Just like her big cat cousins, your little kitten prefers to go to the toilet in privacy. That's why it's important to keep her litter tray in a quiet, safe, place where she can get to it easily and use it without anybody watching.
Noticing when she wants to go
You’ll need to train your kitten in how to use her tray. This is simple: just lift her into the tray as soon as you see that she wants to go. You can also help by placing her in the tray early in the morning, last thing at night and after every meal. Keep doing this until your kitten can find the litter tray for herself by smell and location. After that, just leave her to it. To make sure she's comfortable, use a cat litter that absorbs odours and doesn’t form clumps.
Keeping it clean
In the wild, big cats are very particular about cleanliness and health, making sure that they eat and drink in a different place than where they go to the toilet. Your little kitten is just the same, so put her litter tray some distance from where she eats or drinks. It’s also important to clean out the litter tray daily.
Accidents may happen
Has your kitten suddenly started to have little accidents? There may be a number of reasons:
• Her litter tray may be dirty
• She may be seeking attention
• She may feel something has invaded her territory
• She may have reached sexual maturity
If the accidents continue, ask your vet for advice about how to get your kitten back on track.
How to clean up
Rinse the area with clean water, then use a 10% solution of biological washing powder to get rid of the smell. It’s best not to use anything else, as many cleaning products actually smell a bit like a cat's urine. So if you clean with these, you may actually be leaving a feline signal that encourages more unwanted behaviour, not less!
Rewarding success
When your kitten successfully uses her litter tray, make sure you give her lots of praise – a small treat might help too. This way, she’ll soon learn to associate the litter tray with good feelings. All you need to do is show your kitten a little patience, and lots of encouragement, and she'll quickly adjust to using it.