Toilet Training Your Kitten

Follow these simple steps to help you through…

•Do not allow your kitten the full run of the house.
•Try to contain your kitten to the room you spend the most time in so you can keep an eye on them.
•Close all bedroom doors and barricade other areas without doors.

Establish A Routine
Gently place your kitten in the litter tray, including a few minutes after they have finished eating and a few minutes after they have woken up. Cats prefer to bury their urine and faeces so they will usually begin to dig and scratch at the litter by themselves.

Give them some time to sniff around and decide what they want to do. If they don’t start scratching by themselves, gently take hold of their front paw and simulate a digging motion. The kitten should then get the idea.

If the kitten uses the litter tray, give them lots of praise. If they don’t then never punish them or raise your voice as this may make them fearful of you and the litter tray.

Build the routine of placing your kitten in the litter tray at hourly intervals throughout the day. They may not want to go every time but this will help them learn where you want them to go.

Observe Your Kitten
Young kittens, like babies, can have accidents. You must be prepared to watch your kitten carefully at all times. If you see signs that they are about to go outside the litter tray, gently pick him/her up and place them in the litter tray.

Once your kitten has used the litter tray they leave the smell of cat urine which will encourage them to come back next time.

kitty litterWhich Cat Litter Should I Use?
For indoor litter trays, try crystallised sand or lavender clumping litters as they have great odour control properties. However, lavender clumping litter should be used for kittens under supervision only. If your litter tray is to be located outside on the deck or in the garage, odour control may not be as important. You could then use a more economical litter such as clay, recycled paper pellets or pellet fuel (wood pellets).

An enclosed cat toilet (a litter tray with walls and a roof) also helps to control odours. The roof may contain a carbon cartridge which filters odours as air passes through it.  However cats will need to learn use a flap to access the litter tray.