How to train an adult cat to use the litter box?

The appearance of an adult pet in the house can be associated with a variety of situations - from the desire to make the animal happy from the shelter to receiving an unexpected gift. In any case, a cat or a cat will require attention, care, and some training, because not all tailed pets are ready to immediately learn the rules of behavior in a home. How to make it clear to the animal that it is necessary to fulfill its natural needs in a strictly defined place? Is it possible once and for all to define this moment in a relationship with an animal and how to teach an adult cat to the litter box, if before that he lived on the street?

The first and most important thing that a person who has received an adult pet is faced with is the need to meet the basic needs of the animal. A stressed cat or cat needs their own place to rest, eat, and do their natural needs. Moreover, the process of accustoming an adult animal to the tray, even if it was previously familiar with this hygiene item, can be delayed due to various reasons. For example, your pet may not like:

• filler, as well as its presence or absence in the tray;
• the smell of new plastic from the container;
• the place chosen for the toilet;
• the size or shape of the prepared cuvette.

In spite of everything, cats are very clean animals, and they try to fulfill their physiological need in one specific place. It's good if a new pet moves with its litter box, so it will be easier for him to navigate in a new place.But more often than not, training starts from scratch and here it is better to be patient, because the cat is guaranteed to have its own opinion on the choice of the place for the toilet. These fluffy animals are predators and prefer to relieve themselves in places hidden from prying eyes. At risk are areas under the bathroom, behind cabinets, under sofas and beds, as well as any other dark corners of a new home.

A cat living on the street usually has established sanitary and hygienic habits and is deprived of its natural environment, begins to use for these purposes completely different items that the owner plans to offer him. In addition, a non-castrated animal may additionally leave scent tags in an attempt to claim territory.

To make it easier for a new pet to get used to the tray, you should take care of the availability of a hygiene item.

This limitation does not apply to closed-type toilets in the form of houses - with proper care, they can be located anywhere.

Before you begin to train an adult cat or cat to the litter box, you should purchase all the necessary materials for the construction of a comfortable and safe space for the animal's toilet. This moment is especially important in those cases when the pet is to master this skill for the first time. It is important that the tray is sized and rimmed high enough.

Trays of closed and open design are distinguished. In the first case, the product is produced in the form of a full-fledged house with a door and a system for filtering odors, in the second, ordinary open cuvettes of rectangular, oval or square shape are used. It seems that purchasing a closed litter box is the optimal solution for any pet owner. But in practice, for cats and cats that previously lived on the street, such an encroachment on their freedom is a serious stress.

In addition, cleaning the tray with the box from above is significantly hampered by the features of its design. If the pet has health problems, the operation of assembling and disassembling the entire structure will have to be performed repeatedly throughout the day.

A much simpler solution is considered to be a conventional open tray with sides.... The best choice for cats are designs with rather high sides, wide, where you can freely fit and even hide from prying eyes. For compact animals it is recommended to install trays with low sides. The presence of a lattice is a plus if the animal agrees to do without filler or was previously familiar with such a toilet design.

Special fillers for cat litter are a real salvation for pet owners who do not practice free walking their pets.

But it is better to immediately accustom the animal to the purchased filler, with the preparation of which at any time of the year there will be no serious problems. It is proposed to use granules as material for filling in the tray, which absorb unpleasant odors, moisture and facilitate subsequent cleaning.

Some of the more popular filler options available on the market include:

• woodymade from pressed sawdust;
• silica gelconsisting of transparent granules, similar to those that are put in shoes to protect against moisture;
• mineralmade from crushed raw materials;
• based on industrial waste.

The initial stage of training the animal to the toilet is best done using wood fillers that have a structure familiar to the animal.But do not forget about regular cleaning of used sawdust. As you get used to it, a more hygienic option will be to switch to silica gel as a filler. It is much safer, more hygienic and easier to clean.

