Litter Training
Litter Training Your Cat Made Easy!
When a cat is raised in the wild, it obviously urinates and defecates in the wild as well, it’s instinct is then to cover up that urine or feces with dirt or sand so that predators or even prey don’t know that it’s in the vicinity. A cat covers its tracks as a form of hunting and as a form of survival. Therefore, when you bring your new cat home from the pound, or the pet shop, or you rescue a stray, and you put it in its new litter box, all you have to do is gently scratch its paw in the litter and your cat is litter trained. It’s natural for your cat to use the litter box so all you have to do is show your cat where the box is and it will use that box from that moment on.
Training Problems
There are some cases when a cat fails litter training after that initial showing of where the box is. This could be for several reasons. If your cat is wild, such as would be the case if you took it in from the wild, it may not be used to domestic settings. Let your cat get used to your home and litter training will soon follow. If your cat is a kitten, or was brought from the pound, and still doesn’t like the litter box, it could be because of the litter you’re using. Cats can be very particular so they may not like certain kinds of scented litter, or some textures, so try some different forms of litter, then watch your litter training efforts improve.
My Cat Went On The Floor!
If your cat was fine after the initial litter training but has recently been going to the bathroom on the floor, or on your counters, or in your bed, ask yourself if something has changed. Sometimes litter training won’t work if your cat is angry with you. Consider first of all, how often are you changing your litter box? If your litter box is full of urine and feces, your cat won’t want to go there. Cats are very clean and particular animals and like a clean box so you must change the litter regularly. Alternatively you can get the scoopable kind that you can clean easily. That should help your litter training efforts. If you’ve changed litter brands or changed the location of the box, this could also hamper litter training. Keep things consistent and your cat will be much happier and you’ll see that you’ll have no problem with litter training.
Litter training is the easiest thing you’ll have to do to train your cat, which is why cats make great household pets. They go to the bathroom in one location, they don’t have to be taken outside like dogs, and as long as you clean the box often, you’ll never have to litter train again.
