Litter Training Your Kitten

Cats instinctually have the need to bury their elimination, so teaching them to use a litterbox is fairly easy. Most kittens also learn from an early age to use a litterbox from their mother so they may already arrive trained to use a litter box. However, accidents can still happen during the first year.

Restrict the areas your kitten has access to. Try to contain your kitten in the room you spend the most time in so that you can supervise them while they are still young and learning. Containing them also prevents them from having free reign of the house and making undesirable choices such as having an accident on the carpet or scratching the furniture.

Set up a safe and quiet area for your kitten and furnish it with a bed and some toys to keep them entertained. Remember to also set up their litter box in a quiet area away from their eating and sleeping areas. If you are allowing your kitten to have access to multiple rooms or a big space, it’s a good idea to set up multiple litter boxes so that your kitten will always have one nearby when they need to go. As they get older and understand where to find the litter box, you can start phasing some of them out.

Have a schedule and be consistent with it. Place your kitten in their litterbox first thing in the morning, a couple of minutes after mealtimes and when they have woken up from a nap. Remain calm and limit the space they can wonder off to and allow them to sniff around and explore. Don’t try and force them, it will just stress them out. If they choose not to go, give them a break and try again.

Once your kitten uses the litter box, give them lots of praise and a treat to reinforce the behaviour.

While they are young, the best way to get your kitten into the habit is to gently place them into their litterbox every hour. Even if they don’t need to go, it does remind them where it is.

While there is a large variety of litter types and brand in the market, cats can be rather particular about the litter and litter trays they prefer to use. If you find your cat is consistently eliminating outside of their litter area, it might be worth trying a different type of litter or design of litter box.

When switching litters, be sure to do it slowly by mixing a bit of the new litter with the old litter and gradually increasing the ratio of the new litter.

Accidents are bound to happen to kittens and can even happen with adult cats. This can happen simply because your kitten forgets, the litter box is not clean or there are changes to the environment, their toilet area or their schedule.

If you see it happening, place your kitten onto their litterbox immediately and praise them for going inside the box. If you simply find the accident after your kitten has gone, DO NOT reprimand your kitten.

Clean the area thoroughly with an enzymatic spray to remove the stain as well as the odour so that your kitten is not tempted to eliminate there again.