Wychwood Russian Blue Cats

Litter training accidents and how to avoid them

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We have been trying strategies to ensure perfect litter-training.
Of course, positive reinforcement is the only way to go about this, as kittens (and cats in general) do not necessarily associate any negative actions us humans may initiate in retaliation to improper use of the sofa, carpet or duvet!

Having rested on our early laurels and mistakenly felt smug about our 'perfect' babies and their wonderful mum, we came down with a bump when realising that we were being left little 'presents'.

We solved the sofa by washing the covers in biological washing powder (dosage of powder or tablets: heavy staining). This 'disolves and eats' the smells. Then, because this was not enough to deal with the fact that the wee must have soaked through to the cushion (no, we can't smell it!), we covered the cushions with a large bin-bags and slipped the covers over the top. No-one else we know has a crinkle-sounding sofa!

We solved the odd corners by adding extra litter trays to catch little accidents. Each little baby will go their new home with a litter tray that has been used around our home. The fact that it is used, means that although it will not show, it will 'smell right'. This is critical for them to feel at home, but much more importantly for their new families, they will be comfortable, and know exactly where to 'go'! Each baby must have their own tray and so must mum; who will inevitably go and use theirs!

Now another thing that we have been trained to do (we have given up fooling ourselves that we are training them) is to leap up the minute they have 'produced' in their tray and rush the offending article to the toilet. This is a benefit to using recycled paper litter. Should an accident occur, we either rush to scoop the offending kitten up and quickly and quietly pop them onto the tray where they resume their far-away look; or we rush to clean it up and wipe the area with one of the marvellous 'biological' scent disolving products available from all good pet shops or retailers.This is because Russian Blue cats are as fastidious as they can possibly be! Heaven forbid that we should go out for the day. This is not because of any loneliness or resentment, but quite simply that their slaves are not available for immediate litter-emptying duty.

They are still training us, but if we should forget to empty one of the trays, then our kittens will simply not use that tray again. This doesn't mean that they can't still make their communal deposits, which they so much enjoy; it just means that in order to tempt them into the tray in the first place, it must be immaculately clean and fresh-smelling.

I cannot imagine where our little monsters get this fastidious habit from, since Freja is a wonderfully relaxed, perfectly litter-trained girl. She doesn't seem to have the urge to forget herself on the furniture or the floors, just because she may have used the tray once before that day, and we used to be able to change her tray twice a day (morning and evening). -Not so her little ones.

We think that it is because there are five little babies and their mama using the trays. Although they will happily use the trays at the same time, they may not necessarily feel comfortable using a tray that does not smell uniquely of them. It may also be that (quite rightly) because there are so many of them wanting to use the same trays, usually at the same time, they just do not want to risk stepping into a dirty bit. Who can blame them?!

So, a word to our families, please do keep their trays very, very clean. It would be a shame to rest on your laurels only to find that you have to hire a steam-cleaning machine and buy a large amount of biological detergents, not to mention a variety of new litter trays with which to accessorise every corner of your homes.

For grown-up cats, there are other strategies for discouraging accidents in inappropriate corners. If one is aware of natural feline behaviour, it makes sense to employ this strategic advantage to one's benefit. For example, cats do not toilet in the same area as their food, so one excellent trick is to place a bowl of food on the now biologically cleaned area one wishes to discourage them from toileting in. This strategy will only work in the case of a learned behaviour, and not because of a genuine medical problem, so always have your cat checked over if you are worried. It is also important to consider whether there are other factors that can be addressed first, to maintain your feline friend's security and comfort levels at their maximum.

A cat who is threatened (and this can simply be as challenging as another cat sitting quietly near the litter-tray) will possibly end up going somewhere away from the other cat. Cat flaps are a well-known source of insecurity for cats, as just about any monster could be lurking out in the garden, waiting to encroach into their territory. Make sure that there are enough litter trays for each cat, and if you have stairs, do have one tray upstairs and one down stairs. Keep the trays in safe-feeling, quiet corners, and consider getting covered cat-toilets. Do not back trays up to a window or a door, as other cats can spray nearby, or sit and watch them, causing much alarm and future accidents.

I hope these tips are helpful, and if you have any further questions, contact your vet for advice and a health check, or just drop us an email.