Toilet training a cat *update*

With children, I highly recommend declawing the cat, speaking from personal experience. When I was 9 or 10, my sister and I were cleaning the house, and while we were vacuuming, we noticed one of our cats curled up in the corner shaking and hissing. We shut the vacuum off, and crossed the room, where I picked up the cat. He freaked out and clawed my arm and hand. I bled for 20 minutes or more and the claw marks were about 1/4 inch deep, still have the scars today. A year or so later, we got another cat and when I took her to school, she climbed up my chest and shoulder, ended up clawing me in the chin and lip. I had a fat lip for over a week! So yes, declawing the cat is the best idea when you have children around. As for toilet training, I'm not sure how to go about that. I have heard somewhere that someone put a litterbox under the toilet seat and trained the cat to use it there. Then they eventually took the litterbox out and apparently the cat kept using the toilet. Like I said, not sure if that actually works or not.

We have several cats (anyone want a kitten, we still have one left from the pregnant cat we rescued!!) so I have a lot of experience on the subject, haha. I have never tried to toilet train a cat, but I will mention that litter boxes aren't such a bad thing as long as you keep them clean!! If you get in the habit of scooping the litter two times/day, it will only take you 30 seconds each time. I buy those little blue bags from the baby section at WalMart and place them by the litter box. That way I can scoop the waste right into the blue bag, tie the bag and throw it in the trash.
As far as declawing the cat, personally I have all of my cats spayed/neutered and declawed. I LOVE my cats and take excellent care of them, but simply could not handle the destruction from their nails!! However, if you choose not to declaw the kitten, there are A LOT of products available at local pet stores to help keep them from destroying your furniture. This is a great time to own a pet, there are products available to help with any problem you can think of!
Good luck!

My Aunt who owns a fish store and breeds dogs and cats (not here in sioux falls) toilet trained one of her cats. She got one of those things that when you have to "save it" for the nurses at the hospital and put litter in it. She then decreased the amount of litter in it every few days until there was nothing left. I hope that helps! Good luck!
~*SARAH*~

My first thought was "uh-oh, more poop stories" LOL
Being allergic to cats I really have no advice on the toilet training, but I would declaw at least the front claws. Kittens do like to pounce at ankles when you are least expecting it. LOL Yup, been there.
Krys
"snozberries taste like snozberries"

Prior to having Kyli, I had 2 cats. One we had all 4 paws declawed, and the other we opted to front declaw only. I would never own a cat that wasn't at least front declawed. I don't have any experience with the potty training thing, but have heard that it can be done...Kyli is allergic to cats and we will never have more but if we did, I would definately opt for that route--I would NEVER mess with a litter box again.

A cat is one of the easiest pets to keep... you can go for a weekend and they will be fine w/ food, water, and a clean litterbox, you don't have to walk them or take them outside at all hours, etc. However, some have pretty strong personalities. When I decided to get one, I chose to adopt an adult cat (1 year old), because I wanted a very mellow, sweet pet. Best decision I could have made- there were no surprises, as with a kitten! I chose to declaw her because she jumped up on our window and used her claws to pull herself up- lots of scratches. I felt bad about it, but in the long run it is less stress on her because I was not angry, I did not have to "shoo" her away, or keep her from the baby, etc. For us, the decision to declaw was right, but not easy.

We had one cat when i was little that was toilet trained.. I did not belive for a second that a cat could actually be toilet trained.. Tiger (cats name) mad me a belieiver one day while i was doing my hair.. He was stitting on the toilet with the lid up, i thought it was funny so i started talking to him.. telling him he is a silly kitty and things.. in the middle of my one way conversation i uddenly heard a trickle, trickle, trickle... i RAN out of the bathroom and screamed at my mom "OMG tiger just pissed in he toilet!!!!!!"... We had to bring him to the humane sociaty because me moved and we could not bring him with. I bet the family that adotped him was REALLY HAPPY!!! Since he did it all on his own i can offer any advice on that but i would suggest declawing!!!! I have seen what one cat with claws can do to a couch, door, wall, bed, curtins or anything else that is cloth or wood!!! BUT if the cat is a indoor/outdoor cat i would at least keep the back claws, that way kitty has some form of defence while outside!
Katy - Mommy to 3 year old Alison and 11 month old Cole

Go for the boy!
There will always be exceptions to what I am about to say, but we have several cats and I will tell you my observations...
We have 3 girl cats. When they were kittens they were very outgoing and playful, but now that they are grown they are all pretty reserved and shy. They are all very sweet and loving, but tend to keep more to themselves.
We also have 3 boy cats, and I swear sometimes they act more like dogs than cats! They will run to the door to see who's there, they will sneak up onto our pillows at night to snuggle, they will jump into our laps when we're watching TV or reading a book. They are VERY affectionate and great to have with our 4 children.
Also one thing I've noticed is that orange cats have the most amazing personalities!! Most of them are male, and they tend to be very outgoing and unique! Torties (most of which are female) also have amazing personalities!
Good luck, you must be getting very excited!! I wish every pet owner was as thorough in preparing for a pet, your new little kitty is very lucky to have found you for a home!

Boy kitties "spray" their territory and it's awful smelling.

We have 3 male cats, and we've never had trouble with them spraying, probably because they are all neutered.
Also, I saw some nail covers for cats at PetSmart this week. They come in different sizes and a few different colors too!