Litter training a kitten

This is the easiest training a cat owner will ever do, because the instinct is already there. Nearly all of the work is providing a tray the kitten can physically use and then leaving it alone.

The method, such as it is

1. Confine at first. One room, with the tray always visible and never more than a few seconds away. A kitten given the whole house will not find the tray in time.
2. Use a low tray. If the kitten has to be lifted in, it is too high. This is the only real hardware requirement.
3. Place after meals and naps, which is when kittens go. Set them in the tray and let them work it out.
4. Never punish an accident. Clean it with an enzymatic cleaner and move on. Punishment creates anxiety around the tray, which is the actual cause of long-term problems.
5. Keep it very clean. Kittens are fussier than adult cats, not less.
6. Expand territory slowly, adding a second tray as the kitten gets access to more of the house.

The minimum weights, and what they mean in months

Kittens reach these weights at very different ages depending on breed and individual growth, so weigh rather than count months. A useful rule is that a kitten should be comfortably above the stated minimum and able to climb the step-up without effort before an automatic box is worth considering, and for most cats that is somewhere around six months.

Buying for the cat you will have

The tray you buy in month one is disposable. The one you buy in month six should be sized for an adult cat, which is roughly one and a half times its body length, and it will probably be larger than the kitten section suggests. Buying an adult-sized tray early and simply giving the kitten a low-sided one alongside it is cheaper than buying twice.

If you are thinking about an automatic box eventually, the useful thing to do now is check the weight and entry register and the litter compatibility register, and choose a litter your future box will actually accept, so you are not changing substrate on an adult cat that has already formed a preference.

When training is not the problem

A kitten that was using the tray and stops, or one that strains without producing much, needs a vet rather than more training. Very young cats get urinary and digestive problems too, and the same emergency rule applies as for adults. See peeing outside the litter box.

Common questions

How do you litter train a kitten?

Mostly you do not have to. Kittens learn to bury waste from their mother and the instinct is strong, so the job is providing a suitable tray and letting them get on with it. Keep the kitten in one room at first with the tray always in sight, put them in it after meals and naps, and use a low tray they can climb into without help.

Can a kitten use an automatic litter box?

Not straight away, and buying one for a kitten is a common and expensive mistake. Automatic boxes detect a cat by weight, and every model sold in Australia states a minimum: 1.36kg for the Litter-Robot 4, 1.5kg for PETKIT and 1.58kg for CATLINK. Below that the box may not register the visit and may not cycle at all. Start with a cheap manual tray and move up at around six months.

What size litter tray does a kitten need?

Low-sided and small enough to climb into unaided, which usually means a shallow tray rather than a kitten-branded one. The more important point is that they outgrow it fast: buy cheap, expect to replace it within months, and size the second tray for the adult cat rather than the kitten.

What litter should a kitten use?

A fine, unscented, non-clumping litter is the conventional starting point, because kittens explore with their mouths and clumping clay can cause problems if a lot is swallowed. Once the kitten is reliably using the tray and past the tasting stage, usually a few months, you can move to clumping litter gradually.