Let's Talk About Cat House Training 101

Ok, now this is not the time to panic.  Cat House Training is just not that difficult.  So are you sitting there wondering how on earth do you teach a cat to use a litter box?  Well, you got the first step right; buy the kitty litter box and fill it with the clumping variety of litter and you are off to the right choice.  Oh, yes, don't forget the infamous “pooper scooper”. So the litter box is all set up and now you are playing the waiting game to see just what your new kitty leaves behind.  No worries, cat house training really does not have to be that hard!

Thankfully cats are clean animals. This is the good news about cat ownership.  Cats prefer to “do their business” in sand or dirt; in fact, kitties are simply looking for basically any substance they can paw at and cover their poop up with. Isn't that a delightful habit!  You now have a pet that truly wants some sort of poop hiding device and that is a delightful part of cat house training. 

So that is the good news, but it is not enough to think that plopping a kitty litter box down in the corner is all you need to do to housetrain a cat.  Of course not.  You must think about the cat's personality.  While it might sound a little odd, it is a fact that cats really want to use the litter box in private. Just like people, kitties want their privacy, so think about where you put the litter box.  Give them some privacy for goodness sake! 

So when you know that little tidbit about the personality of a cat, then you should be able to select the right spot in your home for the kitty litter box and cat house training.  You want the litter box to be easily accessible and again in a private area.  Tuck the box away from the heavy family traffic.  Think about putting the litter box away in a corner of a room or in a small alcove that’s not used much. Your cat will certainly appreciate it which of course will lead to one happy kitty.

When you are working on cat house training, the perfect way to get started once you have selected the perfect spot for the litter box, is to simply show your cat where the box is and place her in it to start. No worries, your cat knows instinctively what to do. So she will take care of that piece of the business.  Your job is simply to help her out by making sure that the litter box is kept neat and clean. Plus the best news of all is the advance in litter technology, called clumping litter. What a gift to the kitty world!  Ok, it is also a gift the kitty owner world too.  Both you and your cat will love this.  

With the gift of clumping kitty litter, your only job will be to scoop the feces and urine out daily (it’ll be clustered in and among the clumps of litter). Of course, in addition to daily removal of the clumped contents, on a regular basis you will want to change the entire contents of the box after you have thoroughly washed the box with soap and water.

It is important to remember if your new pet is still a kitten that you will need to select a litter box with low sides so that your cat can get in and out of the box without any problems.  Likewise, if you have an adult cat, you will need to get a litter box in which your cat can comfortably move around in. 

Many new cat owners wonder just how many litter boxes are necessary?  Most cat experts recommend that you have one more box than you have cats. So if you have two cats, then you will need three litter boxes.

Again, the good news is that cats are notoriously clean animals and so they are quite easy to house train.  If you have done all of the right things and you still have a cat that refuses to use the litter box, then there may be more going on than is obvious.  This is the time to take your cat to the vet to make sure that there is nothing else going on.  Cats simply don't need that much encouragement or instruction with house training. 

If your cat refuses to use the litter box, then you might consider that your cat is stressed out.  Ok, it might sound a bit strange, but yes, cats can absolutely get stressed out.  Ask yourself, what has changed that might have caused your cat to get stressed.  For instance, did you just get a new cat for your family?  Did you just get back from vacation?  Did you just rearrange the furniture?  Any of these things can cause your precious cat to be stressed and cause her to begin to avoid the litter box. 

Kitty cats are absolutely wicked creatures of habit and they do love their routine.  Watch your cat and you will see how they follow the same routine each and every day.  They get up and go to bed around the same time every day.  They even enjoying playing and interacting with the family around the same time every day.  If you change something that causes their routine to be altered then you can bet they are going to be stressed and that can lead to litter box accidents.

Here's the thing, if you are even thinking about punishing your cat for litter box accidents then just forget about it.  Cat house training is generally a piece of cake and thinking that you are going to teach them better by punishing your cat, well that idea is just silly.  It will backfire.  Your cat will soon decide that the litter box is associated with getting in trouble and guess what...your cat will then decide to just avoid the litter box all together!  So if you want to help your cat, then try to figure out why she is not using the litter box and remember to praise her when she gets it right!

If your cat isn’t fully house trained or if she has been having problems using the litter box, then never leave the house without first making sure your pet is confined to a certain area. You will want to be sure that your cat has enough food and water and a warm place to sleep at one end of the room and a clean litter box at the other end. Believe me you will be happy that you took the time to set up a contained area. 

You might even consider that maybe your cat isn’t using the box because it isn’t clean enough. Well, now if you remember how picky cats can be about being clean, then if the box is dirty then that could certainly be the problem.  Remember that you need to remove the kitty litter regularly. If you find right after you clean the box that your cat starts to use it, then you just might have figured out the problem.

Remember that your cat wants to cover her waste in some fashion as much as you would like her to use the litter box. So even though if might take some time for your cat to remember where the box is, once she knows where to go, she’ll for the most part continue to use it. That is the best part about cat house training.  Cats will let you know when something is wrong and if she is having accidents in the house, then she is trying to tell you that something is wrong.  So take the time to figure out what is wrong.  It is worth your time and effort.  In fact, you might just be so happy with your house trained cat that you might even take the super-achiever route and try to toilet train your cat!  Ok, now that would be a feat!! 

Happy cat house training!