When he wasn't revolutionizing the world of mid-20th century jazz music, Charles Mingus was home training his cat, Nightlife. Specifically, he was really into training Nightlife to go on the toilet. Indeed, he was something of an evangelist on the subject. Here, Annie reads from "The Charles Mingus CAT-alog for Toilet Training Your Cat," his 1972 brochure that outlines a step-by-step process. 

You can find the full text here

https://www.charlesmingus.com/mingus/cat-traning-program?utm_content=buffer97a50

Train your own cat with a  modern invention: The Litter Kwitter

https://litterkwitter.com/

Music: Full of Love from Album Stay Tonight, by Till Paradiso (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

https://freemusicarchive.org/music/till-paradiso/stay-tonight/full-of-love-tp-031mp3

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Partial Transcript:

Annie:

There are two things I love that I rarely talk about on this podcast. One is cats. The other is jazz music. Well, that's all going to change today.  A few weeks ago in a Q and A I did, I mentioned this little known fact in the history of jazz, which is that jazz titan Charles Mingus was very interested in cat training.

Specifically, he was interested in training cats to pee and poop on toilets, and he actually wrote a guide to how to do that. So today I thought I would just share with you a reading of this guide paired with some jazz music. Here is Charles Mingus is the Charles Mingus CAT-atalog for toilet training your cat.

First, you must train your cat to use a homemade cardboard litter box if you have not already done so. If your box does not have a one-piece bottom, add a cardboard that fits inside so you have a false bottom that is smooth and strong.  This way the box will not become soggy and fall out at the bottom. The grocery store will have extra flat cardboards, which you can cut down to fit exactly inside your box.

Be sure to use torn up newspaper, not kitty litter.  Stop using kitty litter. When the time comes, you cannot put sand in the toilet.

Once your cat is trained to use a cardboard box, start moving the box around the room towards the bathroom. If the box is in a corner, move it a few feet from the corner, but not very noticeably. If you move it too far, he may go to the bathroom in the original.  Do it gradually.

You've got to get him thinking, then he will gradually follow the box as you move it to the bathroom. If you already have it there, move it out of the bathroom, around, and then back.  He has to learn to follow it. If it is too close to the toilet to begin with, he will not follow it up onto the toilet seat. A cat will look for his box.  He smells it.

Now as you move the box, also start cutting the brim of the box down, so the sides get lower. Do this gradually. Finally you reach the bathroom, and eventually the toilet itself.

Then one day, prepare to put the box on top of the toilet.

At each corner of the box, cut a little slash you can run string around the box through these slashes, and tie the box down to the toilet so it will fall off. Your cat will see it there and jump up to the box, which is now sitting on top of the toilet. Get the sides cut down to only an inch or so.

Full Transcript available at SchoolfortheDogs.com/Podcast

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