How to toilet train an adult cat yourself

The process of litter box training can be quite slow, and you need to be mentally prepared for this. Once in a new home, the pet will experience stress from the change of environment. Before he engages in the training process, he must calm down.

For an adult cat that has already been trained to use the litter box, a change of residence is unlikely to interfere with the ability to navigate the new environment and begin using the toilet correctly. The situation will be much more complicated if a pet from a shelter or from the street appears in the house. Owners need to prepare themselves in advance for the hard work ahead.

How to arrange a cat litter box

If the animal finds it uncomfortable to go to the potty, he will soon choose another, more comfortable place. Therefore, it is important to choose the tray and litter according to your cat's preferences, and then install it in an appropriate location.

Selecting a location

Cats by nature love to hide. Some individuals are embarrassed to go to the toilet in an open space and in front of people. To make your pet as comfortable as possible, you need to place the tray in a quiet place with open access.

Many owners prefer to install the cat litter box in the restroom and leave the door ajar. Another option is a special slot in the door for easy access for the mustachioed. For many families, this is the only acceptable option: unpleasant odors will not spread throughout the house, and the cat will be able to go to the bathroom alone.

If it is not possible to place a tray in the bathroom, you can consider the option of a closed tray-house: it can be placed anywhere in the apartment. The cat will be hidden from prying eyes, and unpleasant aromas will not leak through the thick walls. The only negative is that a kitten is unlikely to like such a house; this is an option for an adult pet.

It is advisable to limit the pet’s movement area to any one room in which the tray is located while the skill is being developed. Then he will quickly learn the place of origin of his needs.

Buying a litter box and cleaning it

It is better to choose a tray from non-electrifying plastic with fairly high sides, about ten centimeters (for a kitten - lower, up to five centimeters). It should be roomy enough so that the pet can comfortably fit in it and be able to cross its paws. If the cat is not from the street, but simply changed its owner, ask the previous owner what kind of litter box the pet used - this will help accustom it faster.

Cats like closed structures in the form of houses more, as they create a feeling of seclusion, but caring for such toilets is much more difficult than a regular litter box. An additional advantage of closed toilets is the presence of special filters that absorb unpleasant odors.

Perhaps the most popular option for cat litter is a plastic tray with a removable grid. But it is not suitable for all pets. Some cats outright refuse to use a tray with stale litter: they are afraid of getting their paws wet.

Therefore, the tray must be cleaned regularly: it is necessary to change the filler and wash the tray with a disinfectant. Be careful not to use chemicals that are too odorous - they may scare the animal away and force you to avoid the potty.

Some cats absolutely need sterile cleanliness: they meow loudly and follow the owner so that he cleans up their feces immediately and immediately. Others are less scrupulous and may use the used tray several times.

Purchasing filler

It is much easier for an outdoor cat to get used to a tray with a filler that resembles sand or sawdust (mineral, wood). At first, you can use sand from the street, into which portions of filler are gradually mixed.

If your pet is accustomed to a particular litter, you should not suddenly change it to another, since you will have to accustom an adult cat to the litter box all over again - he will simply boycott the unfamiliar potty. You need to gradually mix portions of the new mixture into the old one until you completely replace it and the animal gets used to it.

For kittens it is better to use natural (wood, soy, coal) fillers. This is due to the fact that the baby may try the granules on the tooth out of curiosity. Later it will be possible to transfer it to a mineral or silica gel filler.

How to organize a tray

First of all, pay attention to the shape of your tray. An adult cat is much larger than a kitten, so the litter tray should also be larger. Its depth should be at least 10 centimeters. There should be enough space in it for the cat to clear a place for itself and sit comfortably.

Once your cat is used to having her own litter box, you can try offering her different litter options and choosing the one that is most hygienic.

Pay attention to trays with bars. In them, the cat relieves itself directly on the grate, without touching the filler itself. In addition, she will not be able to chew the litter - unfortunately, some cats like to do this. True, trays with grates will have to be washed more often than usual - they can become a source of unpleasant odors.

Some owners prefer trays without filler, others teach cats to use the toilet. To do this, you need to carry out daily work: place the tray closer to the toilet, raise it higher, or offer the cat to use a special training tray. Be careful when choosing a tray and filler - your cat’s hygiene and the smell in the apartment depend on it.

