Life Imitates 'Meet the Parents'

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/26/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Mr. Jinx, the trained cat owned by the Robert De Niro character in the current comedy hit "Meet the Parents," could win the salesman of the year award. Thanks to Jinx's demonstration of how well he uses the toilet in the house, the $99.99 CatSeat (a specially textured device that trains cats to share the family throne) has experienced a boost in sales, reports this morning's Wall Street Journal. CatSeat, which only came on to the market in March, works by getting kitty comfortable on the seat, which at first should be placed on the floor. Gradually it should be elevated to the height of the lid of the toilet. Then, stand back and marvel at kitty's new trick. "For years people told me I was crazy," CatSeat's inventor, Kevin Rymer of Norman, Okla., tells the Journal, "but now, with this movie, I feel vindicated."