Meta: If you have adopted a stray cat, teaching him to use a litter box is a big problem. This article today can help you with some useful tips to make it a breeze.
Most cats learn how to litter from their mom at a very young age. If a stray cat mother takes the soft garden earth to be a bathroom, its kitten might have the same habit.
Hence, when you adopt a stray cat, training him to litter in a box might be a little confusing. However, litter train a cat is only about some tips. And in this article today, we will introduce to your some useful tactics that can help you teach your cat to relieve himself in a box.
The right litter box
The first thing you should take into account before starting this training task is the litter box. If your cat doesn’t like his box, he might find somewhere else around the house to relieve himself. You don’t want that to happen, do you?
What is the right size for a litter box?
Here comes the biggest problem with the litter box that you should consider its size.
A small box is the leading cause of inappropriate elimination of the cat. Your cat might not prefer a little box that doesn’t fit with his size. Moreover, a small box might make him think that it will be full quickly.
So, how to choose the right size for your cat’s litter box?
Well, it’s pretty easy. As your cat continues growing up, you should purchase a roomy box that stays comfortable for at least a year. Having a bigger box also makes him feel like he has more private space.
Another important note is that you should choose a box with low sides for your small or elderly cat to enter without any hassle.
Where to put the litter box?
This question comes right after when you have purchased a suitable litter box. You might wonder where to place the litter box so that your cat will see and go into it.
So, if you are on the way to training your cat to use the litter box, it is better to have more than one litter box around your house. If you have more than one cat, two or even three litter boxes might be necessary.
The place to put the litter box also comes into matters. If your cat cannot found the box, he might find somewhere else to bury his wastes. So, where is the right place?
First, you should place the litter box away from his food and water. He considers food and water are somewhere inside his home, and cats naturally want to defecate outside the home.
However, it might be inconvenient if the litter box is too far away from his active zone. And some cats might be shy if their box is in such a crowded place with many people passing by.
If you live in a small apartment, it might be a big question of where to put the litter box. Check out some articles from https://catthink.com to have some advice from experts.
Litter and your cat
The next important thing you should look for is the litter. In a vast and various market of litter, you might find it hard to choose the right one. So, let’s take a quick look at this problem.
Choose the litter
Most cats prefer clumping litter as they will be less likely to stick to their paws and more comfortable to walk on. Furthermore, clumping litter might make scooping the litter box a breeze.
While many people prefer the scented litter, your cat might get allergic problems with them. Thus, it is best to choose the unscented litter. If you are afraid of odors, you should clean the litter box more frequently.
Moreover, you should pay attention to the depth of litter in the box. As cats love to dig, too much litter might be inconvenient for them and even get spilled out of the box.
According to some experts, the depth of litter should be around two inches. However, if your cat is a real digger, you should provide him with a four-inch-deep litter box.
Clean the litter box
As I have mentioned above, cleaning the litter box plays a crucial role in keeping your house away from the uncomfortable smell. It would help if you scooped the box frequently, at least once a day. And change the litter at least twice a week and clean the entire box once a week.
However, if your kitten still learns to use the litter box, you should leave a little waste in the box to remind him where to urine. But don’t leave them there for too long, or else they might create horrible smells for your house.
Teach your cat
Here comes the most important part of this article today.
As cats are very easy to teach, you don’t have to spend much time with them. You need to pay attention to his schedule to determine when he will want to relieve himself and direct him to the box. Generally, a cat might want to urine and defecate after playing, running, or even after eating. So pay attention to your cat’s habit.
If your cat hasn’t known about the litter box before, you should teach him how to do it. Place him into the box and teach him how to dig the litter. Using your finger to scrape some litter aside might help him learn how to dig instead of using his paw might make him frightening.
The key here is patience. You should maintain the trust that your cat will finally learn those behaviors. And don’t scream at his face if he cannot learn for the first time. It might lead to anxiety or even the fear of a litter box.
If he leaves his waste out of the box, you should put them back to where they belong. It might set as a reminder of where to eliminate the next time.
And don’t forget to clean up the messy place. Once the cat smells the waste, they might continue doing that again. Another solution is you can move his food and water near the out-of-the-box waste spot to prevent him from eliminating at that spot again.
Wrapping Up
Well, here comes the end of our litter-training for cats article. I hope that you have learned some useful things today. If you have any doubts, you can leave comments below. We will respond to you as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading!
