Last updated on November 12th, 2022
Just like humans, the excretion of animals can also be channelized, and some creatures can be trained to sit on a potty to defecate, making it a convenient and more hygienic way of excretion.
Most domesticated pets are potty trained to avoid any sort of cleaning.
A healthy relationship between humans and animals can happen only when the two can understand each other and live in harmony.
Animals that can be potty trained:
- Hamsters
- Parrots
- Cockatiels
- Cats
- Ferrets
- Gerbils
- Rabbits
- Dogs
- Guinea Pigs
- Pigeons
List of animals that can be potty trained.
Taming a creature is necessary but helping them evolve to a more civilized way of life is even more necessary. Here are some animals that can be potty-trained.
1. Hamsters
Potty training your hamster is the answer if you don’t wish its cage to be smelly.
Also, potty training your pet hamster can keep the cage clean as well. Since hamsters are quick learners and are pretty intelligent, training them isn’t too difficult either.
Also, as they are pretty clean themselves, they prefer using the same spot for their potty and if you closely observe your hamster’s habits, you will soon find this to be true.
Place a litter box there, and you will be amazed to see how quickly it adapts to that particular litter box as its potty spot.
If it has more than one spot, place litter boxes in those spots. They will be better off that way. Also, the type of litter box needed for your little gnawer is a matter of personal preference.
It is worth noting that hamsters poop several times per day.
2. Parrots
In the wild, parrots have a habit of using particular spots as their potty. They also defecate only under specific conditions.
They are pretty intelligent creatures and adapt to their domestic environment quite quickly. Observation has shown that parrots are mostly territorial, and they defecate near the edges of their territory.
Also, they usually don’t go to the potty at night time. So at home also, you need to observe their feeding and excretion timings.
While the little parrots may need to go potty every 20-25 minutes, the mid-sized and mid-aged ones may need to defecate every half an hour to fifty minutes. The grand adults may need to use the potty after every eight hours.
Use commands like ‘No’ to stop them from defecating and “Pretty potty” for them to defecate. And reward them every time they take your commands.
In roughly 3 days, you will see that they have learned, and they will communicate each time they need to ease themselves.
3. Cockatiels
If you take a little pain to potty train your cockatiel, you will be proud to have a disciplined pet like it.
Cockatiels need ample time away from their cages and their favorite perching spot is usually their master’s shoulder.
Through a few days of observation, studying your cockatiel’s habits and the cue they usually give before defecating can help you potty train them quicker.
Whenever you know that it will defecate, take it to the spot you wish it to use, and let it release its bowel contents.
Whenever you see them doing this on their own, praise them immensely and give them some incentive.
They will attach themselves to this habit and begin taking the initiative to defecate at the designated spot.
Cockatiels usually poop an average of 22 times a day.
4. Cats
Cats normally poop one time a day and although they are naturally clean animals, they usually need a little potty training.
Unless your kitten is old enough to go outside to poop, provide it with a litter box that it can use to defecate in.
After it has matured enough, it will prefer going to poop outside the house. Even then, you may need to train it to poop at certain spots only.
While cleaning the litter boxes is a necessity, some of these felines find the smell of certain disinfectants repulsive.
Moreover, the litter box must be large enough for your cat and you should always place it a pretty good distance away from where you feed your cat.
The walls of litter boxes shouldn’t be too high, especially for kittens lest they feel scared. Try to ensure that there aren’t other cats or dogs in that area.
5. Ferrets
Like cats, ferrets also need litter boxes. It is quite simple to potty train a ferret. Just observe them, and you will soon identify the spot where they usually defecate.
Place litter boxes at exactly such locations, and in no time, they will form a discipline habit of visiting these litter boxes to poop.
If a ferret is on a kibble diet, it will need to defecate every 4-6 hours. However, ferrets living on a raw diet use litter boxes less frequently.
If you haven’t provided a litter box for your ferret, most probably, it is defecating in the corner of the room. Therefore, I recommend that you place a litter box in each of your rooms.
6. Gerbils
Gerbils usually poop 3 to 4 times a day and they are pretty clean creatures, which is why it is relatively easy to potty train them.
Just bring a litter box and fill it with sand or chinchilla dust. Your gerbil will eventually make this their toilet.
However, some of these rodents are stubborn and may not take to the litter tray immediately.
So instead, you may have to deep clean their living quarters and use some sprays at the spots they are still using for their potty.
Once they understand their limited options, they will eventually visit your designated litter tray for their pooping activities.
Therefore, always make sure that the litter tray is within their enclosure. This will motivate them to use it more often.
Also, whenever you clean their litter, make sure to deep clean the substrate because that is where they will bury their waste.
7. Rabbits
A rabbit will poop an average of 250 times a day, however, they can be potty trained at any age, but I recommend getting them litter trained at earlier ages.
Baby rabbits are quite difficult to potty train, whereas older rabbits can be easily trained to go potty.
It is always suggested that the rabbits be neutered. Otherwise, non-neutered rabbits tend to mark various areas of the house with their pee and defecation.
A litter tray, more than a litter box, is more effective. Use litter like alfalfa, paper, or even some hay. A hayrack with fresh and sweet-smelling hay helps a lot.
Place this litter tray at the spot where your rabbits go potty. They will begin using the litter tray with great pomp.
8. Dogs
With puppies and dogs alike, potty training begins with a particular schedule that you make your canines habituated with – a particular time for their routine defecation.
It pays off to use a particular phrase as a cue for them to understand better – something like ‘bathroom’ or ‘toilet time.’
Dogs usually poop 1 to 5 times a day and training them to go potty needs a lot of patience from you and also a lot of determination.
You can expect to potty train your pups and dogs based on positive reinforcement, not punishment. And express your appreciation each time your canine pet does the job correctly.
This will motivate them to try and keep doing the right thing at all times. Make sure that their feeding schedule is adhered to.
Also, take the puppies out often. They still aren’t mature enough to form a habit or build up ample control over their urges.
9. Guinea Pigs
With time and patience, you can potty train your guinea pigs. First, observe where they like to defecate and urinate. They will usually use the same spot each time.
Set up a litter box at that spot and the smell in that area will make them come back to go potty.
Just like with any other domesticated animal, whenever your guinea pig behaves the way you want it to, reward it with your appreciation in a soft and loving tone with some kind words and give it a little treat.
This will motivate it to repeat the task correctly again the next time. Next, try training them out of the cage. This will take somewhat longer to form a habit, though.
Don’t scold them ever. As it is, they cannot understand what is wrong. Rather, work your way to understanding the cues when they wish to ease themselves of bowel contents.
10. Pigeons
While it is believed that pigeons are brilliant creatures, they are said to be the second smartest among birds and the sixth smartest animal.
This makes it quite easy to potty train them. And once that has been achieved, they make for the best possible pets you could ever have.
Pigeons usually poop once every hour.
Observe their poop timings, the cues that they give before actually pooping, and their favorite spot to poop.
Then bring a litter box and fix a perch or stand on it. Whenever the birds want to poop, they will go to that spot, perch, and poop there.
Also, if they tend to poop on your shoulders, just shoo them off. This will push them to defecate in their poop box. And give them a treat whenever they do it correctly.
What animals can be litter trained?
The animals that can be litter trained are hamsters, parrots, cockatiels, ferrets, cats, gerbils, rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, and pigeons. While discipline is one of the key factors that every creature should have, some animals cannot innately be tamed to perfection or trained to be civilized.
