If we’ve learned anything this past year, it’s that people really like cats. People are especially interested when cats are in danger — as demonstrated by the slew of kittens-on-the-highway stories in the Times-Picayune this year — and when they are adorably botching subject-verb agreement. In fact, people like cats so much that they are willing spend hours and days trying to get them to use toilets.

The Wall Street Journal today, seemingly out of ideas, ran an article that is half-essay, half-how-to on cat potty training. The article delineates the risks and potential benefits of the process, as well discusses some (fairly expensive) innovations in feline potty training products. The article also has some D.I.Y. suggestions if you feel like cutting large holes into your cookware.

So if spending hours alone in the bathroom with your confused cat, warding off romantic prospects and house guests, and introducing resistant parasites into your home sounds tolerable in the pursuit of a litter-box free life, read this article to learn all about “thinking outside the box.” Or just be fascinated by peoples’ continued belief that pets are also humans.