Clumping mineral fillers are a good solution for owners who are not at home for a long time. At the stage of getting used to them, they can be mixed with sand - this option is suitable for cats and cats that previously lived on the street.... But even the most high-quality and expensive composition does not guarantee that the pet will easily get used to the new rules for it.... Moreover, the cleaning of the tray, whatever the chosen material for backfill, will have to be carried out regularly.

How to determine the best cat litter spot in your home? First of all, you should pay attention to the behavior of the animal. If it seeks to turn a dark closet or balcony space into a toilet room, it will be enough to simply provide unhindered access to the installation site of the tray, and a compromise will be found. But not everything is so simple. A constantly open door to a toilet or bathroom can create discomfort for people living in the house.

A hallway is a poor choice for installing a tray. It is too noisy and lively, the pet will not be able to relax, feel free enough. In addition, the animal may simply prefer shoe racks or shoes over a regular cat litter box.

Another unfortunate option is the kitchen. Here, the departure of natural feline needs will violate the rules of sanitation and hygiene. In addition, animals generally prefer to share eating and toilet areas. And watching a pet while eating, wanting to get rid of excess "ballast", is still a pleasure.

In living rooms in Russia, a cat toilet is rarely found. But in Europe and the USA, trays of a closed type are most often used, a kind of houses with a removable top, which greatly facilitate hygienic care. With the correct selection of filler and thorough cleaning of the pet toilet, no extraneous odors will definitely threaten the comfortable coexistence of a person and a cat.

Even an animal that is well familiar with the rules of hygiene in a new place of residence can get confused and start using any suitable corners in the apartment as a toilet. It is very difficult to quickly train cats or cats that have previously used free range to walk in the litter box. Teaching them new skills will be quite difficult. But it is even more difficult to get a street cat to observe hygiene habits if he simply did not know them before. And yet these problems have a solution.

• A compromise approach... If the place is chosen correctly, but there are some problems with accuracy, sometimes the owner himself should make a compromise. In general, cats are not at all opposed to using the space of the bathroom or toilet for the toilet. But the animal can fulfill its needs in a completely opposite direction from the tray. And here it is better to just move the litter box and give the pet the opportunity to quickly adapt to new conditions for him.
• Difficult access. If an acquaintance with the litter box has taken place, but the cat or cat stubbornly chooses completely different, not very suitable places for the toilet, it is worth making it difficult for the animal to access dark corners and secluded areas of the floor. With no choice, even the most capricious pets usually go to the litter box. But you shouldn't relax. Once having chosen a convenient place for itself, at the slightest opportunity the cat will again use it as a toilet.
• Full control. With a complete lack of formed hygiene skills, teaching a cat to walk in a litter box will literally have to be like a kitten.That is, to refer the animal to the place of departure of natural needs at the slightest sign of anxiety, after a long sleep or after about half an hour from eating. It will be useful to scrape the filler with the pet's paw - the usual action will calm him down.

For tags left in the wrong place, thorough cleaning is required, as well as the use of sprays that repel the animal.

It can be difficult to train an animal that has lived on the street from an early age and has no idea about the basic observance of basic hygiene rules. However, incidents happen when you change your place of residence and with domestic cats. Among the most common reasons for a complete refusal to visit the tray chosen by the owner, the following can be noted.

• The need to share a toilet with several animals. Many cats are simply not ready to use the same cuvette as their relatives, preferring an individual latrine. The problem is solved simply - by purchasing an additional tray.
• Having health problems... If your cat regularly leaves tags in the wrong places, it may be worth consulting with your veterinarian about any medical conditions, chronic stool disorder, or urinary incontinence.
• Poor quality or too coarse filler granules. Here the problem is solved exclusively experimentally.
• Wrong location, inconvenient or too cramped design of the tray. It is also worth offering a new family member various options for the design of the toilet, experimenting with the size and installation location.

Having eliminated all the causes of discomfort, you can easily find a compromise even with a cat that has grown up on the street, and resolve the issue with its toilet once and for all.

Other tips to help train your cat to the litter box can be found in the video below.