4 Steps For Effective Cat Litter Training

Training your cat to use a litter box is an essential part of being a cat owner. Without this your furry little pal will make a mess of your home and can grow up ignoring your commands and be generally bad behaved. By training your kitten to do something as small as using the litter box, you can make sure that you and your pet have a long and happy relationship.

Although cat tricks are not commonly taught to most household cats, they can be as amazing as teaching a cat to use the toilet and to play fetch has been reported. Although most cat owners are just happy with a friendly cat that knows where to do its business and that doesn't rip the sofa to shreds!

Aside from the obvious things to teach your furry little friend, you may wish to consider behavioral type training in which you allow your animal to socialize with others even though you do not already have other pets in the home. This allows life to be much easier if you should decide to get a new kitten at some point of if you have any intentions of getting a dog as well.

There are four main stages to training your cat to use a litter box. A couple of these stages will be basic common sense while one or two of them may be useful toilet training tips that you may not have thought of. Either way, these could save your sanity and your carpets!

1. Buy 2 litter boxes. Why I hear you ask? Well, the first one should be shallow and small, perfect for little kittens to be able to climb in and out of and still have room to do its business happily. The litter needs to be deep enough to cover and solid matter as well as being shallow enough to stop the cat from scattering it all over your floor. The second litter box should be much bigger, for when your kitten gets older. As it grows, your cat will need deeper litter and also a bigger tray to be able to move around in.

2. Buy your cat litter from a reliable source. This is one of the least known toilet training tips but is also one of the most important. Your cat can grow to recognize the litter you have bought and when you buy a different brand he or she can refuse to use it. By buying a brand that is well known that you know you can always buy, you can ensure that your cat will never stick his or her nose up at the litter you are buying. (For a great money saving tip, try using a cheaper brand right from the beginning as you may not be able to swap it for a cheaper brand later on!)

3. Whenever your cat or kitten squats, scratches or generally looks as though he or she is about to use your sofa, bed, carpet or any other area of the house as a toilet, pick them up and move them to the litter tray. This will take a couple of go's to get it right but you will soon learn the signs and the cat will soon learn to use the litter tray.

4. Praise your cat. As training tips go, this is the most obvious yet so many people forget about this step. If your cat uses the litter tray, give them a treat, cuddle them or play with them, do whatever the cat likes to do and he or she will soon come to the conclusion that using the litter tray is a good thing and should continue to do so.