraid of the water

It continues

She's been using it with the small hold for about 2 weeks. So it's time to change it up!

AND here we go. A bigger hole.

Hope she still uses it! :)

Amber Stage/Cardboard Method Update

Well, it's been a while since we've had an update. 

Popes, again, decided she was not going to use the amber stage. This time, we waited about 38 hours. She didn't go at all. It was a battle of stubbornness, and we won! She finally used it! She tried to kick all the litter over the small hole and was partially successful. I had to continue to push the litter down the hole so it wouldn't cover it up. 

For a while, she'd only use it once a day and she'd poop in it less, bu she has been using it more regularly now and has accepted the fact that the hole is there! Once she gets more comfortable we are going to have to cut some new cardboard and make the hole a little bigger. On the litter kwitter forum, where I got the idea to use the cardboard method, the person said it only took days to get from a small hole to the regular amber ring's hole, but this is taking us a lot longer. Every reviewer who I've read has said that this training process can take a long time and to be patient. Sometimes when people have switched too soon, it's had adverse effects. We want to avoid that! So we are going very slow, especially in this case because I know how much Popes distrusts that hole being there! 

In other news, Popes has been throwing up her food... since we got her. We just decided to get a good-for-her quality kind of cat food so we went with Wellness, Complete Health. It's been about 2 weeks since we made the transition and we came home from church today to find she'd puked up this food too! I don't know what the reason is and I don't know what to do about it! Could it be the treats? Temptations? Could it be the small amount of Swheat  litter she nibbles? I don't think there's anything else that she eats, and the puke is never anything but food. 

She does have seasonal allergies to the out-doors (we think). Sometimes when we leave the windows open, her eyes get red and goopy/itchy for about 24 hours. Could that have something to do with her stomach?

I don't know what to do! Any suggestions?

Amber stage take 2

  Alright! We're trying this again. First tho, arts and crafts:

 

Now I've switched out the red for amber. The hole is much smaller this time!

Cardboard box under there.... but we're going to cover it up with litter... don't tell Popes!!

 

I am hoping this works. So far, all she has done is eat the litter. Big surprise. I just pray that she uses it this time instead of holding it for hours!

First reactions:

*sigh* I know she knows it's different, but I hope she doesn't think it's too drastic of a change this time. I know she wants to be a good girl... she's just stubborn! :)

And just look at this overachiever:

Man, once she gets over the fact that there's a hole... she's going to be so great at balancing!!

Hole-y Moly!!

Well, we have been having quite the time over here and I am behind, so where to start?


Since Popes has been doing so great with the first stage on the toilet, we figured it was time to move up to the AMBER stage! As you can see from the picture, there's quite a big hole in it. The DVD we watched informed us that Popes would be very interested in the hold and may even stick her head and paws through in order to investigate the water. And that she did:

NOW not only was she eating her litter, but she was drinking the water from the toilet as well!

Fantastic.


We patiently waited for her to use this litter box with the giant hole in it, I mean, that's how she must have felt about it... so we waited.... and waited..... and waited. .... Nothing. After 24 hours, I started to get worried. I know she doesn't poop every day (once a day or less) but she hadn't peed either!! We tried to encourage her. We sat with her in the bathroom, gave her a treat while she was sitting on it, petted her, and talked to her. Still, she did nothing but look in the hole and sit on the edge. It's as if she was saying "You expect me to what now?"


Popes was not having it. I was getting worried about her more and more as time passed. When I went to bed last night, it had been around 34 hours and still she hadn't gone. Adam was determined not to switch back to the red stage, so he sat in there with her for quite some time. She didn't end up going, but she sure did cry a lot! I think at one point her whine woke me up. Adam told me he put the red stage back on the toilet. I asked if she used it and he said yep! This morning when I got up, I saw that she had used it a lot (still back on the red stage) so I guess that's how it's going to stay for a little while longer. Amber stage try number 1: fail. 


SO now we are on our way out of town for a couple days, but this isn't over! I've read on the litter kwitter forums tips on transitioning to the amber stage. There's this. (Just scroll to the bottom where all the pictures are.) I think we should try it because it'll be less drastic... so gradual that maybe Popes won't even notice! Haha... yeah right. 
But that's the next step for the Gaspars. 
'Til then.

That was easy!!

SO, we put the litter on the toilet last night and I wake up at 7:15 this morning to find that Popes already pooped in it! What an overachiever. :)

Phase 2!

