Kitty etiquettes -Jan 08

Our kitty angels are very clean by nature and they keep themselves and their vicinities neat and hygienic. However, a little house training is essential to make them the perfect kids. Cats like to bury their waste, are fastidiously clean and beings of strong habit. These factors make house training very easy.
Catch them early!
By the time they are seven or eight weeks old, kittens will have learnt to tidy up themselves. Many experts believe that they learn this by watching their mothers or siblings. That’s why you will almost never find a cat excreting near her sleep or food area.
Others believe that this behaviour is more instinctive and stems from a desire to conceal their scent from predators or dominant cats.
Either way, if your kitten is around two months old, she has probably already got into the habit of covering up, or if younger, will just need to be shown how by you, her new mother!
Showing the way
If you prefer your cat to use a garden or the outdoors, make sure she has constant access to it. A cat door or flap is invaluable, and once fixed, she will take to it in no time at all.
Train them to use litter box, which dessicates and deodourises the urine and faeces. Once trained, they will follow it through out their life and it will help you to avoid unpleasant smell from your house.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when training your kitty:

• Keep the litter box in a secluded area. Cats are usually shy about their this act.
• Keep the litter box in one place. They don’t appreciate constant moves.
• Place a soaked newspaper in the litter box to draw the kitten towards it. They love its sandy texture and this satisfies their natural urge to dig and bury.
• Use commercially available litter boxes, or make one with a clean milk crate or plastic tub. Just make sure the cat has enough room, and doesn’t accidentally paw the litter over the sides of the tub.
• Restrict access to other tempting, but undesirable places to eliminate, and discourage kitty when she attempts to use another place (punishing cats once the deed is done is rarely effective).

Litter box care

• Cats love a fresh, clean litter box. One of the most common reasons for failure of litter box training is not keeping the litter box clean enough.
• Scoop out clumps of dried litter at least once a day (twice if two cats are using the same box).
• Top up the litter so that it is sufficient for the cat’s needs.
• Once a week, empty out the tray altogether and replace it with fresh litter after washing the box with a mild detergent and drying thoroughly.
• Make sure the box is ventilated so that the litter has a chance to dry completely.
• Try not to change the brand of litter, and if you must, gradually introduce the new brand along with the old.

Once your pet has learnt where her toilet is, and if it meets her needs of hygiene, privacy and constancy, she will almost never want to eliminate elsewhere.