Training Your Kitten To Use The Litter Box – Complete Guide For Litter Training!

by Apr 12, 2021Training

Cats are unique creatures with the ability to use litter boxes regularly. This is unlike other pets, and through proper training, your kitten would be disposing of waste in the litter box if there is enough privacy and accessibility. No pets can be trained better to use the litter box than cats.

Once you train your kitty to use the litter box, you must make sure it’s clean and tidy. Keep cleaning the tray regularly and make sure you don’t delay the cleaning process or else your kitty might choose another. Training your cat to teach litter training is not a mountainous task as they have an instinct to bury their waste in the sand.

To kickstart the training you need A litter tray and a kitty litter of the right size and quality.

Training Your Kitten To Use The Litter Box

Kittens don’t use the litter box until they are 3 weeks or older. So introduce them to a litter box try after 3 weeks. After your kitty wakes up from sleep or has finishing munching on, you can place your kitty in the tray and wait for it to experiment. Since they have a habitual instinct to dig, you might feel lucky sooner or later. Even if it doesn’t do anything try to help it dig the litter with its front paw which would be quite encouraging for your kitty. Later on, keep the litter box in a place that’s not too odd and ensure enough privacy and easy accessibility.

Kitten Litter boxes come in different shapes and sizes and have one tray per cat is ideal.

Talking about the size, if you are having a kitten, it would be recommended to have a small litter box so that the kitten can easily climb into it. When it grows a bit, you can shift to a larger tray. What’s to be noticed is the material of your litter tray. Using a cardboard box would only be good if you use it for a day or two. Make sure the tray is nonabsorbent. 

What to Look for in Cat Litter?

Since cats prefer burying their waste under the soil, it’s better to find a litter that would resemble the soil or enables easy burial. Add enough litter to the tray so that they would not feel any discomfort while burying their poop.

While choosing the litter, you need to consider how it smells. It’s better to use the fragrance-free litter. Make sure there are no chemicals or ingredients that have a strong smell as the kitten usually explore things with their mouth too. The next thing you need to consider is the litter must be bio-degradable. Using the right type of litter would be perfect.

Litters are of 4 types

Clumping litter

These litters are commonly used and would be better to use for kittens when they are 4 months or older. They solidify when it is contacted with a liquid and your scoping task just simplifies. You don’t have to change this type of litter frequently like the non-clumping litter and that’s why it’s commonly found in stores.

Non clumping litter

They are not easily scoopable and require frequent cleaning. 

They are easy to clean

crystal cat litter

These are dust-free and odor-controlling litter and are more expensive than any other litter. But cats don’t like stepping on crystals as it might be uncomfortable for their paws

These litters are made from natural elements that are mostly not having any benefit. They are usually made from unwanted paper, grass, walnut shells, corn, or wheat.

So make sure you have the right litter that would make your cat happy.

How to Keep Your Cat's Litter Box Clean?

To encourage your kitty to use the litter box and make it habitual, it’s better to keep the litter tray neat and tidy.  Cleaning your cat’s litter must be done regularly by scooping the waste out. Make sure you maintain the right amount of litter in the tray and also replace the litter completely once a week. 

By doing so, your kitty won’t feel any odor that stops it from using the tray. Just rub and clean the tray with water and soap and avoid chemicals instead. Try avoiding chemicals as they might harm them. Having a clean litter box will keep your home odorless.

How to Keep Your Cat's Litter Box Clean

Points To Consider

Clumpable and sandy litters are what cats usually prefer.

Stress, health condition, wrong placement of the tray, or strong fragrance could be the reason

Disposing the clumpy waste each day and replacing the whole litter weekly would keep your tray scrumptious.

Usually, it’s one litter tray per cat and some pet owners have one tray per floor if in incase the cat gets bored and use the stairs. When there are more cats, you could either keep all the trays at different corners so there would be enough privacy for each cat. There won’t be any disturbance you will spot among your cats.

It depends on how often you replace your cat’s litter. If there are more cats at home, it would be a different story and you will need more bags. But if you have only one cat, a 20-pound litter bag is expected to last for around 6 to 8 weeks.

Having a litter tray with a hood helps stop the spread of any odor around the place. But these odors will remain trapped inside and might displease your cat even though it is aesthetic in nature. Cats have a great sense of smell and they might choose to dispose of their waste elsewhere. Instead of a covered litter tray, having a covered bed space that’s cozy and comfortable for your cat would make it even happier.