I waited 5 days from when the stool (the foot stool, not the cat stool!) was removed to punching out the first hole in the CitiKitty cat toilet training tray. I figured that conceptually it was a big leap to go from using a step stool to leaping onto the toilet. While the hole in the tray is tiny, I think it’s another big conceptual leap for Furball to see a hole in the tray. He can now see the toilet through the hole, which must be somewhat freaky for a cat.
I needed to use a box cutter to punch out the hole. There are little perforations to guide you to punch out the hole, but without a knife, I’d say it’s almost impossible. That tray is pretty tough. Make sure you use a knife that only touches things that you wouldn’t mind if they came into contact with cat litter. My attempt to use a tissue and not touch the tray with my bare fingers was a resounding failure. You’ve got to get hands-on to punch out the tray. Next time, I think I should fish out some rubber gloves, but I’ve got to balance that against needing dexterity to cut the tray while handling a sharp knife.
I can see now why some people complained on Amazon that it was very difficult to cut the rings smaller if your cat needed to progress more slowly. On the other hand, you know the tray is sturdy and your cat isn’t going to fall through.
As I’ve been saying throughout this process, go slower than slow. Fortunately we are blessed with a spare washroom. It would be a pain if that was our only toilet and I had to keep taking the tray out and washing down the toilet seat each time I needed to go. On the other hand, it’s a much bigger pain to clean cat urine and feces from the floor, carpet, wall, your bed, etc.
It’s 11:36 am and I’m now waiting to see what will happen when Furball goes to use his “box”.
3 Hours Later in the Day
Furball stood on his hind legs with his front paws on the toilet seat, peering in at the tray. As predicted, the hole really freaked him out. Several minutes later, he peed in the tray!
30 Minutes Later
First accident. Furball dug open the litter bag in the bathroom and pooped inside. I admired his creativity. He really tried to do the right thing. I cleaned up the mess and left the tray as is. The CitiKitty instructions advise to either leave the tray at the same step or go back a step. Since I just started, I don’t really have any steps to go back to.