How to teach your cat to go to the litter box.

In many cases our cats do not know how to use the litter box, so with patience we will have to teach them, we leave you some tips that will help you.

The cats by nature are the animals more clean, and there's a good chance your kitten has already learned to use your mother's litter box before I live with you.

Comparative TK-Pet cat litter - Tiendanimal

All you will have to do is buy one large enough sandbox as for your kitten can move and fill it with enough sand to cover the bottom of the tray.

But not always all cats they know use sandEven the smartest cats can have a occasional accident. Whatever happens, we should never punish him, we must teach him to use the litter box and offer a small reward like his favorite food.

How to teach him 

Before starting you should know that as a general rule you have to have one more sandbox that number of cats that we have at home. For example, if our house has two cats we should have three sandboxes for easy access.

If we have a newly arrived cat the first thing we have to do is show you where is it located his sandbox. We will have to closely observe what he does and put after each meal in case it starts to sniff, bend or behave as if I needed to go to the bathroom.

Cats usually know as soon as they see the sand that that is the place where they should go to the bathroom.

What should we do to help you?

If we see that our pet has many problems adapting to its new home and therefore to its new litter box, we can follow the following steps.

  • Place the litter boxes in quiet places that are easy for your kitty to reach, away from noisy appliances.
  • Place the cat litter box away from your bed and food.
  • Empty the tray regularlyIf the cat sees that it is "dirty" it will not want to use it.
  • Remove stool from your kitten's litter daily and change them as necessary.

These tips work for both babies and adult cats.

What we should not do

Also we shouldn't do some things, since they could harm both us and them. 

  • We should not use disinfectants or bleach to clean the litter box. Some disinfectants are toxic to cats, so it is best to use hot water and soap.
  • If you are pregnant do not clean the litter box. Or if you live alone you must wear rubber gloves and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. Thoroughly clean the litter box daily, this will minimize the risk of toxoplasmosis, which, although very rare, can cause serious problems for babies at birth.

That cats transmit toxoplasmosis to pregnant people is a myth; what transmits it is their feces.

If after all this our cat is still without using sand we must try change the sand for another type of sand. It could also be due to a urinary infection so we should go to our veterinarian to clear up any doubts.

You may be interested in this article about how to stop your cat from scratching furniture.