It is always an emotionally-thrilling and unforgettable moment for any cat lover who brings a cat or kitten home for the first time. However, in time, you must train your new fluffy friend how to use the litter, else your new spring of joy will turn to non-ending frustration.
Is Your Cat’s Litter Box Clean? The Best Tips For A Clean Cat Litter
Herein, we provide some of the best tips to help your lovely cat start using the litter box regularly. Also, we will provide you with some brilliant ideas to keep your cat’s litter box clean and deal with any awful odor in the house.
When Is The Right Time To Start Litter-Training Your Kitten?
The first day you have brought your kitten home is preferably the best time to begin familiarizing your kitten with its litter box. Luckily, it is not usually hard teaching your cat how to use a litter box. This is mainly because cats are naturally clean animals and often like to bury or hide their stool.
However, if you encounter difficulties training your kitten to go into the litter box, it is best to seek professional counsel from a trusted vet.
Training Your Kitten To Use The Litter Box All The Time
To begin with, a litter box is best kept in the most serene part of your house. Also, the choice and type of litter box equally matter; clumping litter is the best option because it is easy to clean. However, you can always try multiple choices before nailing the one your cat likes and uses regularly.
As part of initial training, allow a little of your cat’s urine and feces to remain in the litter box; that way, your cat will use the smell to psychologically associate the litter box with using the washroom. Later on, you can remove all the waste when your cat is a trained user of the litter box.
The best way to ensure your cat remains healthy and to reduce or eliminate accidents is to put the cat in the litter box when the cat has finished eating, sleeping or playing.
Additionally, always look out for specific signs usually exhibited by a kitten that wants to pee or poop. For instance, the kitten may start to scratch the floor or other signs; you should immediately put it in the litter box.
It is a very useful tip to restrain your kitten to one room in your house during the first days. This is to ensure it can seamlessly use the litter box before you grant total freedom to the rest of the house.
Sooner or later, you will need a litter box on all floors of the house to allow the cat to quickly access the litter box when it needs to go to the bathroom.
Also, if you have more than one cat, it is highly advisable to reserve a litter box for each cat; cats can be territorial animals and sharing might not work.
The Top 5 Tips To Deal With Smells From Litter Box
Dealing with cat litter odor is a two-pronged plan. Apart from training your kitten to use the litter box, you need to control the odor emanating from the litter box.
That is the only way to ensure your home has fresh air and is a comfortable living space for humans and cats alike. Here is how you can deal with the smell and unpleasant appearance of your cat’s litter box.
1. Ensure you clean your kitten’s litter box every day. The guaranteed method of avoiding the accumulation of waste/stool and minimizing odors in the house is cleaning the litter box at least once a day. It may seem a time-consuming task but it works.
Additionally, cleaning the litter box every day is a good opportunity to keep track of your cat’s health. Irregular bathroom tendencies can be a sign of an underlying illness. Ensure you remove all the litter and clean the litter box well before refilling it with new litter.
2. Adding baking soda at the lower part of the litter box. Next, pour a layer of kitty litter before adding some baking soda and a little more. The ideal combination of baking soda and good-quality cat litter UK is strong and effective in breaking down the odour.
3. Use an appropriate air freshener to get rid of the odor. You can easily access quality air fresheners to help get rid of airborne odor particles, and reduce overall cat odor.
4. Ensure the litter box is always covered with its lid. By covering the litter box, you will help trap a lot of the odor that would have otherwise escaped to the air. This is why covered litter boxes are more popular than the open-air model. Additionally, when buying a litter box, consider acquiring one with a lid and an in-built air filtrations system.
5. Keep the litter box in the bathroom or near the laundry area but at a safe distance from carpet, fabrics or furniture with absorbent qualities. For instance, a carpet, pillow, curtain or furniture will easily absorb and leak cat odors. Ensure you dry your clothes carefully to avoid soaking them with cat odors!