Do you have a kitten that you are trying to train to use a litter box? Do you seem to be losing the battle with the kitten and the litter box? If so, what could you possibly be doing wrong? There are at least six different things that you could be doing wrong that is contributing to the failure of you training your precious kitten to use the litter box. These reasons can vary from where you have put the litter box in your house to what you are cleaning your house with.
The first thing you should look at if your kitten is not taking to using its litter box is the size of the litter box. If the litter box is too small for the kitten or too large for the kitten then it most likely will not use it. Be sure to check the height of the litter box and make sure that it is not too tall for the kitten to get in and out of . The width of the litter box also needs to be checked because if it is too narrow then the kitten will have trouble using it. Remember, the kitten will need to be able to turn around in the litter box.
The next factor to look at pertains to scents. Be sure the litter box is not scented and that the cat litter that you are using is not scented. If there are too many scents then the kitten can get confused as to what it is supposed to be doing. Also, if you are using cleaning products that have ammonia in them, you will need to quit using them at least until you get your kitten litter box trained because the kitten may associate the scent of the ammonia based cleaner with the scent of urine and take the area where the ammonia based cleaner has been used as the kittens litter box.
Another suggestion for training a kitten to use a litter box is to keep the kitten confined to a small location where the litter box is located. If the kitten is given full reign of the house then it has way too many places to use as a litter box instead of what has been determined to be the litter box.
A litter box will need to be kept clean in order for the kitten to use it and is another area to check if your kitten is just not getting using its litter box. However, you need to leave some scent of urine in the litter box for the kitten to be aware that the litter box is where it is supposed to be urinating.
The fifth item to look at when trouble shooting why your kitten is not litter box trained is the location of the litter box. The perfect spot for your kitten’s litter box is an area that is private with low traffic. The corner of a room is sometimes the best area. Another thing to remember when litter training a kitten is to place the litter box where you want it then leave it in that place. Moving it can confuse the kitten.
The last tip is to remember that the kitten will have accidents. If you catch your kitten in the act, try not to scream and yell at it but sternly tell it “No” then quickly pick it up and put it in its litter box.
