Litter Training: Not sure if this is the right forum

[ejnost]

Since I'm new I have no clue where this post should go, but anyways...

We recently "adopted" two farm kitties from my Aunt, they are about 8 weeks old, but since we live in town we would rather them be indoor pets. How do I go about litter training? Any tips and advice on certain boxes, types of litter, how to train would be wonderful! We're VERY new at this!!!

Thanks in advace!

 

[solaritybengals]

They are pretty young but still should take to the litter box easily. Just set them inside and dig their paw in the litter and they will get annoyed at you and jump out but still get the hint. While they are young stick with small boxes so they don't seem scary and are easy to get in and out of. Also kittens are like toddlers, sometimes they need to go and if the litter box is not in sight at that moment they will go right where they are. So its always a good idea to keep small litter boxes in all the main rooms until they are older. If they poop outside the box, place teh poop inside and set them in there. Their instinct will tell them to bury it and they will remember that as where they pottied. Litter training cats is usually uneventful as it is their basic instinct, where dogs need much more training in this regard.

I hope your kitties bring you loads of delight and you made the right choice to keep them inside!

*Just for future reference 8 weeks is considered pretty young to take kittnes from their mom. 10-12weeks is preferable.

 

[ejnost]

Thanks for the advice I will keep everything in mind! We're actually not picking the kittens up for another 2 weeks or so for that reason PLUS we're moving into a new home and would like to be a bit more settled first!!! Any other info would be much welcomed!!! Thanks so much!

 

[solaritybengals]

Oh thats wonderful! I thought you'd gotten them already. Its quite frequent kits go home at 8 weeks becuase thats usually when pups do but its better for kittens to stay that extra time.

Have you planned on what food you will feed them? I would recommend a high-quality premium food like Nutro or Wellness. Also plan on getting them fixed before 6 months old. Preferably around 4 months as they can sometimes mature early.

Some of the favorite toys of my cats are the twisty ties off of milk jugs. Also a krinkled ball of paper works really well.

Start then with proper scratching surfaces right from the beginning. This is anythign sisal wrapped, bark, or corrugated cardboard. Cats don't like scratching carpet, hence most scratching posts go unused becuase they are carpet covered. I would buy one of those ball and tracks with corrugated cardboard in the middle (Truboscratcher):
http://www.petsmart.com/global/searc...N=2033745&Ne=2
This can help avoid unwanted behavior problems immediately.

 

[ejnost]

Thank you so much for the info, I never reliezed cats don't enjoy scratching carpet, weird that they even make carpet posts then! As for food, that was one of my other questions, I'm sure right now living on my Aunt's farm they are on "whatever is cheapest" but I would like to make sure they're getting everything they need, I'll check out those brands for sure!

 

[yorkiegal]

Clara came home on saturday and had never used the litter tray before. I popped her in it every time i caught her squatting. Fortunately she makes a squeaky noise just before she starts searching for a spot to go so I can usually catch her in time. She's used the tray every night and hasn't had any accidents at all today. She also started to cover it up today too. Her brother, who went to live with a friend of mine, hasn't used his tray yet and is leaving little presents all over the house.

I think it helps that I have Clara confined to one room, within easy reach of the tray, whereas my friend is letting Tiger go all over the house. They are only seven weeks old so i'm really proud of her for managing so quickly. (I would have preferred her to stay with her mum a few more weeks but that wasn't possible.)
btw I initially had litter crystals in the tray as that's what my resident cat uses. Clara just tried to eat them so i swapped it for something grainier.

 

[solaritybengals]

Nutro I think will give you the best food for the best price. They do not use by-products and common allergy-causing ingrediants in there food so it is usually the most recommended on here. From there it goes up in quality and price. You can get it at most pet stores, Petco or Petsmart too. Its definitely the best value without being outrageously expensive.

It is unfortunate they make cat posts with carpet... I completely agree with you there... So many people turn to declawing when there cats no longer use the post and turn to furniture. The aphostery used on sofa's is a great medium for the claws as it provides the proper resistance. However, sisal rope and corrugated cardboard are even more liked than the sofa. Unfortuantely once a habit starts it can be hard to break. The corrugated cardboard isn't expensive either (not like buying a whole post) so I highly recommend that just to get you started so no bad habits form. If cats liked carpet so much we would see them scratching on the carpet rather than the sofa. Petco usually carried a line of cat trees that have sisal and bark. Petsmart trees are not so great. Of course both are expensive, the best place is a cat show, great prices there. If you know someone thats handy then you can use PVC pipe, attatch it to a base and wrap the sisal yourself. Thats what we did for our cats. They love it!