How do you teach a kitten to use the litterbox?

Traci H: How do you teach a kitten to use the litterbox?
I have a 6 week old kitten whose mom was an outside cat. She didn’t use a litterbox so the kitten was not able to learn this process from her. How do i teach it?

Answers and Views:

Answer by soccermom90
Well I have always showed my kittens where the litter box is. I let them eat and wait a little bit. I then keep putting them in the liter box until it goes to the bathroom it is a natural instinct i think for them. Good luck.

Answer by ruth f
when she scratches the floor quickly take her to the box, she will learn

Answer by Val
Well, you can’t really teach a cat to use a litter box per se. When we brought our kitten home from the shelter, we immediately plopped her in the litter box just so she knew where it was. We watched her like a hound dog all day and finally, she ended up using the litter box. If I were you, I would watch your cat to see what she does. If it looks like she needs to go to the bathroom, then immediately pick her up and place her in the litter box so she will get used to it. Do that a few more times and eventually, she should get used to going there.

Answer by fenwaydav
Just keep putting her in there, she will figure out what to do….

Answer by its me again …………
ok , first you must get a small cat box and fill it about half way with litter (scoppable is the best).then go get the cat and put it in the box and take it’s paw and gently scratch though the litter and pet him and let him know that its ok (it may take a couple of tries) GOOD LUCK !!!

Answer by Denise P
put the kitten in a small area for a couple of days, like the bathroom, show her the litterbox, by putting her in it, if she wants out, let her get out, if she has an accident on the floor, and she will, pick up the poo and put it in the litterbox then put the kitten in the litterbox with the poo, she will get the hint, this takes about 2 days,

Answer by sexylexi
oh well my cat is been living in our house for maybe 2 or 3 months and her mom was an outdoor cat. when there that young its safe to keep them in like a bathroom for maybe a week or 2 and put the literbox, and like food but then if they really need to go they just use what is available which is the box. Then after a week you can let your cat out and it will know what to use.

Answer by gardenlady
Get a litterbox that is low enough for the kitten to get in and out of easily. Be careful using scoopable litter for now until she gets use to using the box. Cats will go by smell and she can inhale the scoopable litter which can be harmful to them.

What I have found that helps is not cleaning the litterbox completely…when you scoop leave a little poop behind. This helps the kitten with smell and where she needs to go. Don’t be suprised if she misses the box sometimes…this is normal behavior…she just needs to figure out how to get her behind in the box when she has to go.

You will need to be patient with kitty cause this will take some time for her to get the idea – only because she is so young.

You may even have to stimulate her to get her to go. To do this use a dry washcloth and rub her behind…A mama cat will do this with her tongue to get kittens to go to the bathroom…

When putting her in the litterbox always take her paw and scratch at the litter a little bit….eventually she will get the idea.

Always put her in the litterbox when:
She wakes up from a nap.
After 20-30 minutes of play.
After eating/drinking.

Use 1 part white vinegar to 2 parts water to clean up mistakes. Make sure you use white vinegar – it does not stain.

Good luck

Answer by katie.theresa
I agree with what everybody else has said. Also, every time she has an “accident” outside of the litterbox, pick it up (poo) and place it in the litterbox. Then put her in the litterbox, maybe use her paw to scratch a little bit of litter over it. Do this every time, and eventually she’ll make the connection. Six weeks isn’t extremely late to learn anyway, so she’ll be okay. G/L

Answer by melissa k
Keep her confined to a small area with her box, water, bed, etc. She will be less likely to eliminate out of the box if she will have to walk around it.

If the kitten has been outside it is likely used to going on soil. In this case, put wheat grass or a piece of sod in the litter box. When she uses the box regularly you may slowly start to add cat litter to the box on top of the grass. Add just a couple of tablespoons every few days. You can get rid of the grass altogether once she is eliminating on a surface of mostly litter, no grass peaking through.

Otherwise, use litter or any substrate she seems to prefer right now (carpet swatch, throw rug, bare litter box if she prefers a wood or tile floor).

Place her in the litter box when she is most likely to eliminate (after eating, sleeping, grooming). Don’t force her to stay in the box, put place her in it a few times. Reward her any time you see her using the litter box. Praise her and give her a small treat.

Litter box training is hard, but hopefully you are starting soon enough that she’ll catch on soon.

Answer by catiators
Kittens are naturally clean, and will generally use a litter box without too much difficulty. You might want to provide a couple of different litters to see what your kitten prefers. You may either want to have several litter boxes in your household, or consider keeping your kitten in a small location so that you minimize the choices for bathroom use, though. That young a kitten won’t have a lot of time to get to the box between need to go to the bathroom and going. If your kitten starts missing the box, it may become a habit that is difficult to break. Kittens are drawn back to the same location by the scent. If you kitten does have an accident, wipe it up with a paper towel and put it in the litter box. There is also a product called Kitten Attract litter that you might try. Look for it at your local pet store.

Answer by aae87
All I had to do was show my kitten where her box was. To do that I just put her box where I wanted it and sat her in the box. That’s all it took. But she enjoys her box. Her first night in my house she didn’t have a box. I figured one night without it would be ok I could clean the mess up. I had to find time to get to the store. She didn’t use the floor or anything she held it until I put a box in her room. She was a stray.

Answer by Crazy Cat Lady
We have 8 cats.
When you get your kitty in, the first thing to do is find a room where you can keep her a few days, so that she will become oriented to a small space in the house before being introduced for a big confusing space. Put the food and water on one side of the room, the litterbox on the other side of the room, and the bed somewhere in between. Make sure and come in often for play, petting, general love and reassurance.
The first rule of kitty elimination is that cats hate to eat where they “go” and they hate to “go” where they eat. If you put the food and water next to the litter box, you will have committed the most common mistake that cat owners commit, which is the single biggest cause of kittys going elsewhere. A kitty would rather risk going somewhere else than risk contaminating their food, so your best bet is to keep the food and water either to the opposite side of the room from the litter box, or, even better, (once you have let her out of the room) to a different room altogether from the litter box. Then make sure you have at least 2 – 3 inches of litter in that litter box and that you keep it scooped and clean. Kittys also hate not enough litter, and they hate dirty toilets. You wouldn’t like going in a dirty, smelly toilet. Neither do they.
We have 8 cats, have had up to 11 – at ages all the way up to 19 years old, all are indoor kittys, and this method has worked like a charm. Six of these kittys were trapped wild and tamed, and oriented to the litter box this way. All respect litter box rules.
One last note: Kittys seldom respond to punishment. They are unable to associate punishment with behavior – especially if it is after the fact. They do, however, respond to positive reinforcement.