Yes, you heard that right – train your Bengal cat to use the toilet just like you! While this approach comes with drawbacks, considering the pros versus cons might lead you to believe it's the way to go!
The obvious pros that come to mind include not dealing with litter and, consequently, eliminating the entire litter box smell situation. Other advantages stack up, such as saving money and avoiding the hassle of buying and handling heavy litter. Beyond the apparent benefits, many may not realize that the largest advantage of having a toilet-trained Bengal is the freedom it affords you. No more days spent hunched over, digging around for excrement like a feces archaeologist. Come on, it's 2020 – shouldn't pets be using the toilet like us?
Okay, that sounds amazing, so why isn’t this a thing? Well, two significant factors contribute to keeping cats in the litter box. Firstly, it's not easy and can take some time. Convincing your Bengal to “drop it like it's hot” in the toilet requires commitment—plan on a few weeks to a couple of months of routine dedication. Another thing to prepare for is the mess. There will be good days and bad days, so be ready to deal with litter everywhere and the occasional miss that makes it down to the floor. Trust me, it's worth it; just stick it out!
Considerations include leaving the toilet seat lid up and flushing the toilet when you can get around to it. We recommend NOT training your Bengal to flush the toilet. Yes, they can learn to do it, but they don't understand why and may decide to flush the toilet several times just because they like it. So, think twice about that step, haha! Another consideration is keeping a rag and sanitizer handy to wipe the seat before use if your Bengals have been stepping on it.
Toilet Training with the Citi Kitty for Bengals
We tried a few different tactics that didn’t seem to work until we stumbled upon CitiKitty while watching Shark Tank. We thought, 'hey, that might just work,' so we ordered one.
To sum it up, it totally worked; we had Bengal cats using the toilet in about three weeks. However, when one of our queens had a litter, we had to put down a litter box for the babies, and the adults reverted right back to it. So, it can be done, and during that stretch without litter boxes, life was glorious as a cat owner. We definitely recommend it for someone who only has pet cats and is not breeding.
CitiKitty employs a simple concept that begins by placing a litter tray on your toilet seat and gradually reducing rings from the center until the ring matches the size of the toilet seat opening. Initially, your Bengal will likely think, 'Okay, my litter box is up high now,' and they will use it as such. As you break away the first ring, they may still use it, occasionally hitting the hole. However, by the time you're on the third or fourth ring, they start to get the idea.
Our Bengals Use Worlds Best Cat Litter
Be advised, if you plan on attempting this, you will need to use
flushable litter. Please DO NOT use regular litter, as it is not intended to go through your plumbing system. So, be sure to get some flushable litter; here is our favorite choice.
World's Best worked great for us and would be our recommendation. We have personally used Cat's Pride, sWheat and World's Best. They all did the job but World's Best proved itself to be more efficient with the odor.
So if you hate litter, and the smell of a litter box then we highly recommend trying out the CitiKitty with World's Best Cat Litter.