Potty Training Your Cat in Four Simple Steps

By Derek Carroll

A new kitten! That's great. Of course, for most people, the first thing on their mind, is "what a beautiful kitten". Very soon though, the practicalities of looking after any pet will set in and you will be trying your hand at potty training your new cat. No problem... as I am about to show you here, it's really easy. You may not know it, but, most mother cats will have already potty trained their kittens before they are weaned. If the mother has already done that then it's going to be a lot easier for you, trust me. Either way, it only takes a couple of days if you follow the steps that I give you here. It sure is a lot easier to clean a litter box than having to clean several messes off your floors.

Potty Training - The Basic instructions:

Firstly, you should invest in a good litter box. Look for one of the hard plastic ones - they're the best. One thing to watch out for when you have a small kitten is that the lip is low enough for the kitten to get inside. Sometimes it's hard to find the right type of box - with the lip low enough - depending on where you live. If that's the case for you, don't worry, just use an old phone book for the kitten to use as a stool.

The next most important thing for potty training your cat is your choice of litter. You will find two types at the market, the non-clumping and the clumping kind. Both of these will do the job really well and there is practically no difference between them. Many prefer the clumping kind as they say it will be easier to clean the litter box, but personally I've found no difference. It's your choice really which to use when potty training your new cat.

Step 3: When potty training your cat you will need to put about 2 inches (that's 50mm) of sand in the litter box. If the box you got is smaller then you can just fill it about one third of the way up with the cat litter of your choice. When you are buying your litter box be sure to pick up a good quality scoop for cleaning up the used litter and whatever else is left behind. You should be able to find the scoops beside the litter boxes in most shops.

Finally, when potty training your kitten you have to put the cat directly into the litter box after it has eaten. Do this immediately as the majority of cats will need to use it at this time, and obviously that's the best time for you to show them where to go. A good tip that can be helpful to bring out a cats natural instincts when potty training your cat is to gently scratch the surface of the sand when you place the kitten in the litter box. This works because cats naturally dig and cover their waste in the wild.

Remember, potty training your cat is just one part of any complete cat care program. There are many breeds of house cat and sometimes it can be hard to choose from among them.