Cat Training

Are you wondering when is the best time to start litter training your kitten, and how to go about doing it? Fortunately, cats and kittens are naturally fastidious creatures, and they have a natural tendency to use the litter box. Unfortunately, if they start doing it in the wrong spot, it can be difficult to get them to move their activities to the litter box.

Why? Because your kitten thinks that the place to pee is the place where she smells her urine. So, if the first place she went was someplace inconvenient like your pillow…

This is the reason you should always have a good way to completely get rid of cat urine smells. An enzymatic cleaner like Nature’s Miracle is very handy when you start litter training a kitten. Sprinkle cat litter over the soiled spot then wipe it up with damp tissue paper. After that, use the cleaner to thoroughly clean the area where your kitten did its business.

You do not want to immediately throw away the soiled litter. Place the cat poop/pee in your kitten’s litter box, then bring her to it. Do not rub her nose in the soiled litter. However, use her paws to gently dig at the litter to show her how to bury her poo. Just be patient and she will eventually get the idea.

The best cat litter to use at this stage is probably sand or a non-clumping clay cat litter. Some cat owners say they have good results with crystal litter, but some people are a bit nervous about using this type of litter for kittens.

When Do You Start Kitten Litter Training?

Generally, you can start to litter train your kitten once she is 4 to 6 weeks old. In most cases, her mother will teach her how to use the litter box. Your kitten might be a fast learner, and learn to use her litter box in just a week. Or she might take more than a month. This is one reason why you should not adopt a kitten less than 3 months old. Her litter training and socialization is not yet complete, and she will likely show other behavior problems in the future.

Of course, you do not always have a choice. For example, if you adopt an orphaned kitten, you may have to take the place of her mother. It helps a lot if you already have an adult cat who is already litter trained. Your kitten will tend to follow the older cat’s example.

If you bought your kitten from a breeder, you should ask for some of your kitten’s poop and soiled litter. Although it sounds gross, this can be really helpful in litter training a kitten. You also need to get the same kind of cat litter the breeder uses as well as the same kind of litter box. These are just some shortcuts to speed up the kitty litter training process.

Litter training your kitten need not be difficult. However, you do need to be loving and patient with your kitten. You also need to immediately and thoroughly clean up any accidents.

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You have a cuddly new kitten and you want to learn more about kitten care and training. Let us look at a few cases:

1. You own mother cat and the kittens belong to her

This can be the best situation or the worst situation. If mother cat is well trained and well behaved, her kittens will follow her lead and you will have no trouble. If not…

Still, all is not lost. As long as you successfully train mother cat, her kittens will fall in line. You just have to be patient, that’s all. And keep a bottle of aspirin handy to deal with the inevitable headaches.

2. You have a nursing mother cat and an orphaned kitten

This is very similar to point #1. Except that you first need to get your cat to accept the kitten. Just rub the orphan with mother cat’s own kittens to get their scent on the orphan. Then place the orphan with the other kittens and supervise to make sure everything goes well.

Another way to get mother cat’s scent on the orphan is to put a little drop of soft, unsalted butter (not margarine) on the orphan. Rub a little dollop on its head and sides, so that mother cat will give it a good lick.

While there is no guarantee, many cat breeders have found that mother cats do accept orphaned kittens.

3. You only have the kitten

In this case, you will have to hand-raise the kitten. The first thing is to get her to a vet for a thorough check-up. Ask him for specific advice on raising your particular kitten. If you cannot afford a trip to the vet, check with your local animal shelter or SPCA for advice.

In general, you will need to feed your kitten KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) before slowly weaning it to solid food. Do not use cow’s milk, as many kittens are lactose-intolerant.

You will want to train your kitten in these 3 areas to prevent future problem behavior:

• Litter training to use the litter box
• Socialization so they do not bite and scratch you during playtime
• Do not scratch your furniture

Kitten litter training is almost the same as litter training an adult cat. However, here are a few things to beware of:

• Get a shallow litter box – avoid automatic cat litter boxes.
• Do not use clumping cat litter or crystal cat litter.
• Sand is usually the safest litter. Some brands of clay or biodegradable litter may also be suitable. Check the label.

