house training a cat1 House Training A Cat
Kathrynn Kelley asked:

House Training A Cat

Cats are relatively easy to housebreak – most of the time. However, there is always the exception to the rule, the little kitty rebel who refuses to conform to the structure of society, albeit it is a severely limited society consisting of you, the rest of the family, other pets and the house that you share with your cat.

Still, this is his society and if he gets it into his little kitty mind to rebel, it will be a challenge to convince him to conform. Let’s face it, when you go head to head with a cat you have some serious work on your hands.

The upside of the hard headed, independent nature, though, it that cats are also fastidious and are driven by nature to eliminate their wastes in a particular area. This instinct is what makes a litter box so appealing to cat owners. The litter box is where the cat learns to go to eliminate his or her waste an then it is up to the owner to keep it clean and fresh.

What you may not realize is that if the litter box becomes too full of waste then the cat will begin to look elsewhere to eliminate his or her wastes. And that could be trouble. Cats can be very creative.

They may turn your couch into a litter box, your dirty laundry or even your basket of clean laundry. Once that bad habit starts it is very difficult to undo it and train the cat to go back to using his or her own litter box.

Ideally, house training a cat should begin when your cat is a kitten. Keep the kitten in a kennel at night and, upon taking it out of the kennel each morning, place it in its litter box. Also place it in its litter box about 10 minutes after eating, and after a nap, and anytime that you notice it sniffing around as if searching for a place to potty.

After using the litter box once or twice, kitty will form good habits and begin using it regularly without your supervision.

If your leave your kitty alone all day while you work or go to school, keep him or her confined to a certain area or room and have the litter box in that area. Try to scoop up any “accidents” and place it in the litter box.

Show Kitty the litter box again so that they get the idea. Cats are not like dogs. Praising a cat will mean nothing and be ineffective. They just don’t care if you approve or not.

There are a number of excellent house training aids available on the market, but consistency must be maintained or nothing will be effective. You must take a hands-on approach to house training your feline, and use house training aids as secondary to your own loving guidance.

You can be successful in house training your kitty with patience and love. If you’re consistent, gentle and loving, you will succeed and your kitty will be happy, and yes, house trained!

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Filed under: Cat Training Advisor FAQ

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