How to train a kitten to use a litter box

A small pet is just beginning to explore the world and learn new things, so it will not be at all difficult to develop the skill of going to the toilet; training an adult cat to use the litter box is usually more problematic. Under no circumstances should you show aggression or anger if things don’t work out as quickly as you would like.

The optimal age for an animal to begin training is 2-6 weeks. The main guarantees of success: the correct choice of tray, its installation location and filler. A kitten should not buy a tray with very high sides “for growth”, otherwise he will refuse to use it due to inconvenience. For the same reason, it is better not to install a toilet-house as the first tray.

A kitten goes to the toilet more often than an adult animal. If you notice that the baby is restless, scratching his paw on the floor, walls or furniture, or spinning in one place, immediately carry him and put him in the tray. Do not create a fuss while doing this; the pet may get scared. You can help the cat and, taking his paws in your hands, scratch the litter.

Wait until the baby does his business, and then praise him. You should not give him a treat: encouragement with your voice and stroking will suffice.

Sometimes it is enough to carry out such manipulations several times, and the animal understands what they want from it. It happens that it takes much more time, please be patient.

If the kitten misses, there is no need to scold him or scream: he will be scared and is unlikely to understand what happened. Point him to the puddle, and then take the baby to the tray.

Some owners are lucky and do not face the problem of toilet training their animal. If the kitten they adopted grew up with a cat mom, chances are she taught him everything.

Timely training

It is advisable to accustom a kitten to the tray from an early age. From which one?

As soon as possible, ideally when he reaches four weeks.

Teaching a one-month-old kitten to order will be quite quick and easy.

According to the advice of veterinarians, this particular age limit is optimal for animals to learn new information and skills.

But this requires persistence on the part of the owner.

If the owner does not pay attention to the “dirty things” left in the corners of the apartment and silently removes them, then the pet will decide that this is in the order of things

Important! It is much more difficult to teach order to a two-month-old kitten, especially after he has been pooping wherever he wants for quite a long time!

If you took the baby from a nursery, where until now his mother was looking after him, then you should not flatter yourself with the hope that she instilled good behavior in him.

As a rule, cats do not train their kittens to use the litter box. Kids can simply copy her actions.

And even if small pets managed to adopt some good habits during the time spent next to her, there is a high probability that the skills will be lost when the situation changes.

Even if the cat mother set an exceptionally good example for the baby, separation from her can lead to a complete loss of this experience.

When a kitten turns one month old and is immediately separated from its mother, it experiences stress, no matter how friendly its new owners are to it.

The baby is lost and often does not control his natural urges.

Here, new owners should show restraint and teach the kitten to go to the litter box on their own.

How long will it take? It all depends on your persistence and the character of the baby.

How to train an adult animal: algorithm of actions

Adult felines are very scrupulous and picky about the toilet. They are disturbed by noise and various external stimuli. To fulfill their natural needs, they instinctively choose hard-to-reach, secluded corners, for example, places behind a closet or behind a sofa, where it is quiet and there are no prying eyes. Therefore, while the animal adapts, it is better to play it safe and block off such areas.

There is no difference in learning ability between male and female cats, especially for sterilized pets.

When working with an animal, you should take into account that each pet has its own character and level of intelligence. Some people learn to use the litter box fairly quickly, while others need time to form the desired habit. Difficulties usually arise when training adult pets - especially if the cat came into the house from the street, where there were no rules for the discharge of natural needs.

To develop the necessary skill in your pet, you need to place the cat litter box correctly. It should always be available and located in a convenient location. A bathroom or a warm loggia are the most suitable options.

The animal must be explained what a tray is and for what purposes it is used. This must be done patiently and calmly, without getting irritated, much less without any physical influence. Cats are very smart creatures; they respond well to changes in voice intonation. Take advantage of this. Barbaric methods like poking your nose into a puddle will not speed up the learning process, but, on the contrary, will complicate the task, increase the duration of adaptation and turn your pet into a frightened creature.

