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House Training Your Kitten

Litter box training is relatively simple for most kittens, since they have an innate desire to eliminate in material in which they can scratch and cover urine or stool. Simply providing such material in a convenient location is often all that is needed.

Designate an Accessible and Quiet Area

Put litter boxes in locations that are easy for your kitten to reach. The rooms you choose for the litter boxes should be quiet. Avoid areas near noisy appliances or where your kitten could easily be ambushed by the family dog. Help your kitten get off to a good start by confining her to a room with a litter box whenever you are unable to closely supervise her during the first few weeks at home.

Reward Good Behavior

If you notice your kitten sniffing around, there is a good chance she has to eliminate. Gently pick your kitten up and take her to a litter box. Praise your kitten and give a Science Diet® Kitten pet food kibble when she finishes.

Keep It Clean and Consistent

Provide plain, unscented litter in one to two litter boxes with sides that are low enough for your kitten to easily enter. Scoop the boxes frequently and change the litter before you notice an odor. Most kittens don't like harsh odors, so if you use a disinfectant, be sure to rinse thoroughly afterwards. Avoid changing litter brands once you find one your kitten prefers. Also, once you have designated locations for the litter boxes, don't confuse your kitten by moving them.

Make Adjustments as Needed

If your kitten won't use the litter boxes provided, you may need to make them more appealing. Consider switching to another brand of litter, providing litter boxes with lower sides, adding or removing covers to the boxes, moving them to quieter areas, discontinuing the use of deodorants or cleaning them more frequently. Some kittens will stop using the litter boxes when they have a urinary infection, so a visit to your veterinarian may also be necessary.

Provide Adequate Litter Boxes

If you have a large home, you should consider two or three boxes so your kitten will have easy access when she has to eliminate. If there are already cats in the home, add at least one additional litter box for the newcomer.

Accidents Happen

To keep your kitten from returning to an unacceptable area and resoiling, be sure to clean up the elimination odor with a good commercial product. You may also want to temporarily block access by moving furniture over the area or closing the door to the room. Since most pets won't eliminate where they eat or play, moving your kitten's food bowls and toys to the area may help. Do not use any type of punishment or scolding, as this approach almost always makes the problem worse.

Scratching Post Training

Scratching objects is a natural behavior for most cats. They do this for nail care and maintenance, and sometimes as a form of territorial marking behavior. If you want to protect your furniture, you'll need to teach your kitten to use an acceptable object for scratching.

First, find a post with a surface that your kitten likes that is stable and tall enough for your kitten to reach up and extend her body when scratching. For alternatives to commercial carpet-covered posts, you might want to try a fireplace log secured to a plywood base or a rope-covered post.

Reward Good Behavior

Every time your kitten approaches or touches the post, toss a Science Diet® cat food kibble to her. When your kitten scratches, toss a few more kibbles.

Keep Kitten Within Eyesight

To keep your kitten from scratching your possessions, you will need to keep her within eyesight at all times when you are home. Whenever your kitten starts to scratch furniture, interrupt the behavior with a squirt from a water gun, or toss a bean bag near her. Do not say anything when you do this.

Keep Kitten Confined When Alone

Whenever you cannot watch your kitten, confine her to a room with the scratching post. Remove any items that may be tempting to scratch. Once your kitten is frequently scratching the post on her own, gradually start allowing some freedom in the home without supervision.

Tips for Protecting Furniture

To keep your kitten from scratching furniture, try one or more of the following: hang a blanket, towel, plastic or canvas drop cloth over the side of the furniture, attach a tissue with a strong citrus fragrance to the side of the furniture, or use a commercial motion-activated pet alarm to teach your kitten to stay away from the furniture.

About Dr. Wayne Hunthausen, DVM
The Kitten Training section was contributed by Wayne Hunthausen, DVM. Dr. Hunthausen is a veterinarian and pet behavior consultant who has worked with pet owners and veterinarians throughout North America since 1982 to solve companion animal behavior problems. He has also served as the president and executive board member of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.

Dr. Hunthausen has written for numerous pet publications, co-authored pet behavior books and helped develop an award-winning safety video for children and pets. In his spare time, he is an avid photographer and enjoys skiing, cycling, movies, traveling with his wife, Jan, and hiking with their dogs Ralphie, Beau and Peugeot.

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