Cat Box Training 101

The day after my cage-rattling drive home from Roma's, I set up a crate for Callee so that I could train her to use the litter box.

Normally, the kittens' mothers teach them how to use a litter box. But with Callee having been separated from her mother at 4 weeks of age, that wasn't going to happen.

Ariana did a valiant attempt to get Callee to use the box once the kitten no longer needed her help to go to the bathroom.

And for awhile things were going fine.

But then, Callee started picking up Attila's bad habits. (Ariana was still allowing him to "go commando" when he was in her room.) As a result, the whole world ~ which was Ariana's bedroom at the time ~ became Callee's litter box.

The cat box experiment started off with a large plastic dog crate that was modified into a cat house, by its previous owner, with the addition of a kitty shelf in the rear.

I placed Callee's litter box under the shelf and a piece of think wool blanketing on the shelf. The water and food dishes were placed by the door.

Callee didn't seem to mind her new crib. And this morning I discovered a little poop in the litter box.

But my excitement was cut to the quick when a saw a puddle of pee around the water bowl.

After cleaning up that mess, Callee still did not get the idea. She took a few bites of her kitty crunchies and then once more peed in the bottom of the crate.

So now, I have Callee set up in a small crate where she has only choices to pee in ~ either in the box or in the spot where she rests.

I'll have to check tomorrow to see if everything came out OK.