A scheme for training an adult cat to use a tray to obtain the fastest results may look like this:

1. The need to relieve oneself in animals usually occurs after eating. For the first time after a cat appears in the house, do not leave it unattended. When the animal has eaten, carefully take it to the tray. Sit near the cat, wait. When she relieves herself, praise and pet her. But don’t rush to clean the litter box – let your pet form an olfactory connection.
2. The animal may want to go to the toilet not immediately after a meal, but at another time. Signs of this are as follows: the animal begins to worry, sniffs corners, and scratches the floor. In this case, you need to take the pet to the litter box, wait until everything is over, and praise it.
3. If it happens that you didn’t notice and the cat did its “dark” business in the room, then do not rush to punish it. Blot the puddle with a napkin and take it to the tray. Let your pet smell it. If the cat came into the house from the street, sprinkle the puddle it made with sand and take the wet sand to the tray. Give your pet a chance to explore the litter box and form an olfactory connection. The place where the puddle was must be washed with perfume or strong-smelling substances: vinegar, alcohol, kerosene. You can drop and rub a couple of drops of essential oil with the aroma of citrus or lavender on the washed area.
4. It happens that the pet himself chose a place for the toilet, and it does not coincide with where the tray is located. In this situation, there is only one way out - put the tray in the place that the cat chose. Once the habit is established, begin to gradually move the tray so that over time it ends up in the place you want. The movements need to be made small: 1-2 centimeters per day.
5. Don't take risks and don't leave outdoor shoes in the access area. The smells of the street can provoke the animal, and it will be very difficult for you to rid your favorite shoes of cat odors.
6. If another cat previously lived in the house, treat the area where her litter box was located with a strong-smelling compound. Cats' sense of smell is unique. A new resident may be able to smell the scent even if several years have passed and will be tempted to mark the area.
7. In pet stores you can purchase a special spray for toilet training a cat, which is recommended for treating the litter box. There are also sprays with a repellent odor, which are recommended for treating risk areas, such as the hallway.

If the cat knows where the tray is, but periodically goes to another place, you need to take a good look and look for the reason. Perhaps something is bothering your pet.

How to stop an adult cat from shitting

To protect your home and furniture from being “mined” by your cat, experts recommend starting with studying the animal’s health. He may need to be treated. If the cause of the marks is hormonal activity, it is recommended to sterilize the pet.

Uncontrollable urination can be caused by diseases, including infectious diseases caused by flea bites and other parasites. Therefore, take care of hygiene and regularly wash your pet with special shampoos, wear an anti-parasitic collar and be sure to treat it with a spray or other insecticidal preparations during the insect active season.

It is also recommended to take the following measures:

• make it difficult or completely block access to an unwanted toilet area;
• provide free access to the tray;
• wash the unwanted area with detergents and treat it with a special spray or citrus essential oil, and treat the tray with a spray that attracts the animal’s attention;
• praise, stroke and pamper with delicious food every time the cat visits the tray;
• try several litters and buy only the one that your cat likes: so that it absorbs moisture and odors and does not cause discomfort.

Is it possible to teach a cat to go to the toilet?

Some cat owners do not want to install a litter box in their apartment; they prefer that the animal go to the toilet on the toilet. But you won’t be able to completely avoid using a cat potty, since you can accustom a cat to a litter box, including an outdoor one, only through an “intermediate object,” namely a litter box. An animal that is not familiar with the litter box will not be able to learn to relieve itself on the toilet.

If your pet clearly knows that her business needs to be done in the tray in a strictly designated place, you can move on to changing habits - going to the toilet to the toilet. Do everything gradually. If you rush, you'll have to start all over again. Move the tray every day by 1-2 cm, moving it towards the location of the toilet.

For the next stage of training, prepare a large stack of paper, newspapers or magazines. Place newspaper under the tray after each use. Do not put too much at once - no more than 1 cm at a time. Otherwise, the pet may begin to show character and go on strike, leaving puddles on the floor.

In the process of raising the structure, the amount of filler should decrease. The best option is ꟷ if you didn’t use it from the very beginning. Be careful about the stability of the stack of newspapers. If the structure collapses at the most crucial moment, the animal may become frightened, and all training will go down the drain.

When the tray is at the level of the toilet, secure the result and let your pet finally get used to it. After a few days, you can move the tray onto the toilet itself and remove the pile of paper. Make sure everything is installed securely. It is better if you raise the seat; without plastic elements, the design is more stable, and this is very important.

At the last stage, you need to remove the tray; it is better to take it out of the apartment altogether so that the animal cannot find it by smell. When the cat wants to go to the toilet, she will be forced to use the toilet. After all, the tray had been standing there for the last few days.

There are times when your pet refuses your proposed plan at this stage. There may be signs of protest on the floor. In this case, you should return the tray to the toilet and try again.

