Litter training for kittens & cats
Most kittens will naturally use a litter tray by 4-6 weeks old. Coupled with being instinctive, they watch their mum & quickly pick up the routine.
Cats are creatures of habit, & therefore, to ensure accident-free toileting continues in your home, it’s important to use the same litter that the breeder or adoption service has raised them with. Add this question to your list when you select your kitten, & have it ready for their arrival home.
If you ask most cat raisers what litter they prefer, a significant number—likely the majority—will say natural pine {refer here}. It’s chemical free, not easily ingested or inhaled & is great at controlling odour & keeping litter tray cleaning & disposal easy. Of course we are biased, but HERDD pet litter offers not only a natural pine litter in a dry, dust free pellet form, it is made from the highest density pine grown in Northland NZ. This means it’s durable, long lasting & highly absorbent. The bag is also zero-plastic :)
When welcoming a new kitten or cat into your home, here are a few litter tray tips—
1. Choose a decent size tray & the same litter the cat is used too:
Our preferred size & style tray is like this tray here; a 40cm x 30cm simple tray which is super affordable & easy to clean weekly. In this post we’ve gone into more detail on litter trays
As mentioned above, start out with the same litter the cat has been using at its prior home. If you’d like to change {to HERDD pet litter!}, you can do so by following the steps we outline here
Rule of thumb is one tray per cat in the house, but if you have two cats, a good sized tray & the capacity to clean out the tray 2-3 times per day, you may find that one is sufficient. To be safe, buy two trays & you’ll have a spare in case
2. Ensure you have placed the litter tray:
In an easily accessible, quiet area,
Separate to where they eat / have their food bowls, and
Away from where they sleep & relax
When introducing a kitten(s) into their new home, it’s a good idea to keep them in an enclosure {like this} for the first week or two, while they acclimatise. The same principals of litter tray placement in the points above apply, even in a small space. When it’s time to let them free-range out of the enclosure {before taking it away}, leave the litter tray in there & place a second litter tray in the new spot where you want them to go. Once the cat(s) are using the new tray consistently, remove the enclosure & first tray
3. Accidents—if your cat is not using its litter tray every time, there are some things you can do to help progress the training:
Ensure the tray is kept clean - cats are notoriously clean beings. Remove droppings TWICE a day. If using HERDD, you won’t need to worry too much about the wee spots between complete litter tray changes, as HERDD is highly absorbent. If you see darkened areas that are damp, simply scoop those bits out
After eating breakfast & dinner, or waking from sleep {e.g. in the morning}, place the cat in the litter tray & stay close to encourage them to explore the tray & go to the toilet. You may want to close them in their toilet room for 30 mins & leave the space so they empty their bladders before being let out
You can gently take the cat’s front paw & show it how to scratch at the litter in the tray, some cats respond well to this as they start to understand the idea
4. Transitioning outside:
If you plan to let your cat outdoors when they are older, it’s a good idea to place the litter tray near their future cat flap from the beginning. When it is time to transition the cat outside, place the litter tray outside the cat flap & gradually move it closer to the garden where they are able to relieve themselves at their leisure. The benefit of using HERDD pet litter here, is that you can dispose of soiled HERDD litter in the garden, so when it comes time for your cat to go outside, they will recognise the smell & texture & easily pick up on their new toilet’s location
For more guidance on setting up a tray & cleaning it out, see our reels:
Set up your litter tray with HERDD pet litter
Litter tray cleaning with HERDD pet litter
or read more here.
