Cats are an important part of the home in modern society. Cats make excellent pets for most people because they are quite self-sufficient and prefer to take care of themselves. All they really want from you is affection, on their terms, and plenty of delicious cat food and water. In most cases, if you give them the two things they want from you and provide them with a clean cat box, they will take care of the rest. Let them feel neglected in some way, and they will make sure they leave little deposits around the house to let you know about it. So cat potty training is really as much about you as it is about teaching the cat anything.
Cats actually begin cat potty training as kittens. It’s a behavior that their mothers convey to them. However, when a cat doesn’t seem to get it, further steps may be needed to reinforce the idea that it feels really good to use the litter box to go potty. We call this cat potty training. Relax, it is actually a simple little two step process.
1. Gotta Have a Cat Box
It may sound a bit obvious that cat potty training begins with ownership of a cat box, but not everyone who grew up without a cat around knows this when they purchase a cat. Further, if you are adopting a little kitten, you probably want to begin your cat potty training in a cat box with a low lip that allows the kitten to see the land flowing with cat litter. Although cats of all ages love the smell of cat litter, they may be inspired by the smell without seeing the goods and just go somewhere nearby if they don’t know where the cat litter actually is. This isn’t the cat’s fault, it is your fault.
If you are adopting an older cat, you need to respect your cat’s right to privacy when cat potty training. Older cats will want a more modest, high lipped box. They may even prefer one of those enclosed cat litter boxes for extra privacy. What? You didn’t know animals like their privacy when they take care of their business too? Fortunately, these enclosed boxes with high lips are readily available at pet stores.
2. Don’t Forget to Litter Your Cat Box
Of course, we are referring to putting cat litter in your cat’s box, not to putting your trash in there. Cats are clean creatures which is why they prefer going in sand or cat litter and covering it up when they are done. Isn’t cat potty training easy? If you let their litter get too much waste in it, they will go find a cleaner potty spot like your shoes in the closet, for instance. So if you want to have your cat potty training go down smoothly, I recommend you purchase the clumping cat litter. It is much easier to quickly clean and keep your cat using the cat litter box. You just use one of those sifting cat litter shovels from the pet store to remove the cat poop clumps from the litter. Nearly all cats will simply use the cat litter box once they know where it is and see it 1/3 full of inviting, cat potty training cat litter. If your little friend has difficulties with it check out this!