There is another option for completing training - longer, but more reliable. To implement it, cut the bottom in the tray, gradually increasing the diameter. When the hole is the same as in the toilet, you can simply throw away the sides from the tray. And the cat is guaranteed to do his business in the desired place.

Some owners resort to a special tray attachment for the toilet - it also does the job well. But the attachment is used at the last stages of training, so a regular tray will still be needed at first.

There are two important rules for toilet training an adult cat: the toilet lid should always be up and the door to the toilet should always be open.

Is it worth punishing if the cat does not go to the litter box?

If the question of how to accustom an adult cat to a litter box in a new home is not resolved immediately, shouting or resorting to physical punishment is not only unnecessary, but also harmful. Cats are excellent at distinguishing intonation, and your dissatisfied voice will be a signal that “something is wrong.” The animal will be offended by shouting or beating and will deliberately spoil your things.

Moreover, in order to hide the Skoda, the cat will begin to look for more and more inaccessible and hidden places. As a result, the smell will spread throughout the house, and it will become more and more difficult for you to find its source each time. The cat will have negative associations with the litter box, and it will be even more difficult to train your pet to use it.

Don’t be lazy each time to explain to your pet what is required, take the excrement to the tray and bury it. You can even try burying the waste with your pet’s paw, and then praise it and treat it to something tasty. Usually, after 3-5 repetitions of this procedure, cats themselves begin to run around the house at the right moment in search of the “right” place for the toilet.

If the cat periodically “does not get” to the intended place, it is worth showing it to a veterinarian. Perhaps the animal has pain in the kidneys or genitourinary organs.

Training aids

Since all owners want to accustom their cat to the litter box quickly and forever, they often begin searching for aids. Special sprays can be good helpers. There are two types of pharmaceuticals:

• with an attractive effect;
• with a repellent effect.

The principle of operation of the first type of products is based on the fact that their smell attracts the cat, forcing it to go to the toilet in the right place. The secret of this effect is simple: it contains urea, in other words, urea. Therefore, some cat owners do not want to purchase an aerosol; they simply moisten a napkin with the animal’s urine and place it in the right place. But using a spray is much more convenient, and such preparations are inexpensive. The product should be sprayed around the tray: on a piece of paper left nearby, or on the filler itself.

Sprays with a repellent effect are used to treat potentially at-risk areas, such as shoes, places behind furniture, and rugs. It is also recommended to use them in areas where the animal has already left a puddle.

All specialized products are absolutely safe for cats. But there are people who prefer folk remedies, for example, lavender oil. Use a few drops in the place where the animal gets into the habit of going to the toilet - the aroma repels cats well.

Citrus fruits also seem unpleasant to cats - you can leave the peels of oranges or tangerines in the place where the animal has shitted several times.

Features of training an adult cat

Is it possible to train an adult cat to use a litter box? Of course yes! But let’s immediately agree that you are the owner of the house, not the cat. You are smarter, stronger, you have more opportunities. This means that it is you who bears the responsibility for raising the animal and arranging its living space. The pet is completely dependent on you, which means your task is to place the toilet so that it is convenient for the pet to go to it. To do this, you will have to be patient and not wait for quick results.

If you are adopting an adult domestic cat, be sure to ask where his litter box was, what it looked like, and what kind of litter was used. You can ask the owners for an old tray for the first time - the cat knows it and knows why it is needed. Buy the same filler. Try to reproduce the environment your cat is familiar with at home. This way the animal will be less stressed, and it will immediately figure out where to “do things.”

When the cat gets used to the house, you can buy a new tray and, if necessary, gradually retrain it to a new placement, for example, not in the hallway, but in the bathroom or toilet. At the same time, you should limit access to undesirable places and hide things that your pet “encroaches” on: close the door to the bedroom, cover your favorite chair with oilcloth, hide slippers or other shoes, tightly close the cabinet with bed linen, blankets, etc.

With street cats the situation is more complicated. You know practically nothing about the animal and its habits. How long does it take to litter train an adult outdoor cat? In each case, it depends on you and the cat, that is, strictly individually. Some pets understand where to go to the toilet from the first hours in their new home, while others need weeks to figure it out. Therefore, you will have to be patient and empirically search for a toilet option that suits you and your pet.

An adult cat's character has already been formed, so you will have to be creative to achieve the desired result. No aggression! No screaming and, especially, no physical punishment! Only affection and patience will help your cat develop the skill you need.

