Customer Reviews

Feline Evolution CatSeat Cat Toilet Training Seat, White

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have 6 cats of various ages and IQs (they sucked me in with the "foster kitty" pitch and of course they never went back to the pound). I can't completely get rid of litter boxes because a couple of them just cannot catch on to the concept. The smarter ones "get it" but use the old boxes because they're easier. It's been a bit of a waste of time for me (although there was a very satisfying incident with a mother-in-law and a wet bum). I purchased this product and the $29 alternative through Amazon, as well as a book on the subject. The $29 product was about as effective and the book showed me that I didn't really need either, just to associate the litter box and toilet in what we'll loosely call the cats' minds. With one or two cats and a lot of patience, this might work. In our unique situation, it was a bit of a dud. The big difference between this and the alternative problem was that this one comes with a couple of litter reservoirs and the ability to make the aperture larger or smaller but again, I'm not sure it was worth the extra $55.

The litter box insert that goes into this thing rests on a tiny shelf that is less than 1/8 inch wide = NOT VERY STABLE. My cat tried to use it and the whole tray fell into the toilet with the not flushable litter. It was RAWTHER TRAUMATIC for the cat, who didn't do too well with toilet training on it after that. It was also a BIG MESS since I had to scoop all the clumping litter out of the toilet bowl to avoid ruining my plumbing. I ended up getting a stainless bowl to put inside it, rather than risk that stupid tray again. My cat likes the wider seat to balance on, but all the other bells and whistles on this thing have amounted to less than uselss. I WOULD NEVER BUY THIS THING AGAIN OR RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE I LIKED (or anyone who's cat I liked). I got the litter kwiter and it is working out much better so far- at the very least it is quite stable as well as straightforward.

So far the service and support has been truly awful. It has been over a week and they still have not shipped the product - and there has been no indication it is on backorder. They did, however, ship the bags separately - go figure. Will wait another week and update this review.

Update - we received it, yeah!
Well, got it and have begun assembling it. Contrary to past reviews, they very firmly tell you that this will take 2-3 weeks to accomplish. They also tell you that during the initial phase, they tell you not use typical clay lumping litter. My cats have grown up using this so it will be curious to see if they take to it.


Update 9/14
Lesson: Do not buy this from the Botanical (the distributor)!
We found out one of the shelves is broken so I first tried to go through the manufacturer - they told me to go through the distributor. The distributor then told me that if it was damaged in shipment, we should have refused it from UPS. Considering I was not there, that was a little hard to do. Either way, I asked that I did not want to disrupt training so could I get another one - they told me that I would have to pay for that one. Unbelievable!

Update 10/22

The seat is now sitting outside in the rain waiting for the next garbage pickup- the slats would not stay in place and had a tendency to collapse when our heavier cat got on the seat when we had it on the floor. Poor, poor product - not worth $89 that's for sure.

I'm sure the creator of this product put a lot of thought and effort into it. I found it too complicated to use. If you use it as a litter box at first, the pan is the size of the opening in the seat and so you must clean it each time your cat uses it. Once you start using the extender shelving that makes the hole small so the cat doesn't see the water, the shelf gets urine and feces on it and so that has to be cleaned each time as well. Finally, my cat chewed through the pull-string which extends the shelving; once that's broken the whole thing is useless. The company called me back once, but the second time I e-mailed and got no response.

This product's directions were a little hard to understand, however once you get the concept the rest is easy. We (My cat and I) have been living litter free for over four years now. I brag often to whomever will listen! My only 'problem' is that she has learned to flush the toilet as well. Hopefully she won't decide to just do it for fun. I'd recommend this product to anyone who doesn't want to scoop poo for the next fiftenn years! Did I mention my cat was feral, and approximatley six months old when I got her?

I found this very difficult to use. More complicated than necessary, and very unstable. Like the experience of others, my cat also tipped it over and never wanted to go around it again. I am now working with the litter kwitter - not sure if that will work either, but definitely don't spend your money on this one.

