Cat Litter Training - Teaching Your Kitten To Use His Box

By Ned D'Agostino

If you have just gotten a new kitten, chances are it's already litter box trained. This is because cats who have been raised by mothers who use litter boxes themselves have already been taught to use a box by their mothers. If the mother is trained, then the kitty, too, is going to be trained to use a box. If not, though, the kitten will need to be taught cat litter training.

If your kitten was raised by a mother in the wild or is an orphan, chances are you're going to get a kitten that is not trained. Not to worry, however. By nature, cats are very clean creatures, and would prefer to have one special place to go to the bathroom. Therefore, even though your little guy (or girl) may "do his business" in indiscriminate locations throughout your house when you first get him, it's very easy to train a kitten how to use a box if he does not know how to do so already.

Remember that if the kitten is very tiny (less than six weeks old) and/or has been orphaned, then it may not have had a mother to show it how to use litter properly. It's very easy to show him how, though. First, get a box or container with low enough sides that even a very tiny kitten can climb in. One of the best containers to use is an old dishpan with one side cut out so that it's only a couple of inches high. This is low enough that even the tiniest of kittens can climb in easily. The box must be easy to get into for your kitten to be able to use it. Immediately after you've set up the pan, put just a small amount of litter (no more than half an inch or so) on the bottom and put your cat in. Instinctively, even tiny kittens will usually like to scratch around even if they don't exactly know what it's used for.

Now, the next time you feed your kitten, immediately after he eats, turn on him over on his back (often, you can even do this in the palm of your hand with a very tiny kitten). Cover your index finger with a warm wet rag or washcloth and massage his lower belly very gently with it using downward stroking motions, going toward his tail. What you're doing is stimulating him to eliminate as his mother would by licking him.

Immediately after you do this once or twice, turn him over on his feet and set him down in the box. He should feel the need to go to the bathroom almost immediately. He'll eliminate and once he does this, take his front paw and very gently scoop litter over his waste. Very soon, he'll get the idea and want to do this himself. As we said, cats are very clean creatures and instinctively bury their waste anyway, so he'll get the idea very quickly. You may need to help the little fellow clean himself off at first until he understands how to do that himself, too, and this, again, is done with a warm wet rag or washcloth.

For the next few days up to two weeks, every time you feed your kitten, take him to the litter box immediately and set him down in it. After the first two or three times, you should not need to stimulate him by stroking his belly. If he does not cover his own waste, remember to use his own paw to cover it up for him until he gets the idea. Training should be very easy as long as you're consistent.

Remember that your box always needs to be kept in the same location so that your kitten can always find it. Cats are very smart and remember things like that very easily, so if you keep it in the same location, he'll know to go to the box as soon as he knows he has to go to the bathroom. Very soon, you'll have a trained kitten with very little effort.

One final thing to remember is that because cats are so clean, their boxes must also be kept very clean. If your kitten has been trained and all of a sudden begins eliminating in various places in the house, it's likely that it's either a health problem or dirty litter box that's making him do so. If the box is dirty, make sure you clean it and keep it that way. If the accidents throughout the house continue, take your cat to the vet immediately, as this could signify some serious problems such as a urinary tract infection or constipation.

With a little effort from you, cat litter training should be very easy for your new kitten.

For more information on cat litter tray training visit http://www.catlitterboxesplus.com, a popular website devoted to cat lovers everywhere. You'll find tips on choosing the right kind of box for your cat, and information on the different types of litter available such as scoopable, flushable, silica and pine cat litter.