Cat biting/scratching often occur because kittens are not properly socialized. A kitten in a litter quickly learns not to bite or scratch too hard during playtime. Over-aggressive kittens quickly find themselves without playmates. When you play with your kitten, you should be careful to do the same – if she bites or scratches too much or too hard, you should immediately stop playing and ignore her.

Training your kitten to use the scratching post is also very important. Before she forms the habit of going after your furniture, you should get her used to the scratching post. This kind of scratching is a part of her nature and necessary exercise for her claws and spine. It is also a way of marking her territory. Like her litter box, her scratching post should not be moved around your house.

If you properly care for and bond with your kitten, you will have an excellent companion for a good many years. Train her right, and she will never give you any trouble.

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Do you have a new kitten? If you also own mama cat, and she is litter trained, then you are in luck. She will litter train her kittens. All you need to do is clean up the litter box afterwards. On the other hand, if she has not been litter trained, then your first step is to litter train mama cat. Otherwise, no amount of kitten litter training you do will help.

The first step of kitten litter training is to prepare to clean up any “accidents”, and there will be a lot of “accidents”. Once your kitten has peed or pooped in a particular spot, it will try to return there to do all of its future business. Partly, this is because it can smell its urine there. So, an important part of litter training your kitten is to get rid of all cat urine smells. To do this, you will need two items: a good blacklight (ultraviolet lamp) and an enzymatic cleaner for cat urine like Nature’s Miracle. When you turn on the blacklight in the dark, it will cause all the spots where your kitten did its business to glow. The next step is to use the enzymatic cleaner to remove cat urine stains.

Step two is to prepare the litter box and cat litter for your kitten. The litter box needs to be the right size, not too high and not too low. Your kitten should be able to comfortably climb or jump into it. You also need to get a suitable cat litter, either sand or clay cat litter. Do not use clumping cat litter or biodegradable litter. If your kitten swallows clumping cat litter, she could get very sick. Some biodegradable litter is made of material which could cause an allergic reaction in cats. This reaction could be very severe in a little kitten. You may also want to use something which can attract your kitten to use the litter box – something like Dr Elsey’s “Cat Attract” formula is known to help with litter training some cats. Who knows, it may help with your kitten litter training as well. Remember to place the litter box away from your kitten’s food bowl. Far, far away. Your kitten, like you, does not like to eat its food right next to the toilet.

For step three, you need to prepare preventative measures. In step one, you got rid of all cat urine smell so that your kitten is not attracted back to the same spots by smell. But it might still go back because the place is a familiar landmark. You want to keep your kitten away. One way is to place some foil there – many cats do not like the way it feels on their paws. Another way is to use some form of cat repellant spray. These sprays are usually based on some pheromones which cats avoid.

In step four, set up a fixed feeding and litter box cleaning schedule. Many cats like to pee and poop before eating or after eating, so having a fixed feeding time makes it easier for you to litter train your kitten. Cats are also naturally clean and fussy creatures. Like you, they do not like to do their business in a dirty toilet. If you clean the litter box on a regular, fixed schedule, your kitten is more likely to learn to use it.

Step five involves the actually litter training your kitten. You need to learn to recognize the signs of your kitten preparing to pee or poop. You will probably miss the first few times and have to clean up accidents. But once you learn the signs, you should immediately move your kitten to the litter box. This will associate the litter box as a place to do its business. If you are lucky, your kitten will learn quickly. If not, you just need to be patient. Remember to reward your kitten every time it uses the litter box. This positive reinforcement will speed up the kitten litter training process.

Kitten litter training is not particularly difficult, especially because kittens have not yet learned many bad habits. Remember to be patient, and consistent in dealing with your kitten. Never physically punish your kitten. This will only make it fear you and damage your relationship. Positive reinforcement works much better.

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