Here's a question for all you animal lovers out there – would you like it if your cat could use the toilet instead of you having to empty out litter boxes? Well, one Australian woman has managed to teach her pet how.

Jo Lapidge told the Associated Press that she was inspired to create the Litter Kwitter after she watched Meet the Parents. In the film, Robert De Niro's character has trained his beloved Mr Jinx to use the loo.

She designed the equipment with her husband Terry and did some testing in Sydney. To date, they have sold 750,000 pieces of the kit. The first feline to master the technique was six-year-old Doogie, a Blue Burmese who started when he was young.

It works by fitting a ring underneath the toilet seat that a cat can balance on to relieve itself. Over time, this is removed, until the animal can work the commode on its own.

However, proper care must be taken to use it properly as Ms Lapidge noted the 80 per cent success rate "would be higher if humans stopped to follow all the instructions and showed a bit more patience".

Filed under: Industry News by Nick on: Tuesday, 24 May 2011