Litter Training Kittens

How and When to Litter Train a Kitten

This will start them on the road to becoming socially mannered kittens. Simba

Kitten Not Using Litter Box

Dear Simba:

We have recently adopted an 8-week old. We can not get her litter box trained. I have used different boxes and litter and she will not use them. We close her in the bathroom with her box, toys, food and bed for hours. She will not go at all or if she does she goes next to the box. I put her in the box and simulated scratching but she just jumps out. We have had her for 5 days and she has not used it once. What do you suggest? Frustrated in Seattle

Dear Simba,

I rescued a 9-month-old feral kitten and have attempted to train her to use a litter box.

Toilet Training

She is living on an enclosed porch, where we have laid down plastic sheeting to protect the floor. The plastic is covered with newspaper and I have 4 litter boxes with different types of litter, on top of the paper. We have tried traditional clay litter, unscented clay, white sand, the finely ground-up newspaper litter, the wood pellets variety, and sawdust. Gray chooses to urinate and defecate next to the boxes instead of in them.

Next, I tried just putting the sand or litter directly on the paper, and still she will not go in it, only near it. I have tried putting her in the boxes after she eats, and mimicking the scratching with her front paws and I have tried to rub her belly while in the box to stimulate her interest in peeing! Nothing has worked. She is so sweet and we let her in the house when we can keep an eye on her. She cries mournfully when we put her back outside. it is starting to get cold at night and I want to bring her inside. but she has to behave. Any ideas? Terry in NC

We have an older cat, Blackie, who uses her own litter box. Gray watches her, but has no interest in copying her behavior. They get along ok, but fight occasionally.

Dear Terry in NC,

How very frustrating. You have done all the right things. Try using one litter box only, with filled with a clump of leaves and/or soil. Your goal in litter training a feral cat is to make the place where it does its business mirror that which it used in its upbringing. In the case of a feral, soil and leaves are good places to start. Be sure to clean the solids out of the litter box daily and change the box as often as is reasonably possible. Once you experience success start making a transition towards more traditional litters.

Consider bringing Gray inside and keeping her in a confined area (a room or pen) such that she is protected from the cold but does threaten your home. Keep her in there and use the methods described above. Also, check out Lifestyle Changes for tips on keeping the peace with new cats. Keep me posted. Simba

Note: The following materials are good for litter training older feral cats

• Clay litter (good for kittens)

Fine-grained sand-type litter (mirrors the outdoors)

Loose soil (good in making the transition)

Leaves (used cover up waste in the wild)

Newspaper

Once your cat/kitten gets used to using a box for its business, make the switch by gradually changing the proportion of the old stuff to the traditional litters (try a few weeks). Clean all solids out of the litter box daily. Change the litter and wash out the box often to keep it clean and dry since cats love clean, dry spots (i.e. the back of the closet!).

We lost our 17-year old cat in August. We just rescued two 8-week old kittens. They lived outside before coming to us, they will now be house cats. What is the best way to litter train them given that they have not previously used a litter box?

Help Simba, My new kitten (10 weeks old) is constantly digging in my house plants! She sometimes uses them for her litter box. how can I keep her out of them? Forest

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