How to train a kitten to use a litter tray? 11 tips + video

Correct placement of the tray

Cats love to go to the toilet in peace and quiet. First of all, you should take care of the location of the tank. If children are running past and the washing machine is running, then the kitten will feel uncomfortable going to the toilet in this place. It is best to place the litter box close to where the kitten likes to spend most of his time. He must wake up and quickly run to the toilet.

Cat owners believe that the tray should be placed near the food bowl. Many kittens go straight to the toilet after eating without learning to tolerate it.

You can gradually move the tank further away, but at first it is advisable that it be close to the bowl and bed. It’s even better to organize a mini-zone where the bowl of food, tray and bed will be close to each other.

A little kitten is a child, he is just beginning to explore the world. You can put him in a tray and give him time to get comfortable. When he has done his business, he needs to be petted and given a treat.

What filler do you use?

Sand from the street

How to prepare

Try to make the animal’s stay in the house comfortable and pay attention to the arrangement of its place and toilet.

To teach you to relieve yourself correctly, you need to acquire a minimum set of things at the pet store: purchase a container, choose a filler and, if necessary, buy a special spray that attracts pets with its smell. From my own experience, I can say that you may also need disposable diapers, which are sold at the pharmacy.

Selecting a tray

There are different types of toilets for pets: open, high-sided and closed.

The open tray is suitable for the little ones. It is convenient to climb into it, and you can place a grate on top, through which urine will flow to the bottom of the container, and the paws will remain dry.
The high sides of the tray do not allow the filler to be scattered, but are inconvenient for children and sick animals. In addition, filler consumption increases.
Closed litter boxes are suitable for shy breeds, such as Sphynx, Ragdoll, and Maine Coon. The downside of such containers is the inconvenience of cleaning.

If you are just starting to toilet train your animal, purchase the most common inexpensive toilet, regardless of the cat’s age. Subsequently, if necessary, you can always replace it.

Choosing a filler

Litter is extremely important in the training process to awaken your pet's instincts. In nature, animals love to rummage in the ground and dig holes for themselves, so first you should purchase a filler that is similar in structure to earth or sand.

I recommend clumping litter. It is suitable for both the smallest and adult cats, especially at the learning stage. When liquid gets in, such filler immediately forms lumps that are easy to remove, and the remaining one will be clean. In addition, it is small and suitable for burying excrement.

Pet stores offer us other options: mineral, wood, silica gel. I will not dwell on them in detail, because they are rarely chosen at the stage of toilet training and are mainly acquired when the animal already knows a place to relieve itself.

Do not use pieces of newspaper or napkins for toilet training. It won't help.

Choosing a place

Most often, animals go to the toilet in secluded corners. This is due to the fact that this way they feel protected. Therefore, you need to choose the appropriate location for the tray and not change it without good reason.

Place the container away from batteries, washing machines, TVs, and intercoms. Any loud or unexpected sounds can confuse your pet. In addition, the place should not be a walk-through area.

Suitable filler

Many owners skip this important step. But the more correctly the filler is selected, the faster your ward will remember where his toilet is. A natural and safe filler is suitable as a filler: sand, but it requires constant replacement. Granular litters are a good idea. Some manufacturers even offer special fillers - when urine gets into them, they form into a dense lump. It is simply taken out and thrown away.

Some kittens try to eat litter, so to be safe, choose natural and safe litter.
It is not recommended to buy brands with fragrances and fillers with antibacterial properties; most of them contain chemicals that are toxic to babies.
It is also worth abandoning clumping fillers. They are only suitable for adult cats, but for babies this is a serious danger; kittens can swallow the lump.

Litters containing wood and corn pellets are excellent for litter box training. You should not change the litter until the kitten is used to the toilet.

Alluring smells

In order for the kitten to know where its toilet is, it must be guided by smell. You can leave a napkin with the smell of his urine in the tank. This way the baby will understand where his tray is. But after he finishes his job, the tank should be washed thoroughly; felines are very fond of cleanliness.

How to accustom a kitten to the litter box by other means?

Home Remedies

Mountain lavender. The scent of lavender attracts kittens. A few lavender sachets or plant-scented litter will help with litter box training.
Cat mint. It has a stupefying effect on the feline - the little one is unlikely to pass by.

Store products

Ms.Kiss “Litter Tray Accustomed” is a zoohygienic spray that will help accustom a kitten to a litter tray in a certain place. Pros: convenient bottle with ergonomic spray nozzle, good efficiency, low cost. The downside is a rather specific smell.
Himola “Toilet Training” - bio-spray is designed to develop a strong habit of using the litter box in your kitten. Pros – it sprays easily, attracts the kitten’s attention to the tray. The downside is an unpleasant, persistent smell.
Api-san “Toilet training” is a smart spray for training a kitten to a litter box or a certain place on the street. It is highly effective, but has a pungent odor.
Stop Problem “Tray training” – hygiene spray. Designed to correct the kitten's behavior and will help facilitate the process of accustoming the baby to the tray. Pros: pleasant smell and effectiveness. Disadvantage: not suitable for training adult animals.

Host mistakes

When bringing a new family member into the home, many owners make the same mistakes - it’s worth learning about them in advance so as not to repeat them. Firstly, the tray should be located within reach - the baby should not run around the house looking for it, and secondly, the tank should be suitable in size for a small kitten, and it should not include high sides in its design.

