Often, ferret owners have other pets besides ferrets. This month, our friend Earlene Krause has written some information about house training your kitten. Since we can always use more information about our fuzzy companions (either ferret or non-ferret), here is Earlene's article.
--------------------------------------------
Teach Your Cat To Use The Litter Box Easily
It might seem very difficult to try to teach a pet without even knowing to speak its language, but more often, body language, gestures tells a lot more than words. Teaching your kitten to use the litter box will take time just like it took with your kid. The steps to be followed are almost similar and it is also a way to build trust between you and your pet. It does not take much of your time either, unless you are completely unaware of handling your kitten.
Know Their Habits
Try to know the pattern of her soiling and eliminating so that you know exactly when to carry her to the litter box. In the first weeks you need to manually carry her over to the litter box and introduce it to her and explain the proper usage. Once she or he begins to like it, she will know and remember to use it.
● Try to maintain a time table and feed her at regular intervals. Cats are supposed to eliminate shortly after they eat. Once you keep the inputs regular, you can easily follow the pattern of the outputs.
● Apart from short intervals after their meals, they also eliminate after they are awake from a long sleep like two hours, or after little exercise or after a play session.
You need to be with her during these times in order to understand her habits.
Introduction To Litter Box
When you are aware of her timings or you find her inclining towards soiling somewhere else, quickly carry her to the litter box and put her inside it, let her finish with her job. Now, it is the most important time to reward the cat.
● You need to praise her and show that you are very pleased with her behavior. Gently pad her, cuddle her and make her feel very special for doing it in the box.
● Next, try calling her to the litter box instead of carrying her to it instantly like you did before. She should understand that she should not be eliminating anywhere else but the box. Especially, try to always call her from those places where she has soiled previously.
No Surprises
Cats might stop using the box because of nervousness introduced from new cats in the house, new people or children on a vacation, you're moving out of the house on a vacation or simply buying a new furniture that comes along the old road to her box. Any of these surprises might make her insecure and fell in an unwanted territory. These are some of the things you need to take care.
Take time to make her believe that the litter box is a neat and clean place and the best place in the whole house for his business. Most of the times cats refuse to use it just because they feel it isn't neat enough, just like most human beings. Everything happens gradually, so don't be impatient and discipline her always.
