[keschy]

My kitty saga continues! We are going to try to litter box train the adult cat we took in. I want her to be as adoptable as possible. I put a litter box in her shed but so far she has not used it. The kittens haven't used the paper I put down, but that may be because they are so young. Any suggestions on how to train the mother? Thanks!

[mechanicaleden]

Hi,
She probably hasn't used the litter box because she has access to the outside, where they just "go" in the dirt. When confined, she will almost definitely use it, but if they have the choice, they usually seem to prefer the great outdoors. The kittens probably won't use the paper, because unlike puppies, they have a strong instinct to dig and bury. Even orphan kittens, who have never seen it done, almost always figure it out instinctually. They may be following their mom outside to "go", or she still might be eating their feces. If they are really 5 weeks old, make sure they can get out of their box if they need to, to use the litter box and try some "big kitty" food.

[KatieLR]

I have an adult male cat who has adopted my home & me as "his". Until he will let me pick him up so I can take him to the vet I am not letting him into my house. My current cat's health would be at risk. He is a very loving cat and will even let me comb him, but I do not think he was ever litter trained!

In bitter cold weather he sometimes stays in my garage after eating - his choice, as I offer to let him back out often! When he does I have worried that he needs a litter box...

... so, I had a litter pan that I put out in my garage and had tried both traditional clay and scoopable litter in it. He hated the very feel of the scoopable stuff under his paws! He would stand in the clay litter, but not use the pan for its intended use. Then I read somewhere recently that just plain old dirt might work. So, I tried some dirt (potting soil to be exact - the kind without any fertilizer). Last night he used it to urinate in! No BM in it yet. But I'm hopeful. I will keep the cleaned out dirt there for a while and begin adding clay litter to it to see if we can move to litter instead of dirt. Maybe this would work for you too.

I wish you luck. I truly respect those who give homes to the "dumped" kitties of this world.