Scolding, and especially hitting, is strictly prohibited. So the baby will forever cease to want to obey its owners, and will not go to the tray prepared for it.

If the kitten repeatedly begins to do its business in the wrong place, then this place must be treated with anti-urine odor products. A folk remedy that helps a lot is vodka. This simple and affordable product kills the smell of urine from any surface: walls, upholstery, floors.

Cats really don’t like citrus scents, so you can spray the area the kitten has chosen with essential oil.

The pet store sells special products to neutralize cat urine.

Store-bought urine odor removers:

Vergas Soft Faithful friend.
Laina spray with fir scent.
Nature's Miracle URINE DESTROYER.
Nature's Miracle Stain & odor remover. Just for cats.
Citrus magic pet Litter box odor eliminator.

All of the above products are very effective, as evidenced by numerous consumer reviews. These products can be purchased at a pet store or ordered online.

Repellents that help discourage the desire to go into the wrong corner:

rosemary;
garlic and onion;
pepper;
carnation.

If your kitten is addicted to wearing shoes to go to the toilet, you can buy or make sachets with essential oils and place them in your shoes.

How to use the spray in trays with and without filler?

Before bringing the cat home, the toilet must already be prepared, i.e. filled with absorbent granules. Ideally, it is advisable to take a container that another cat has used. In this case, a specific smell is already present, thanks to which the cat understands the purpose of this place.

Pets go into a filled tray more willingly, as they get the opportunity to realize the instinct of burying their stones.

The spray, which helps train a kitten to use the toilet, is applied in a small amount onto a piece of paper. It must be placed on the filler. The smell released will attract the animal and encourage it to use the container for its own needs. If the baby peed in the wrong place, the floor must be thoroughly washed and treated with a repellent.

It is also important to remove contaminated litter in a timely manner - preferably after each visit to the cat. Or use one that “locks” liquid well.

Don't forget that cats rely on smell. If you need to train an animal to walk on the net, then you need to lightly spray the tray with a spray. But you shouldn’t be zealous, since an overly active aroma will only scare away the animal . You can follow the standard procedure: treat the paper with the product and place it on the grid. Then the kitten needs to be lowered into the tray, caressed so that it calms down, and left to get used to it.

Checklist - 11 tips

For convenience, we offer you a checklist “How to train a kitten to use a litter box.”

No1. Restrict access to all rooms at once. -The kitten may get lost or, having played too much, will not have time to reach the tray.

No2. Buy the same type of litter that the kitten is used to using from previous owners. -Find out what type of litter (wood, silica gel, mineral) the kitten used before, buy a litter of the same type. -Over time, you will be able to switch to another type that is more convenient for you.

No3. Add some used litter to the tray. -Ask the previous owner for some of the “described” filler, pour it along with the clean one. -At first, when cleaning, you can leave a little “wet” litter so that the smell reminds the kitten that this is his toilet.

No4. Show that you can dig in the filler. -After placing the baby in the tray, dig a hole with your finger so that the kitten can see it. -Do not try to teach digging by holding the paws.

No5. Place in the tray more often. -How to quickly train a kitten to use the litter tray? Sit him in the toilet more often after eating, sleeping, and active games. -If you notice that it is “pasting” in the wrong place, carefully move it to the toilet.

No6. Don't punish for puddles. -Remove the puddle and treat the area with a special product.

No7. Place the tray in the place where the kitten frequents. -From the beginning, it is important to teach the kitten to go to the litter box. -Later you can rearrange it where it is convenient for you, gradually moving it.

No8. Place the food bowl in an undesirable place for the toilet. -Usually cats don’t shit where they eat and drink.

No9. There should be a toilet on each floor if the house has several floors.

No10. One cat may need two litter boxes. -Some people like to do “wet” things in one, and “serious” things in another :-)

No11. Each cat has its own litter box! -Many cats do not like to share their litter box with others. -If possible, place containers for different cats in different places.

To toilet train an adult cat, use the same algorithm.

Get to know interesting cat breeds with the help of our encyclopedia: Bengal, Cymric, British Longhair.

Means to prevent cats from shitting in corners and tearing up furniture with wallpaper

A kitten, like a child, needs to be raised, and the pet does not understand what is bad and what is good. Therefore, if small dirty tricks are detected, you should try to wean your pet from tearing up furniture. Means of combating this phenomenon can be:

Repellent spray (the complete opposite of the previous drug).
A scratching post will help wean the animal from damaging furniture.
Trim your cat's nails, or buy anti-scratch claws.
Some people use the kitten declawing method, but this method is best avoided.

People have long been faced with the problem of furniture damage; there are folk remedies:

Every time the cat is going to spoil the furniture or shit, you can give the pet a cold shower with a spray bottle. This manipulation will affect the pet’s psyche and it will associate illegal actions with unpleasant sensations.
Place citrus fruits next to your favorite sofa or wallpaper: this smell is unpleasant for cats.

The reason why a cat scratches the floor and tears up wallpaper is commonplace - sharpening its claws. The animal cannot stop doing this, so it is better to choose an alternative for the animal, in the form of a scratching post. The spray can only cause hostility, but it is not able to discourage natural cravings.

Having an animal is a big responsibility, and before you take someone into your home, you need to prepare a comfortable environment for it. Then the animal will bring only joy to the house and you won’t know what tattered wallpaper and shabby furniture are, and you won’t find stinking hiding places with cat feces.