How to toilet train an adult street cat is not an easy question. Typically, animals taken from the street find any quiet corner suitable for satisfying their natural needs. And if you scold the animal, it will look for more and more secluded corners. Each time, searching for and cleaning up the “consequences” will become more and more tedious. Therefore, it is worth asking the question: how to accustom a cat to an adult litter box - without stress and forever.

There are a number of factors to take into account here:

• type and size of the tray;
• filler;
• the place where the toilet is located;
• character traits of the animal.

Reasons for possible difficulties

When developing the skill of defecating in the right place, difficulties sometimes arise. They can be caused by various reasons. Just watch your pet to understand why training is so difficult.

Sometimes it happens that an animal went to the toilet in the right place, and then suddenly stopped. In this case, you need to understand what causes this behavior and how to re-accustom an adult cat to the litter box.

Disease

The most dangerous and unpleasant reason for refusing to go to the toilet is illness. If something is bothering your pet, he may change his behavior in an attempt to let you know that something is hurting him.

In some cases, due to illness, he simply forgets where to go to the toilet, or this process causes him severe discomfort and pain. This may be urolithiasis, kidney failure or cystitis. If you notice changes in the animal's behavior, anxiety, lethargy, or other symptoms of the disease, you should contact your veterinarian. After the course of treatment, your pet will recover and, most likely, will return to its usual toilet.

Stress

Litter box refusal can also be caused by stress. It is worth considering that cats, like people, have different personalities and stress tolerance. Therefore, each requires a special approach. Limit the animal from stress as much as possible, be patient, do not punish the cat for mistakes - and very soon she will understand what you want from her.

It happens that changes in life circumstances cause anxiety in an animal. For example, a new person has appeared in the family or someone has died. In this case, try to devote as much time as possible to your pet. If you have a second cat, you should designate a litter tray for each pet.

New tray or new place

Cats are animals that do not tend to change their habits; they quickly become attached to their territory and certain places. Therefore, when changing the tray, a problem may arise such as refusal to go to the toilet in the usual place. What can we say about moving?

If you change the tray, sometimes you have to start training again - be prepared for this. If you are planning a move, make sure the new location has privacy areas for the cat and elevated areas for observation. The fewer reasons for stress the animal has, the better the adaptation will be and the fewer problems will arise with the toilet.

The period of sexual hunting

Sometimes difficulties are caused by the so-called mating season. It’s quite easy to check whether a cat leaves marks intentionally or whether there is another reason for his behavior. If the pet becomes more restless - it looks from the outside as if he is looking for something - and the animal urinates in small portions on a vertical surface, then we can definitely talk about the cat’s sexual activity. The solution is castration or regular mating with a cat.

Psychological reasons

There is an opinion that a cat can leave puddles out of spite, thus showing its stubbornness and discontent. Not all experts recognize this possibility - there are supporters of the theory that cats do not have consciousness, therefore, they do not know how to take revenge. In fact, many owners know that a cat can take a shit if it is offended - but almost immediately. Animals are definitely not capable of delaying revenge and serving it cold.

If your pet is loved and caressed, but he still walks in the wrong place, first of all you need to rule out the disease. If everything is fine in this regard, you need to decide how to most gently accustom an adult cat to the litter box again, taking into account the identified reason: often puddles or piles become an attraction for the owner’s attention. A couple of examples:

The cat feels sad when left alone for a long time. The owner returning late finds a fragrant “gift” in an unexpected place. Getting a second pet will solve the problem.

The cat likes or doesn’t like something. If he wants to go for a walk, but they don’t let him in, he can shit under the door. Or there is a desired item in the closet, which means the cat can go near the door of this closet.

More complex causes are difficult to identify. Sometimes monitoring an animal takes several weeks, or even months. But patient owners cope with the problem, no matter how ingenious it may be.

We train a kitten at different ages

Select the age of your kitten/cat so we can make more relevant and actionable recommendations for your case.

Kitten up to 3 months

It is a little more difficult to train a kitten under 3 months of age to go to the toilet in a litter tray than an older individual. Learning at this age occurs more slowly. Most likely, you will spend not 3, but 7-10 days, but you can train any cat.

For small kittens, it is better to place the tray in the room where they spend the most time.

