By Ian D Bramwell
Everyone knows that cats are cleaner than dogs in all areas. Especially their toilet needs. Cats have a tendency to require a clean, safe and private area to use. Dog just drops their pants when and wherever they feel the need.
For this fact alone it is absolutely essential that you make your cat feel comfortable with their litter tray. This is made more important as they are not house trained and the cat NEEDS to know where to go, when they have to go. A good litter tray will save you time, effort and money from cleaning up after them.
So just how do you go about choosing a good litter tray then?
There are several things to take into account and that is what we are going to discuss. They are
1. Should be spacious enough for the cat to use comfortably.
2. Should be easy to enter and exit.
3. Should be easy to keep clean and replenish the litter.
There are so many different types of litter box on the market that to list them all here would be ridiculous. I will however cover some of the more popular types and give my personal recommendation at the end.
Litter Tray: Different Types
The simplest and easiest to use is the open tray. Usually of plastic and open on all sides with no roof this allows for both easy access and exit and easy cleaning. It does not however give privacy to the cat.
Self cleaning models: these are they say self cleaning in that they remove the cat's waste from the tray themselves ready for you the owner to dispose of.
Then there is the covered type. These offer the cat privacy but as the cat grows they will need more room and hence a bigger box.
My personal favourite is the first one. It has all the necessary ticks in the right boxes and as for the privacy issue simply put it somewhere private. As for cleaning it out that is your job. End of story; if you do not want to do it why have a pet?
An often overlooked area is the type of litter that you use. Always and I mean always ask the person from whom you got the cat what type of litter they used and stick to that type. The reason is that the kitten or cat will have used it before and is now at least remotely familiar with that type. This keeps the cat comfortable with using the new tray at your house as opposed to say, your shoes!
Please remember that as a cat grows it gets bigger. Yes that is obvious but how many people remember to get a bigger litter tray?
Be honest!
Yes as the cat gets bigger so does the tray and so does what the cat puts in it, yuk!
Conclusion
So let us sum up then. To save time, money and effort in toilet training your cat it is essential that you choose the right type of litter tray and cat litter as well.
My personal recommendation is to use a open plan tray with sides about 2-3 inches deep. This makes it easy to access even for a kitten and deep enough for an adequate amount of odour retaining litter. The open plan variety also make it a lot easier to clean. Simply put it somewhere private for the cat to use.
There you have it a guaranteed way to put your cat at ease and for you to reduce the time, effort and money it CAN take to litter train your cat.
| Ian David is not just a cat lover, no he is a cat fanatic! Visit his website at http://www.understandyourcat.ian-david.co.uk to get simple, unique, secrets on cat behaviour and health that amaze the professionals for FREE! Ian's FREE E-course 'Understand Your Cat' is crammed full of tips and techniques that will amaze you and make your cat the talk of the town. Subscribe for FREE at http://www.understandyourcat.ian-david.co.uk |
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