Litter Box Training Gets Real

LITTER BOX TRAINING BASICS

Litter box training is really not so much directed towards kittens but to owners that need to be taught: which type of box works, where should it be placed, how many per cat and many more things that go into making a kitten happy.  Kittens really don’t need much litter box training, if at all, when going to a litter box.  Kittens will often head to a small cardboard litter box with an opening low to the floor surface even before they open their eyes at 2 weeks!  It is the psychology of the kitten and adult cat that drives owners crazy concerning litter box training etiquette.

Kittens learn the special dance learned during litter box training.  The box is approached, the kitten sniffs, gets in the box, sniffs, scratches, gets in the position to use it, scratches the litter again and sniffs, than exits.  If any, and I mean, any of these steps are not done in order the whole process stops.  This means that there is a good possibility that the kitten will soil outside of the box!  This is important to understand if you ever want to:  change the box, change the litter type or change the location of the box itself.  Kittens are creatures of habit with a capital H.  Change any of those parameters and they may not use the box.  In these situations litter box training has to be relearned.

Each home should have about 1 and a half litter boxes per kitten or adult cat.  So for 2 cats, you should have 3 boxes.  For 3 kittens you should have between 4 and 5 boxes.  The size of these boxes should fit the size of the kitten.  You do not want a kitten using a pole vault to jump into an adult box; it is too high.  Purchase a shallower tray that is easy to clean and big enough to hold the movements of one cat in the box.  That will facilitate litter box training.

TYPES OF LITTER BOXES

A Covered Litter Box

Litter boxes can be as simple as buying some plastic trays at a home furnishings store or Home Depot®. They can also involve a hood that is attached to the base unit so that the kitten has more “privacy” and any litter that is scratched and flung all over the place stays inside the box and not on surrounding carpet or furniture.  Other boxes go a step further and have mechanical systems that change litter as it is needed.  I have no experience with the latter but people seem to be satisfied.  Take a lot at what PetCo® has in its arsenal to satisfy every kitten fancier’s whim!

TYPES OF LITTER

Whichever type of litter you choose, try to stick with the same brand.  Don’t be tempted to change it because you found a great sale on a bag of XYZ litter.  These changes will alter the scratch, sniff routine of routine litter box training.  Changing the brand or type of a cats litter is an invitation to cat disasters.  Cats are very tactile creatures.  Young kittens will get into their box as usual and feel the texture of the litter as they go through the motions.  Than they discover……they changed the brand of litter…..HORRORS!  What happens next is that the kitten will refuse to use the box and go right outside of it or elsewhere in the house.

There are handfuls of cat litters on the market.  When it comes to litter box training the choice is yours but there are pros and cons to each type.  There are basically four types:  clay based, sand based, crystal based and biodegradable pellets made from numerous types of wood.  All have varying degrees of use such as how frequently the litter has to be changed as well as the degree of odor control a particular product has.  They vary in cost so select a type that you think will fit your needs and try to stick with it.  Take a look and see what is available from PetCo®.