For very young kittens, it is important to place the litter tray in the bedroom or living room where the kitten spends the most time. Having trained to the toilet after 2-3 weeks, you can gradually move the tray to a place that is more secluded for the kitten and convenient for humans, for example, to the bathroom or toilet.

At the moments when the kitten begins to travel around the room on its own, try to pay close attention to its behavior. Transfer the kitten directly to the litter box as soon as you notice that he has stopped and is alert without moving. This is a sure sign that he is thinking about the toilet.

Kitten from 3 to 6 months

This is the most suitable age for litter box training. Just follow the instructions and you will succeed. And remember, lovingly caring for your pet is much more important than scolding him.

Cat from 6 months

The older the cat, the more difficult it is for him to learn new habits. You will need more time, endurance and patience for the kitten to learn to go to the right place. Also, 6 months is a good age for teaching a cat to go not only to the tray, but also to the toilet. But if the cat has not even gone to the litter box before, you need to start progressively - with basic things.

What not to do

Under no circumstances should you punish your pet. If you start poking your animal’s nose into his feces, he will not understand that he is being scolded for going to the toilet in the wrong place; he will simply regard this as a punishment for a completed physiological act. In the future, the cat will hide from you in more secluded places in order to carry out its “dirty deeds”.

You should not forcefully hold your pet in the tray while waiting for him to go to the toilet. The animal will simply get scared and will avoid the tray.

The cat will definitely understand what they want from him - you just need to be affectionate towards your pet. It is not an easy task to accustom an outdoor cat to a litter box, and the result will depend on how you behave. The main key to success is patience; after a certain amount of time, the cat will definitely figure out what to do, and you will find happiness and peace.

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Tray selection

Looking at a one-month-old kitten, many people think that it needs the smallest tray.

You can learn how to determine the age of a kitten from the article

But it is not so. Taking care of the baby in this case is quite understandable, but it should be remembered that the animal will grow quite quickly.

The weeks will fly by unnoticed: today the kitten is a month old, and after, it would seem, a couple of days he is already 1.5 months old, a little more and he has reached two months of age.

Before you even blink your eye, the furry baby will turn into a respectable cat that no longer fits in its toilet.

And if you are the happy owner of one of the large breeds , such as Maine Coon , Ragdoll or Savannah , then in this case the smallest toilet is out of the question.

If you rely on the advice of veterinarians, then you should immediately purchase a tray with sides of about 8-10 cm: the pet can easily overcome them, the main thing is that he wants to do it.

But the height should not be too high.

In any case, as the animal grows, you will have to change its litter box to a larger one once or twice.

And in order to accustom a kitten to the litter box fairly quickly, it is necessary that it meets the following requirements:

• complete absence of foreign odors;
• the material from which the toilet is made should not oxidize upon contact with feces;
• The tray should not rattle when the kitten tries to cover its “footprints”, otherwise it will scare it.

The baby should feel comfortable and safe

Thus, it turns out that the most suitable option is a plastic tray.

It may come complete with a grille or be without it.

What to buy is up to you, but here you need to take into account that a toilet with a grate is more convenient to use.

This way, liquid feces will pass through it, and your pet’s paws and fur will remain clean.

This aspect is especially relevant when your apartment contains a representative of one of the long-haired breeds, for example, a Persian , Siberian , or Norwegian cat .

Where is the best place to put it?

So, how to quickly train a kitten to use the litter box. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to do this during the day. But here there are certain rules. First you need to place the tray correctly .
It should not be installed where strangers frequently walk. Many people place a cat toilet in the bathroom, but this is wrong, as the animal may be frightened by the sharp sounds of the washing machine or clothes dryer. The cat should feel safe and private. If you place the tray in a visible place, the kitten may refuse it and begin to relieve itself in a hard-to-reach place, for example, behind the sofa. It is best to place the cat litter box in an area where the kitten frequents. He must see it constantly and be able to use it at any time. If for some reason the cat litter box has to be rearranged, then this should be done gradually. It is better to move the tray in the desired direction by just a few meters during the day. If you suddenly rearrange the tray, the kitten may simply become confused. After this, the animal will relieve itself wherever it pleases.

Use scent to tempt them

Cats have an excellent sense of smell. They like familiar scents and are attracted to them. To encourage your cat to use the new litter box, pour some used litter into the new box. Your cat will recognize the smell and be more likely to trust the new box.

