Cat Health

ByJulie Hayward

Adopting a kitten is a fun experience. Caring for a small creature that is total dependent on you can be a bit stressful at first, but having a kitten to play with can change your life. Unfortunately, kittens rarely come a home ready to use the litter-box. Learning how to train a kitten is not hard if you are dedicated and patient. My four tips on how to train a kitten will make the entire potty training process move faster, and they will help you avoid making any potentially messy mistakes.

Start Right Away

The most common mistake new kitten owners make is waiting to start toilet training. The average kitten is ready to start using the litter box when they are only one month old, so waiting for a long period of time can actually do more harm than good. Once you get your kitten home, place them in a small space with their litter-box and let them grow used to standing in it and walking around. Do not bother them by petting or stroking them when they are in the box to wee.

Kittens will grow nervous about using a box for peeing if they are always being touched when they enter it. Think of it this way, would you like someone standing over you each time you used the bathroom? Getting started right away will keep your kitten from learning bad potty habits that you will have to train out of them in the future.

Avoid Changes

Once you have placed the litter-box in a certain location, leave it there. Changing the location of the box will confuse your kitten. After a while, the kitten will stop looking for the box and might start going to the bathroom on the ground where the litter-box last was. Pick a place for the box and keep it there until your kitten is old enough to understand that their litter box has been moved, and change their habits accordingly.

Keep it Clean

Just because the litter box is a toilet does not mean it should smell like one. Cats are clean creatures, and they will not use a box that is dirty. Make sure your new kitten always has a clean box for them to wee in by cleaning it at least once a day. If the litter-box is always clean, your kitten will grow used to using it all of the time and associate it with a "clean" place to use the bathroom.

Don't Punish Your Kitten

Mistakes and accidents will happen no matter how dedicated you are to toilet training your kitten, they may use the bathroom on the floor in the house. When that happens, do not punish the kitten excessively. Telling the kitten that they are "bad" and taking them to the litter box is enough. Often accidents happen because the kitten is sick, scared, or nervous about something that just happened. Punishing the kitten will only add to their anxiety, and cause them to avoid you, the litter-box, and anything else that they find frightening.

It is important to start learning how to train a kitten as soon as you bring them home from their former home. Creating a safe, consistent, learning environment for your kitten will keep them happy and teach them that there is nothing wrong with using a litter box. If you would like to continue learning from my experiences on how to potty train a cat, find more of my tips and the 2 resources that helped me at http://howtotoilettrainacat.info.

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ByJulie Hayward

Knowing how to potty train a cat is important, as potty training a cat is something that usually takes place when a cat is only a few weeks old. However, sometimes older cats are rescued and brought to homes without any experience using the bathroom indoors. Though cats are naturally inclined to stay clean, and use a litter box when available, training an older cat to use the box can be difficult. A cat who has established months, or years, worth of bad potty habits may resist even the best efforts to get them to use a litter-box. If you are having a hard time getting your cat to use a litter box consistently, try utilizing some of the best ways to potty train a cat.

Outdoor and Indoor Training

If you have a cat that is used to being outside, and prefers going in and out of the house, find ways to incorporate potty training with their natural need to go out doors. Create an area for your cat near the door they use when going in and out of the house. Keep a cat tree and litter box by that door with a small bowl of food. Creating an area for your cat just outside will get your cat used to associating the box with food, comfort, and security. Place your indoor litter-box near this door so your cat grows used to finding their box in the same general area. Don't make your cat search an area they are already uncomfortable in for a box to litter in.

Focus on Cleanliness

Just because your cat once lived on the streets or in a bad area does not mean they are used to being dirty. Cats love to be clean, constantly grooming themselves to stay in a state that they feel is meticulous. A cat that enjoys cleaning herself is not going to set one paw into a dirty litter box. Focus on keeping your cat's litter box fresh and clean so that your cat is always encouraged to use it. If your cat's litter-box constantly has old clumps of urine or feces in it that they are forced to step around, they will eventually seek another location to use the bathroom. If the cat grows angry enough, they will use the bathroom in your personal area to show you exactly how unhappy they are.

Be Consistent

Once you have established a set location for the litter box, and a started giving your cat a certain reward for using the box, don't change things too much. Though you should change the reward to keep your cat's attention, you should keep your litter-box in a standard location. A cat who is already having a hard time adjusting to a new environment is not going to take kindly to having to constantly look for their litter box because you felt it was time for a change. Let your cat get comfortable with a certain routine, and only change it when absolutely necessary.