Alright! Here we go! The Litter Kwitter is ON the toilet! Popes has yet to use it, but I have faith that she will. Of course with this change, she started to nibble at the litter again... I wonder what that's about. Anyway... This is what it looks like:

She likes going in the cubby-hole in the wall and sleeping on the towels. Jumping up there requires her to stand on the toilet first. Now... since the nail polish fiasco, she hasn't been up there (I think she might have gotten frightened when she, the towels, and everything else came crashing down) but I just saw her looking under the curtain, so I know she's thinking about it. We'll see if she does jump up there, but I just hope she doesn't get this litter everywhere in doing so!

Here is a picture I took when I saw her sitting on the toilet: (never a missed opportunity)

 

Hey Popes, you're doin it wrong.

What she's learning at this stage:

• To climb before she goes
• This requires balance

I'll let you know tomorrow or Thursday how it's going!

Week 2 (nibbles and scratches)

So, week 2 and Popes is still eating her litter. It makes me wonder if she always did but the clay litter made her throw up and this newer wheat litter doesn't. She hasn't thrown up since we started this! Just a theory.

Speaking of wheat litter, I wanted to talk about the litter we're using. It's called Swheat Scoop and it's all natural, made from wheat and certified flush-able. (And if your cat eats it, it won't make them sick!) I've been impressed by this litter since we started using it. Some of you may remember when we tried Feline Pine. It wasn't the pellet kind, it was pretty much like saw dust. Popes kicked it everywhere and it spread throughout the whole apartment. We could never seem to get it all cleaned up. It was awful, so we quit using that right away. (We still have more than half the box if anyone wants it!)

We also tried Worlds best cat liter and I was not happy with it. For as much as it boasts that it covers the smell, I thought it smelled terrible. We made it through the bag and then switched back to Tidy Cats.

Since we decided to potty train, we knew we'd need something that was flush-able. I found Swheat Scoop at Target and decided to try it. What I'm most impressed by is probably the lack of smell. It doesn't smell like perfume, but it covers up the bad smells so well! I highly recommend it!

In other news, Popes is still using the litter kwitter on the floor next to the toilet. It's going well! Adam mentioned putting it up on the toilet soon, but I don't want to rush it. I'm nervous we'll ruin what we've got going so far. I don't think she's happy with the new set-up, but she's getting used to it and I'd prefer to wait a little longer before we change anything. Sometime probably next week we might switch it up. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Until then, here's a picture of Pepopes scratching: 

Week One

We purchased the "litter kwitter" a while back but just started using it Tuesday. All I can say is, I wish I knew what my cat's habits were before we changed her litter box because now I'm paying such close attention without knowing what "normal" is for her! 

Anyway, the first day, Adam took her old litter box outside and cleaned up the corner of the dining room where it was kept. He then put the litter kwitter, with the red stage, on the floor in the bathroom and filled it with litter. The first thing Pope did was try to eat her litter! This was not good because we don't want to shoo her away from it when it's a place she needs to be comfortable going! Later that day (and I think she waited until the last possible moment) she finally peed in it for the first time. I was sitting in the bathroom on the edge of the tub reading a book (again, so she'd feel comfortable in there) and she came in and used it. This was so exciting because now I knew, 'she understands what it's for!' She received much praise and treats and I messaged Adam to tell him the good news. 

All night we held our breath waiting for her to poop in it. I had read a review for the kwitter that said the guy's cat got really sick because he refused to poop in it and he didn't go #2 for days! Adam and I were constantly saying, "Pope! Did you poop yet??", "Go poop, I know you have to!", "Don't make yourself sick!". But she still did not. The next day when I was getting ready for work, I woke Adam up to ask him if she pooped the night before, after I went to bed. He answered no and I was disappointed. The whole morning I'd see her sitting there staring at the new contraption and doing nothing. I went to work and when I came home an hour and a half later, she had pooped!! Hooray! Finally I knew she wasn't going to make herself sick by holding it in!! What a relief that was. Throughout the day she had used it to pee a few more times and I gave her as much praise and treats as seemed necessary. 

The next day I got a little nervous again when over 24 hours had gone by and she hadn't pooped. Later in the afternoon I was talking to Adam on the phone (around 5pm) and he informed me she had pooped a second time. Yay!! I was so happy to hear that! 

I feel like she is slowly getting used to it. She's a good girl, so no accidents, but I don't think she's happy about it. We are going to leave this set up for at least 2 weeks and if we feel she's ready for another change, it's going on the toilet! The big white part clips right on, so it's a pretty easy set-up.

This is what it currently looks like:

As you can tell it's still a little messy with the mat. We're trying to keep it clean in there, but the mat is another familiar thing to her (her old litter box sat on it) so we thought it'd be a good idea for this first stage. AND the whole point of training her is that we eventually won't need ANY litter and it'll be the most cleanliest ever. :)

What she's learning at this stage:

• Going in a different room
• Going in a different litter box
• Having less litter

I never thought I would be so excited about my cat's poops, but here I am!!