By Thomas Kellerman
Kittens make a great addition to your home, but they can be difficult. Finding out what the right cat care choices are, and making sure that your kitten is well trained can be difficult. While most cats catch on to the litter box pretty quickly, some will have trouble with cat house training. There are many reasons why you and your new pet might be having a problem. Some of them are more serious than others, and some are easier to deal with.
Cats tend to be creatures of habit. That means that if things they're used to change, or if they find themselves in a stressful situation, litter box behavior can suddenly go downhill. If your cat has recently been moved to a new house, has a new person or animal to deal with, is on a different schedule than usual, or is even confronted with a new piece of furniture, accidents may happen. This doesn't mean your cat house training has failed. It just means that stress is causing your cat to forget his or her manners.
The best way to avoid this sort of problem is by reducing the amount of stress your pet goes through. If you need to introduce a new person or animal, do so slowly, and in short bursts at first. Let your cat get away if he or she needs to. Moves should be accomplished as quickly and easily as possible. Be sure to keep the same sort of litter box arrangement as your cat had before. For new cats and kittens, it's worthwhile to find out how their previous boxes were set up. This is a simple kind of cat care that can make your pet happier, and reduce your headaches at the same time.
Most of the time, cat house training is easy. Older cats that already know how to use the litter box will take to a new one quickly. Kittens may need to be placed in it and taught how to scratch in the litter, but they'll catch on fast, too. Be sure to reinforce good behavior in your kitten. If you see your pet sniffing in corners or scratching about, that's the time to place him or her in the box. When your kitten or cat uses the litter box, be sure to offer a reward. This reinforces good cat house training behavior.
If your kitten does have an accident, make sure you try to figure out why. Some cat house training problems can be indicative of an illness or other physical issue, and should be treated by a vet. Others can be solved with simple behavioral reinforcement, or removing a stressor from the cat's environment. Punishment does no good in most cases, since your cat doesn't know what he or she did wrong.
Thomas Kellerman is a caring and loving cat owner with more than 20 years experience in cat care and training. For an in depth look at Cat House Training click on the link below. |
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