Kitty Litter Letter
Advice from Animal Expert Dr. Grey Stafford
 With the announcement that two tiger cubs were recently born at Wildlife World Zoo, I’ve been a bit preoccupied with felines lately. Since our keeper team is providing ‘round the clock care to these little ones, the subject of cleaning up after them has come up, too.
As you probably would have guessed, our large felines do not use a litter box. Just imagine how big it would have to be for a 400 lb animal plus, who would want to change it! However, just as with domestic kittens, young tigers have to be stimulated to help them eliminate. Ah, the rewards of being a keeper!
However, once a young kitten can handle things on its own, how do you train a feline to use a litter box? Fortunately, compared to dogs, cats seem to prefer to consolidate their bathroom trips to a few private locations. This trait can be useful in teaching litter box use. So, begin by finding a quiet location for the litter box that is away from major traffic areas in your home, but one that is always accessible to your pet.
As with puppies, it can be very helpful to establish a feeding schedule for your growing cat. In the case of young animals, eating helps to stimulate activity at their other end soon after the meal. So, having a consistent feeding schedule will allow you to determine roughly how often and when your cat will need to go. To prevent accidents, it may help to limit their access to other areas of the home, especially carpeted rooms, until they understand the purpose of the litter box. One great way to reinforce cats for using the box correctly is by giving them immediate access to those other areas of the home each time they succeed.
Some other helpful tips:
Praise and reinforce cats for success. Don’t take potty training for granted just because it’s a cat.
Save a small portion of the cat’s waste and place it in a freshly cleaned box every time the litter is changed until they get the hang of it.
Change/or scoop the litter often. Like a TV character once said, cats “prefer a fresh bowl.” If a box is overdue for a change, cats will go elsewhere.
Get in the habit of closing bedroom and office doors when you aren’t home to keep cats away from tempting things like closets, clothes and beds.
In closing, despite jokes to the contrary and as many cat lovers will tell you, felines are quite intelligent and capable of learning all sorts of new behaviors. The real challenge is discovering what fun things you can use to reward and motivate a cat. Now that may take a bit more effort compared to a dog.
~ Dr. Grey
Learn more about Dr. Grey Stafford
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