methods to toilet train kittens

[Shakermaker]

We adopted a couple of kittens from a rescue charity about 3 months ago. they are lovely, and my wife adores them.

However, they are not very good at always using the litter tray, and pretty much refuse to use the existing cat flap in the house (which is of the tunnel variety through the back wall)

I'm still awaiting the new cat flap to be installed but I also want to stop the cats from having a wee in places other than the litter tray. When they were young we had a few dirty accidents in places like the laundry basket, or on the bed.. those have largely gone.

But the boy in particular likes to go in the corner of the living room next to the TV cabinet, on my nice wooden floor which has now started to go black around the edges.

Also, as we approach winter, am I likely to get them outside in the rain/cold through the new cat flap I'm having installed?

[edc]

Shakermaker said:

We adopted a couple of kittens from a rescue charity about 3 months ago. they are lovely, and my wife adores them.

However, they are not very good at always using the litter tray, and pretty much refuse to use the existing cat flap in the house (which is of the tunnel variety through the back wall)

I'm still awaiting the new cat flap to be installed but I also want to stop the cats from having a wee in places other than the litter tray. When they were young we had a few dirty accidents in places like the laundry basket, or on the bed.. those have largely gone.

But the boy in particular likes to go in the corner of the living room next to the TV cabinet, on my nice wooden floor which has now started to go black around the edges.

Also, as we approach winter, am I likely to get them outside in the rain/cold through the new cat flap I'm having installed?

I believe the thinking is that you need at least 1 more litter tray than you have cats. You also need to find the right litter that they like. You need to put the tray somewhere discreet and out the way. You need to clean them out regularly.

When I got mine at 12 weeks my thinking was to restrict their space. This way they know exactly where the trays are. Initially, they spent 1 week in 'isolation' in an enclosed bedroom. There's no way they can not see the tray then. I would quite regularly plonk them in the tray and also immediately after eating. They cottoned on quickly then and after 1 to 2 weeks then they could roam more rooms in the house and see where the other trays were located.

There may be other stress factors involved. Try some Feliway or similar. If the trays are open then perhaps try an enclosed one. Try a change of litter and also with and without liner. I used to put the trays in the bathrooms and toilets.

As for going outside, mine did not go outside until 6+ months and then only after full course of vaccinations and neutering. You need to train them to use the cat flap. My catflap is a microchip reader type and the bigger cat has occasional difficulty in positioning his head right so the chip reads to release the flap. He was also a bit stupid so locking him out at dinner time and showing him the dinner bowl from inside also worked.

[Shakermaker]

OK, thanks.

They seem pretty OK with just the Tesco litter, which is fortunate, as they didn't get on so well with the more expensive stuff we tried when it was on offer.

Fortunately they are now both 8 months old, all jabbed and up to date with medical stuff so that's good.

Will have a good training session with them this weekend once the new cat flap is put in - its going in the patio door instead of the wall this time so they can see through it all the time which I suspect is a problem with the other one.