Are you trying to make your home the most friendly PetPlace, but you faced difficulties with kitten eliminating in the places where you don’t want him to do so?
Elimination disorder is the most hated problem among cat owners. People are usually looking for veterinary advice when they face this issue. It happens that they make a devastating decision and give kitties up to the shelter. And you can easily avoid kitten elimination problem. All you need is a little bit of knowledge and patience. If you have a kitten facing these difficulties, help yourself and your cat and read this article.
Training
So when the kitten becomes part of your family, and he’s not using litter tray, you should give him a helping hand. First thing you need to do is introduce cat pan. Show your pet the box, let him inspect and sniff as long as he wants to. If he did it put him gently inside. Don’t ever change the box position once you introduced it.
The main part of teaching your cat to use the litter box is consistency. Right after each meal, every time the kitten wakes up and before he goes to sleep, put him into the litter tray. If you suspect that kitten has to relieve himself, don’t hesitate to bring him to the litter box. Learn your cat schedule to figure out when he’s most likely to eliminate.
If the kitten mother didn’t teach him how to use a sandbox, you have to do this. Of course, you don’t have to use it, but it’s best if you show your cat how to scrape the litter aside to give him an example. If your kitten doesn’t bury the waste, show him how to do it using your finger. It might take some time, but at some point, he’ll understand what you want him to do on his own.
An essential part of the training is a reward. After every successful elimination attempt in the box, award him. Give your kitten treats, toys, play with him nearby and pet him. Consistently rewarding makes the cat associate litter tray with good things, and this is what you want. Keep doing this patiently, and you should see good results in no time.
Scolding and punishing is never a good idea. If you do this, it will lead to anxiety and cause stress. Don’t yell. Your cat will be scared and frightened of you because of that. If you notice that he eliminates outside the litter tray, toss the waste and put it in the sandbox. It’ll help him associate the elimination process with the litter box.
Clean outside litter tray waste accurately. A kitten shouldn’t smell his by-products in places different than a sandbox. If the problem still occurs, try not letting the kitten to the room where he is eliminating.
One last thing you could try is moving food and water to the place where your cat relieves himself outside the sandbox. Animal instincts will not allow him to eliminate in a place where food or water is nearby.
Location essentials
Because of their instincts, cats strive to eliminate in sand or soil. They usually learn by observing mother, and it takes them about 3 to 4 weeks. One of the essential things you should take care of is the litter box location. Ideally, it should be in a quiet and calm place. Cats value private spots the most. Noisy and busy rooms, where your family members often walk, watch TV or listen to loud music is a bad idea to put a cat pan. Kittens find places like that disturbing and they’re going to look for another, calmer place.
If there’s more than one cat at your home a good rule of thumb is you should have one litter box for every kitty and one extra. If you have this possibility, you can even provide two boxes per cat. Although it’s not necessary, some kitties use different sandboxes to urinate and defecate.
Litter box type
There’s a wide range of litter boxes available: covered boxes, litter tray designed to fit into corners or even self-cleaning boxes. Whichever you choose, it doesn’t matter. What’s essential is cat pans should provide enough space. Cat behaviorists often say that the most common mistake people make is buying too small boxes. It’s also good to buy a box with a lower side, to help kittens enter the box.
Now that you know the most important things about training your cat stay positive and be patient. Using these tips will eventually bring wanted results. Good luck!