However, keep in mind that this trick does not work with all litter boxes. For example, if you have a self-cleaning litter box, your cat will not be able to detect the smell before it is removed by the machine. If you are switching to new litter, you can try adding just a piece of litter to the box instead of the used litter.

Features of litter training cats of different breeds

Our recommendations are suitable for all kittens and adult cats, but some breeds have their own characteristics.

• The Scottish Fold or straight-eared cat is very intelligent and easy to train. But this does not mean that she will learn everything without your help. Many representatives of the breed like clay litter, but special preferences are possible.
• Canadian and British Sphynxes often prefer an open litter box. Make sure the filler does not produce dust or fine particles when digging. Sphynx cats are susceptible to respiratory diseases; it is advisable to minimize contact with dust. Finding themselves in an unusual environment, kittens try to hide - place the toilet close to the shelter. Some representatives of the breed urinate while standing and end up on the wall. Secure a piece of waterproof material in this place, hanging its edge into the tray. Or buy a tray house with an exit from the top. When training your kitten, be gentle and patient.
• For cats of large or particularly shy breeds, such as Maine Coon or Ragdoll, models with removable high sides or a roof are suitable.

What types of fillers are there?

The next stage is the choice of filler

. Only after purchasing it should you think about how to train a kitten to use the toilet. Fillers are divided into two groups: absorbent and clumping.

Absorbents include:

• Woody
  . These are sawdust compressed into granules, which are destroyed after absorbing water. It makes sense to use them in trays with a mesh - small wet sawdust spills to the bottom, and clean granules are suitable for use. Pros: low cost, safe and environmentally friendly, flushable down the toilet, ideal solution for small kittens. Cons: abundant distribution around the tray, poor odor neutralization.
• Mineral
  . Most of all they correspond to the cat's ideas about the toilet, but, unlike arboreal ones, they cannot be swallowed. Pros: accessibility, good absorbency. Disadvantages: if eaten, they can cause intestinal obstruction, they are easily spread throughout the apartment, and cannot be thrown into the toilet.
• Silica gel
  . They look like opaque light balls. Their characteristics are similar to those described above, but they absorb more moisture. The granules look unusual and make a strange sound under the pet’s paws, so many people don’t know how to train a one-month-old kitten to use the toilet. Pros: hypoallergenic, economical packaging, retains odors well. Disadvantages: high cost, likelihood of a chemical burn if it gets on the mucous membrane.

Clumping fillers are also represented by wood

and
clay
options. They do not absorb moisture, but bind water through a chemical reaction, forming lumps. Wooden (Cats Best) litters are well suited for small kittens, but they quickly spread around the apartment. For this reason, clay clumping litters (Clean Paws) are purchased for adult cats. They are economical, non-toxic, and do not settle as much on the paws of animals. This option is not suitable if several pets use the litter box. They will quickly break up the clumps and the entire litter will turn into a messy mixture.

We train the cat to use the toilet

Wait until the kitten is 6 months old; after this age, the animal can safely perform the entire procedure in the toilet without using a tray. Also, make sure that the structure of your toilet is safe for the animal in case it accidentally falls into the water. If he can’t get out of the water easily enough, think about it: maybe you shouldn’t train your cat to use the toilet. Or use a special toilet nozzle sold in the store, more about it below.

1. Start by moving the litter box to the toilet.
2. As soon as the cat begins to constantly go to the right place, place a book or a stack of newspapers 2-3 cm high under the tray every 1-2 days in the first days, and then up to 5-8 cm per day.
3. Thus, by about 10-15 days the tray will be at the height of the toilet. Leave the tray on the closed toilet lid for a couple of days.
4. If the cat is used to going to the right place, periodically remove the tray, open the toilet lid and leave a little litter at the bottom (if provided for by the design).
5. It will take some time for the cat to get used to the toilet and the absence of a tray. The training may take a week, or maybe 2-3 months. Be patient and don’t scold the cat for things that don’t work out right away. On the contrary, be polite and affectionate with him. He feels good and will be more willing to learn new things.

The corner of the litter box is an ideal place to place your cat's litter box. And for toilet training it is a mandatory and necessary condition.

Attention! Pay attention to special toilet attachments for cats, they are sold in pet stores. This is an easier and faster way to train your cat to use the toilet, and you will also protect him from accidentally falling into the water, since the grate blocks access to water. A person will have to remove the nozzle when going to the toilet, and when leaving the toilet, do not forget to put the nozzle back.