First of all, it does take some time and effort, but the advantages far outweigh the trouble - especially if you have a kitten. If you need help, there are online support groups to give advice. We have tried several different methods to "toilet train" cats and this is by far the BEST! Our kitty took to this seat very easily and we've never looked back. Eventually the string to open and close the center section did break, but by that point we didn't really need to use it anymore - we just leave it in the "open" position all the time and the cat does fine. We find the seat perfectly comfortable for people to use too. Some people don't think the toilet seat is very attractive - I say anything that keeps me from having to clean a cat box is beautiful! One other note: when you move the seat onto the toilet be sure to put a stool or box to help the cat jump up easily or she might land in the wrong spot or even in the water and set back the progress. On the plus side, you should see people's faces when you tell them your cat is toilet trained! Highly recommended!

Pros:
No cat box smell in the house
No cat box to clean
No litter to buy (once the cat is fully trained)
Comfortable for people to use too
Actually DOES work (easiest to use with a kitten or very young cat)
You get to brag about it

Cons:
Initial cost (but it is much lower price on Amazon than anywhere else)
Appearance is kind of funky compared to "regular" toilet seats
Does take some time and patience in the beginning
I think the older the cat is, the longer & be more difficult the training would be

I bought the same seat form their official site, and you can visit if you would like more info and videos! [...]

As S. Thomas-"homeschoolmom", who wrote the previous review, I started with litter kwitter and got to amber or yellow stage with the whole in the center. My cat peed in the hole, but pooped looking at the hole and his back hanging over the floor and everything fell on the floor. I started him on the green disk with the bigger whole and less space, therefore requiring more balancing skills and he had no troubles peeing in the hole, but started pooping directly on the floor, without even jumping on the toilet.

I have a 12 pound cat, who has balancing problems. He is one of those cats that fall on their backs... He is also epileptic and since we started him on Phenobarbital for the epilepsy, his balancing skills worsened a little bit more. Anyway, he needs a wider seat!

The CatSeat has a much wider seat than the regular toilet seat and the Litter Kwitter seat. I like that you can elevate it from the ground before mounting it on the toilet. Elevated on it's own feet it is very stable. This is very important for training. I love the self-closing disposal bags! When the Litter Kwitter was on the floor, I had leaking problems every time he peed. I have no such problems with the CatSeat, for a week now. I still did put bellow it some puppy toilet training pads to absorb if he missed or the seat leaked.

He started pooping in the crystal litter squatting on the CatSeat right away. He likes to dig so I am decreasing his litter slowly. I am planning to install the seat on the toilet in 1-2 weeks, after he is comfortable that he will not loose balance while pooping, since this is a wider seat. I'll update the review then.

I don't have all the same concerns about the seat and anyone using the toilet, since we have a guest bathroom, which no one uses and it has become his training bathroom. Once he is fully trained, I am planning to buy a toilet helper seat for children's potty training that would be wide enough for him, i.e. is at least as wide as the CatSeat. The CatSeat is very thick, so it is hard to have another human seat below it. If you don't mind shearing a seat with your cat you are fine using the CatSeat. However, I am planning on using a regular seat and a helper seat for the cat. That way he will have a separate toilet seat, he can still balance on.

Good luck!

I bought this recently and am using it on the toilet for training. We did not have to start on the floor because we were using the Litter kwitter and he was already jumping up on the toilet. The litter kwitter has three levels and I could not get my 3 year old cat to go past stage 2. Their system makes the hole larger. This was difficult for my cat because the standing space got smaller and smaller. He will not use level 3 because there is not enough space (in his mind). I thought this system would help him because it has a nice wide toilet seat. He is getting up and using it with the litter pan in the middle. He loves to dig before and after. I am hoping to move to the next stage soon and hopefully he accepts the next stage with no problems. Overall, I like the system because your cat never has to "lose" standing space. The hole changes from a litter pan to small black boxes that you move away from each other allowing less and less litter for your cat. There are two concerns that I have. 1) Once I am at the stage of the black boxes, I cannot use my toilet unless I go to a lot of trouble. 2) I am not crazy about the pull string (like fishing line) to open and close the center area. A slide and pull made of a more durable material would have been much better. Overall, it seems to be a very good system. I preferred the Litter Kwitter way except that my cat needs more space to stand to feel comfortable and he is having trouble letting go of the litter. Also, my cat knows the colors of the Litter Kwitter and does not want to leave the yellow stage 2. Had they not color coded the stages, he may have stayed with their program with success.

I had my cat fully trained using this on the floor only to find out that it will not mount to my toilet!! Please be warned that this is not a one-size-fits all, and will only mount to your toilet if you have a certain kind. Awful, she was soooo close to being able to use the toilet.