Rescuing injured or abandoned cats is important and commendable. Opening your home to a cat that has been mistreated is not easy, but it could be the beginning of an important bond that will change both of your lives. Getting comfortable with knowing how to potty train a cat will help you get off to the right start, but if you find yourself needing more help or advice feel free to visit http://howtotoilettrainacat.info for more help and my experience.

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ByJulie Hayward

I often get asked by friends from my personal experience. Though training a kitten requires patience, there are some situations where training a cat slowly just isn't an option. As someone who has adopted kittens shortly before bringing a new baby home, I know how important it is to get a kitten litter box trained immediately.

Unfortunately, the average cat is extremely stubborn and will not react well to any type of forceful training. If you are someone who needs to learn without causing the kitty any unnecessary stress, hopefully my advice will help you.

Stick to Small Spaces

Keeping your new feline in its own small space will make things easier for you and for her. Place your kitty in a room of their own with a litter-box for the first few weeks of their life. Not having to worry about your kitten becoming lost in your home, or having to fear stumbling across a cat accident in a bad place, will make training a kitten less stressful for you.

Plus, keeping your new kitten in their own small space will help them grow accustomed to their new home. Kittens will grow nervous if they are forced to find their way around a large, new, space too soon; so keeping them safe in a small space is the best option for everyone. The next strategy is very effective when learning how to train a kitten.

Reward Them Constantly

Kittens respond well to lavish praise and frequent treats. Though many animal trainers warn against spoiling a new kitten, when you need to litter train a kitten quickly you may need to take the risk. Offering your kitten a variety of treats for successfully using the litter box will motivate them to use the box regularly.

Kittens love surprises and new things, so switch up the treats on a regular basis to keep them interested. A kitten who is always receiving rewards and praise for using the litter box will become fully trained faster than a kitten who is always afraid of punishment.

Use Multiple Litter Boxes

If you own more than one kitten, you should also own more than one box. Many cat owners stick to one litter-box for two cats because they don't want to clean two litter boxes. Unfortunately, this makes things more difficult for everyone. With two kittens using one box, they are more likely to dirty it quickly.

Once a litter box becomes dirty, your kittens are not going to want to use it. Getting two litter boxes will avoid a situation where one box is extremely dirty, and will make the kitten feel more comfortable using the litter-box since they won't fear encountering the filth of another kitten.

It is most important to know that most common kitten training mistakes occur without the owner even knowing they are doing something wrong. While there's a lot to learn to toilet train a kitten, if you're willing to put some effort into learning training kittens and how to potty train a cat then I'm willing to let you in on my experience.

About 2 years ago an "on faith" purchase of a resource on how to train a kitten saved my family's cat from going back to the pet shop and as such I am now using my blog as a way to review the products and care guides that I found most helpful. Find my top 2 favourites at http://howtotoilettrainacat.info.

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ByAdor Talukdar

Cat owners often have problems with their cat's behavior. This might be scratching furniture, meowing too loudly or the bringing of unwanted "gifts" to the doorstep or kitchen floor. Some despair that training their cat effectively is next to impossible. New pet training methods focus on the rewarding of positive behavior and cats can definitely respond to this. Click training can help to teach your cat to consistently repeat desired behaviors and reduce the unwanted ones. An example of this is ignoring the cat while it is standing over the dead bird on the kitchen floor and rewarding it for playing with a ball or toy immediately afterwords.

To do this effectively you need to ignore the cat while it is standing by the unwanted gift. It is important not to shout at it and tell it you don't want dead birds in your kitchen. As soon as the cat moves away introduce the toy and give the cat plenty of praise and attention. The problem here is that you may not always have an appropriate toy available. This is where click training can really help. Clicks can be made with easily available clicker devices from pet stores. The idea is that the cat will learn to associate the sound of the click with a positive reward.

Of course it will take a little while for your cat to learn this connection, but it can be done. You need to start the click training slowly but consistently. Start by matching the sound of the click with a reward. The reward should be one of your cat's favorite treats. This does not need to be linked to any particular behaviour at first; you just want your cat to link the sound of the click with the reward. You need to repeat this stage plenty of times so your cat always associates the sound of the click with a treat, to the point that when you press the clicker he comes and looks for the treat.

You should see quick results with the first stage and be quite convinced of your cat's ability to learn and make connections. The great thing about click training is that you can now link what your cat has learned to specific behaviors. So when your cat behaves in a way that you want it to you can click and reward. If it behaves in a way you don't want it to then ignore it. Gradually you will encourage your cat to behave in these positive ways for more of the time.

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