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Five Steps to Have Your Cat Using The Litter Box One Hundred Percent Of The Time

“My cat won’t use the litter box!” Many cat owners mistakenly, but understandably, feel their cat is angry at them, acting spitefully or getting even with them. Your cat likes you—it just has a problem with the litter box and needs your help.

Los Angeles dog trainer Bill Stavers

This plan works because it rewards your cat for following its instinct. To change your cat’s behavior teach and reward the correct activity instead of reacting to the wrong one.

This guide is designed to provide you with:

	A clear understanding of a plan to change your cat's elimination patterns.
	The basic "how to" material for collecting information about your cat's behavior and information to help interpret this data.
	An explanation of why each step is important.
	Information about how cats learn, and how to teach your cat to connect eliminating in the box with receiving a reward.
	This guide assumes medical problems have been ruled out.

Litter Box Basics

1. Has the box become aversive to your cat? An owner can influence a cat’s elimination habits by working with three elements: the box itself, its location and the litter in the box. Although it may not be apparent, this guide, if followed in its entirety, creates positive associations for the cat with all three elements.
2. The box. If the box is not cleaned enough, or if it is cleaned with strong detergents, these odors will linger in the box and repel your cat. In the case of older cats, sometimes the height of the sides is an obstacle to entering the box.
3. Areas that are noisy, dark or dank can, over time, encourage a cat to seek other areas that usually get cleaned quickly, inviting the cat to return.

REWARDS
Animals learn by association. Therefore, to teach your cat to use the litter box, you will create an opportunity for the cat to associate eliminating in the litter box with a reward. Usually a food treat is used but other rewards are possible.

PUNISHMENTS
It is important to stop all forms of punishment, such as yelling "NO!" tossing your kitty in the litter box, swatting, rubbing the cat's nose in the soiled spot, or any other expression of your frustration after the fact. In general, you need to make your kitty's home more predictable and less stressful.

Create a craving : a recipe for an avid appetite The five steps to success—thinking in side the box

	Mix one heaping tablespoon of canned cat food with two tablespoons of hot water and stir to make a gravy-like mixture.
	Stir in about one third to one half cup of dry food to coat the dry food with the gravy.
	Give this to your cat on a flat plate so the food is eaten all at once.
	Feed twice a day about twelve hours apart.
	Remove the plate and any remaining food when your cat walks away or finishes the meal.
	Adjust the amount fed until your kitty finishes all the food at every meal.
	Avoid feeding treats between meals. Offer treats only at the litter box.
	Feed on schedule or skip the meal.
	If your cat’s stool is very dry, small balls, or if your cat seems to pass its stool with difficulty; it is most likely constipated. I feel it is important to address this condition. Discuss this with your veterinarian! Measured, psyllium fiber capsule supplements are available from your veterinarian. Consider adding a laxative, mineral oil, or more wet food to your cat’s diet.

Five Steps to success - thinking inside the box

1. Keep litter shallow. Follow the manufacters directions. Ideally, litter should be about three inches deep. Cats typically scratch or paw at the litter until the bottom of the box is uncovered, then turn and precisely place their business. A shallow layer of litter allows your cat to quickly uncover the hard surface of the pan without coming in contact with a previous elimination (a turn-off). Also, if your cat spends a lot of time pawing the litter, you will find that reducing the litter’s depth can shorten the time spent scratching.
2. Make sure the litter box is open and accessible. Do not cover the box or use a plastic bag under the litter. The cover prevents you from tracking your cat’s habits. You need to see what happens and when it happens. A liner may catch in your cat’s claws, and move when your cat scratches it: this tells your cat it has not reached the bottom, forcing your cat to keep pawing or, worse for the owner, find a more suitable place.
3. During training, change the litter each day, wash the box with mild soap and water, rinse, dry, and put fresh litter
in the box. Between these daily changes, scoop out each clump of urine and stool as it occurs. After two weeks, change the litter three times a week. After a month of success, see if your cat will tolerate changing the litter box twice a week.

4. Several times a day, be affectionate with your cat near the box. A good time to do this is when you return home. Many cats sleep during the day. Greeting your cat near the litter box helps the cat form a positive association both with the box and with the feeling of a full bladder. Move the litter with the scoop; the sound may cue your cat to get in the box and eliminate. At other times, if it likes to be held in your arms, pick your cat up, be affectionate, then take it to the box and gently place it in the clean box. Immediately give it a small treat. It is all right if the cat walks out of the box and then eats the treat from your hand. If your cat won’t eat from your hand, place the treat on the floor.

5. Feed your cat twice a day. Why? Because when cats eat only twice a day, the scheduled feedings lead to predictable bowel movements. Since you have just fed your cat, you are there when the urge to eliminate occurs and you can direct your cat to the box, if necessary, then reward it for doing the right thing. Don’t allow your cat to have access to dry food between feedings.