Kitten care · 5 min read
How to Toilet-Train a Kitten
By feline behaviourist Mitali Parekh
Litter training hardly takes a day, if it's done right. The box, the litter, the depth and the placement all matter more than most people realise.
Start with the right litter box
The main indicator of adaptability of cats is how easy they are to litter train. It hardly takes a day, if done right. First, you need the right kind of litter box. It has to be large enough for the cat to turn around in — about one and a half times a grown cat's length is a good measure.
The sense of smell, the olfactory sense, is a cat's primary mode of investigation. So the tray must be uncovered — cat urine contains ammonia, which produces unpleasant fumes when it comes in touch with the bacteria in the litter box. Imagine stepping into a windowless bathroom with no exhaust fan. Yuck!
Choose the litter carefully
Choose a litter that clumps easily, and can be removed cleanly, without leaving anything behind. Also, avoid the scented and aromatic ones. What smells like lavender to us is an alien, unappealing and confusing smell to the cat. A kitten needs to recognise and associate the smell of litter with toileting to make this quick and easy.
The litter should be three inches deep, so that she can move it around and find the right (Feng Shui-compliant!) spot to go.
If you've adopted a cat from a foster or a breeder, use the type of litter the kitten or cat was using earlier to make the transition seamless. If you have another cat at home, place some of the used litter in the fresh box to direct the new kitten or cat to it.
Placement is crucial
Humans don't build toilets in the kitchen, and neither do cats.
The litter box should not be so far away that tiny kitten legs cannot reach it. She may even need help climbing up the edge or ledge, so you may have to pick her up and put her in the first few times.
The best position is to have one in the room the kitten is in, but in a different direction from the food. Opposite is best, but you can also leave it on the floor and arrange the feeding zone at a height, on a table.
Newborns and early habits
If you are digitally stimulating urination and defecation for a newborn kitten, once the process of evacuation starts voluntarily, place the kitten on the litter so that it understands this is the toilet.
Soon, you will notice the kitten beginning to walk to the tray on its own. She might need some help reaching there. She may fall asleep in the litter the first few times; gently discourage it by picking her out of the box.
