Michelle Bryan wondered why Hot Dog’s litter box had been so dry lately.
She got her answer when she heard a trickling sound in the bathroom. At first, she said she thought he was just playing with the water in the toilet.
Bryan, who lives in Fremont, New Hampshire, approached the door to take a peek and was shocked to find the 3-year-old house cat sitting on the toilet seat doing his business.
Without any training, it seems Hot Dog has taught himself to pee in the toilet.
“He was sitting there peeing looking at me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, where’s my phone?’” Bryan recalled.
After he finished, Bryan watched Hot Dog paw around the toilet seat to clean up any mess.
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Bryan didn’t have her phone on hand to record the bathroom surprise on the morning of April 9 as she was getting ready for work at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, where she works as a nurse in the emergency department.
But she was determined to catch Hot Dog on camera because she didn’t think anyone would believe that he had figured out how to use the potty on his own.
Another opportunity came a few days later when Bryan’s daughters -- Ardyn, 11, and Lylah, 6 -- brought Hot Dog outside in a crate and a short time later carried him inside just in case he needed to use the facilities.
“We brought him in and opened the door of the cage and he ran directly into the bathroom, so I quickly took my phone out and put it on video and followed him in there, and that’s where I caught him,” Bryan said.
The Bryans have had Hot Dog since he was a kitten and they’ve never tried to potty train him. Like most owners with indoor cats, they’ve relied on a cat box with litter.
They were unaware that some people teach their cats to use the toilet and even buy training kits.
Bryan isn’t exactly sure how Hot Dog trained himself, but he often follows family members into the bathroom and, like most curious cats, has shown an interest in the toilet.
Hot Dog’s self-training has given the Bryan family a good chuckle during this difficult time.
Ardyn said she laughed when she saw him on the toilet for the first time.
“I didn’t really know what to say because I’ve never seen a cat go to the bathroom on the toilet,” she said.
The family still plans to keep the cat box available, but said they’ll let Hot Dog decide what he wants to do.
