Litter box training a kitten?

Question

What is an effective way to litter box train our kitten? We have a one month old Persian kitten.

Answer 1

Every cat can be a little different, but as one person already stated putting them in the litter box after eating or whenever she/he looks like she may need to go and scrapping their paws in it helps a lot. Since your kitty is so little I would suggest getting a small unenclosed litter pan. At least for now. When kitty gets bigger you can get one of the fancy covered ones which are very nice to help contain litter. He/she may or may not use one with a swinging door I have cats that will not use it with the door on it, but I know cats that do.


If you have other cats I would suggest isolating your cat for awhile,(not only for litter training purposes, but for health reasons. Until the kitten gets shots and is checked to be sure it has nothing wrong with it it shouldn't be around your healthy cats). Put new kitty in your bedroom or something like that and give him/her a litter box of their own. Some kittens, have troubles litter training in a box that has been used by other cats. It is a territory thing. Be sure to keep his/her food and water away from the litter box. Many cats don't like the idea of going to the bathroom next to their food. Who can blame them you don't eat next your toilet, (I hope) ha ha.


Since your kitty is still so young it may take some patience, but most cats are litter trained very quickly! If mommy cat is around she will probably train the kitten for you. Instinct tell them to go somewhere and cover it. Litter boxes are perfect spots. Of course some may think house plants are too if you find this being the case try this little trick I learned- Take a piece of cardboard and make a ring of it to go around the plant so that you can't see the dirt. Put a little Tabasco sauce on the cardboard. This works great for cats who may just be getting into plants to play too. After they get into the Tabasco sauce a few times they put it in their mind that these plants are bad news. It won't hurt them, but it is very unpleasant.


Trouble litter trainning may be due to the type of litter you have. for example, my cat will not use clumping litter. Not sure why he is just VERY picky and refuses. He will pee in front of the litter box instead if I use clumping litter. Some cats just have preferences like that. I had a cat that would not use the litter box, but always peed behind my chair instead. I put a litter box there and problem solved. She uses it.


Obviously, you need to keep it clean. You need to scoop it everyday and stir up as much of the wet litter from the bottom to the top of the box. Depending on the number of cats and size of the box you need to completely change out the litter every 4-7 days. I prefer to use litter liners for easy clean up and if my cats happen to tear it and pee gets in the bottom of the box I spray it out and clean it. Cats think they are little people you know, they want a clean potty just like you do.


One final tip if just rubbing their paws in it isn't working, than try putting a very thin coat of butter on kitties paws then scratching their paws in it. It sounds really odd, but it has to do with getting used to the scent of the litter etc. And it really does work, or it has for me anyway, just make sure it is just a light coating. It isn't as if you have to do this everyday forever just until he/she gets littler trained.
Good Luck!

Answer 2

When I adopted my 6 week old 2 years ago I took the cat to the litter box area and did the following.

Take the cat to the litter box and take his paws and scoop the litter to show him. Like you would explain to a human tell him that this is where you go to the bathroom etc. Then every time he uses it give him a treat. Soon enough he will know where to go. But most cats get it pretty quickly. REMEMBER IT WILL TAKE PATIENCE TO GET IT RIGHT.

Answer 3

Keep her litter clean as in lift the poo out everyday and change the cat litter every 3 or 4 days. I have found the cat litter trays with a roof on them and a swinging plastic door is good. As cats like to kick the litter over what they have just done. This keeps the litter from having to get cleaned up off the floor all the time. And you like your privacy too when going to the loo so does cat's .I cover my cat litter toilet the bottom bit with two black plastic bin liner's and then fit the lid back on saves the dirty wet cat litter from sticking to the plastic bottom and keep the plastic bottom from starting to smell cause after a while the plastic does.My cat is four and this is her 2nd cat litter toilet i have bought her. The first one did start to smell but from i have been butting the bin liner's in it 's been great just lift it all out and rinse with disinfection..

Answer 4

It is instinct for a cat to dig to go to the bathroom, just keep putting your cat in the litter box yourself, make sure it's in a convienient spot that he his familiar with and keep it clean. He will eventually get the idea, if your using paper for him to go on now, just keep widdling it down til there are no newspapers left, making sure of course he is using the litterbox. good luck.

Answer 5

Start with a small open litter pan. Put him/her in it and take its paw and scrape the litter for a few seconds.

If you see him/her squatting down, grab it and place them in the litter box.

Also, after they eat, place them in the box and scrape the litter with their paw. They will get the point.

Answer 6

i would have to agree with Casey b

put her in the box and move thier paws........
it is best (in my opinion) to put her in there while she is in a playful mood she is more likely to scratch around in there at that time than any other time...........
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and be persistent.....
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and once you think he/she kind of gets it.........................
they usually tend to go right outside of the litter box........
just pick him/her up and put 'em in the litter box........it does take a little patience but it'll all be over in a week or two.......your kitty will come out each and every time.........just keep putting her back in there.........

well good luck an congrats on your new fur baby

Answer 7

what worked for me and then my cat had it was.........i put newspaper all over a small area of the floor, he went on it, i then took that newspaper and put it in the box, he climbed in the box and wet again, then i took the paper out and litter in and he was done in a day.

Answer 8

Just set out the litter box and let your kitty explore it. She will figure it out! (mine did)

Answer 9

Usually my cat starts to scratch at the floor, like shes trying to dig a hole, that usually means time to rush her to the neighbors flower bed.j.k.

Answer 10

You shouldn't have to train your cat, they just know where to go.