LITTER BOX INFO

Our  kittens  come to your home litter box trained and with very nice clean habits. How to keep it that way ?

The rule is - use as many litter boxes  as you have cats, plus one.  Separated - in different quiet places, not together.

In our cattery we use only large open litter boxes with lower sides,  to make it easier for the kittens to jump in. Some cats feel trapped in covered boxes with only one opening,  so if you have covered litter box, keep it open for them - just for the first few weeks. We recomend you very much to watch SEVERAL U tube videos about litter boxes - Jackson Gallaxy : You’re Setting Up Your Litter Box All Wrong ! Please, please watch them !!!

We use fir saw dust pellets as a litter, which changes into saw dust when wet.  Your kitten will accept any material in a litter box, as soon as it is not too deodorized. But - to make the transition easier for them - we strongly recommend to start with the same,  as they have here.  Fir saw dust is probably better than pine but pet shops use pine.  In our kittens and cats rooms and in the sun room we have a hard floors and we use steamer  for easy cleaning and sanitizing. We steam clean the boxes too. ( In catios we have concrete floor but kittens  do not go out there. )

(And we compost the used saw dust with grass clippings and use it for our flower gardens. Not veggie garden,  please). 40 lbs bag of fir saw dust pellets cost about $ 6 in Lowe's,  more in pet shops.

Please place your two-three litter boxes on easily accessible places and introduce your kittens to them. Cats are very clean creatures and they come very well litter trained,  but if some mistake happens in a new home - it means correction is needed.

First - please forgive them,  they are just a babies and they are trying hard to please you.

Second - make the adjustment.  More accessible and quiet place, clean the box daily, make sure it has no odor,  no deodorant.  Do not bleach it! ( Bleach smell can repel  them.  You can use Accel/Rescue instead.)

Sometimes cat may develop an aversion to the elimination site because of its nature - smell, cleanliness, litter used,  feaces present,  size and color of the tray or location. The place may be noisy or associated with a stressful  event.  Our litter kittens are used to other cats and their elimination. But in time, later on, they may become more picky.

Sometimes  helps if you let them choose the litter box place and material. Offer them several boxes  in very different places -  disposable carton or paper ones are fine. They may choose right spot. Or offer a  different  litter material .  Again -  they will let you know.  Some cats want their own litter box. Some  prefer poop in one and pee in another one. They will let you know what they prefer. Some smell really provoke them to pee on it ( plasic bags). When they pee in some unusuall spot, place the box there to prevent another peieng there.

Spraying - our males - fathers -  do not spray,  even if they are whole cats. So we expect our boys to be the same. Neutering when 6-7 months old should help too. Female in heat can spray too.

Some cats develop a habit to pee on some kind of materials. Plastic bags are common or objects with a chlorine smell. You have to be observant. There are many artickles on Interrnet how to solve it. Spray with enzymes - to liquidate urine smell totally - it is the must.

Just use common sence. Think like a cat.

Do not expect your little kitten to run from your upstairs bedroom all the way to downstairs laundry room to pee. Adult cat will always do it. But - if the noisy washing machine just starts - it may scare the cat away from that place forever. Again - Internet will provide usful info.

GOOD PLACES TO WATCH ON U TUBE :

Jackson Gallaxy: - You are doing cat litter wrong & here is why. Litter box issues: Why litter matters. - - Why should you have another cat ?

What is the best type of cat litter box?; The best cat litter box set up.; Cat litter box hacks that will save your life.

SANCTUARY ROOM

When you are first getting ready for your kitten, designate a sanctuary room for it, where it will spend its first few days (up to 2 weeks at the most). This should be a small room in your home, away from other pets or excessive noise. It could be a bathroom, it could be a small bedroom etc. It should have all the qualities of a sanctuary, with their food and water there, litter boxes there (away from the food and water of course), toys, hiding places, they love amazon boxes or cat tunnels, or cat homes in general.

Your kitten(s) should be allowed to explore on their own in their sanctuary room, and it should allow you to spend time with them there often, interact with them, play with them, spend time during feeding time, talk to them, and make them feel as comfortable as you can. They will let you know their level of comfortability, and it is ok for them to feel afraid at first…. it is so many changes at once! Away from their homes, from their moms, from their siblings and play mates…. it is always better to adopt two kittens than just one and it shortens the time of adjustment as well.

Introductions to other pets should be done slowly, and by scent only at first (bring in their toy or dog/ cat bed…), or allow them to sniff each others scent under a closed door only. Step by step. A lot of info on this on you tube, etc.