Did you always have to train pets for litter box?

Did you always have to go through litter box training with your pets?

I wonder if dogs and cats are just "natural" to use litter box, or if they also gave you a hard time too at the beginning.

Rabbits are certainly not "natural" at it. My cousin had a rabbit and she refused to use litter box no matter how he tried to train her. I was helping my cousin looking for information online, and we tried all kinds of methods mentioned online but none worked.

That came at a price to the rabbit herself. She was locked up in a cage most of the time instead of having her around like a house cat, because she always take a big dump in a corner when she was let out. My cousin even tried to move the litter box to where she took the dump previously, but she still would just do it right beside the litter box. Although, rabbits poop are not wet at all, it was easy to sweep away those little round "balls".

What about from your personal experience?

Did your dogs give you a hard time on the subject?

I have never litter box trained a dog. I do know it can be done. My dogs have all been trained to do the deeds outside. My last couple of dogs will eliminate on command...most of the time. I tend to like dogs over 25 pounds. I think that is to big to litter train if the humans are able to get the dogs outside. I like a dog big enough that if I accidentally step on him/her they will survive.

Well, you train them to go outside; if you take them to the same spot in the yard every time and stay there until they go, maybe that would potty train them to always go in that spot? Makes sense to me, anyway. When i was in Japan, I was amazed at how big the piddle-pad selection was in the pet stores. They also have a large selection of different sized frames to hold the pads. Aparently, with the long work hours and tiny appartments in the citys, many dogs seldom get out fore walks so piddle pads are the only way to "go". Of course, many of these appartment dogs are tiny, but it seems to work for them. Dogs can use the pads because they don't instinctivly bury their waste. Cat's have the instinct to bury their's to hide their presence from predators. If you don't give them some sort of litter to dig in, I've heard of outdoor cats brought in trying to use the potted plants.

Yes Karenskatz, I had one cat from outside try the plants but I moved his waste to a litter box and showed him and after a couple of time and a couple of squirts from a water bottle he used the litter instead of the plants.

(03-27-2012, 12:16 AM)bw Wrote: Yes Karenskatz, I had one cat from outside try the plants but I moved his waste to a litter box and showed him and after a couple of time and a couple of squirts from a water bottle he used the litter instead of the plants.

Smart cat.

Although, I think it isn't such bad natural fertilizer if you want some of it buried in your garden without even lifting a finger.

My wife's plants were indoors...phew

At least he buried it. Unlike the rabbit...leaving a pile of little "balls" right on the floor.

Litter box, in my house, the ONLY way.

All in all, it's mostly a matter of learning what that species natural behavior in the wild would be, and working with that. Cats instinctivly want to bury their waste. Give them a place to do that and don't let it get overloaded, and you're fine. Dogs don't want to soil their den. They also want to stay on the good side of their pack leader. If you are the pack leader, and you make it clear to the dog that you want them to go HERE, that should work out OK. Other animals...?

I agree. Most cats, all you have to do is show them the box and keep it clean.

I put my cat in the litter box once and that was all it took. He went back to the litter box every single time he had to go and never went anywhere else.

We never had any trouble with cats using the litter box. They all knew what it was for and took to it right away. One of our current cats though is a huge tom cat who overshoots the litter box much too often, both pee and poop. It's very annoying!
I had a friend who had a pet rabbit once. It was a really great pet for her and it did use the litter box. I don't know if she had any trouble teaching it at first, or not.

My dogs are all taught to do it outside. They do it when I take them out for their morning run.

I have trained some of my cats to use the bathroom to do their business. It's not really that difficult. Cats want to go after a meal and when they wake up. So after a meal and when they wake up, I lock them into the bathroom for a while. After a few days, they would start doing it in the bathroom. Then once a few of them do that, the rest would usually follow. It does make the bathroom messy but still it's less messy that finding unwanted deposits under the bed and under the cupboard.

I've never had too mUch of a problem with cats, I have three now, and I have two litter boxes. I have actually experimented with the idea with some lizards, I had some pretty good results, but it is not as simple. Some tegus and monitors seem to want to go in some form of substrate, something like mulch or bark, and will if its convenient, bit off they are in another part of the house... So I've given up that idea.

(06-17-2012, 08:19 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: My dogs are all taught to do it outside. They do it when I take them out for their morning run.

Then you have to clean up after them. Picking up their drops every time they feel like doing it. I wouldn't enjoy it lol.

(06-17-2012, 08:19 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: I have trained some of my cats to use the bathroom to do their business. It's not really that difficult. Cats want to go after a meal and when they wake up. So after a meal and when they wake up, I lock them into the bathroom for a while. After a few days, they would start doing it in the bathroom. Then once a few of them do that, the rest would usually follow. It does make the bathroom messy but still it's less messy that finding unwanted deposits under the bed and under the cupboard.

Yes, by locking your cats in the bathroom they will eventually "do it" in the bathroom. The problem is,
How do you make sure the cats actually use the toilet in the bathroom instead of do it beside the toilet or even in the sink?

Both of our cats had no issues in finding the litter box and even with us finding a nice place to keep it, they were always there. We put it in the bathroom at first but got tired of the litter on the floor, even with a mat to try in corralling the loose litter.We decided in placing the litter box out on the patio.

When I have discussions about her cats' past, she never brought up how she had to train them to use the litterbox. I assume they just realized where they had to go or maybe she showed them once and they never had issues with it.

I have two cats and I never had a problem with this. They both used the litter box since they came into my house, even though they were both kittens that previously lived outside. I guess it's natural for them to find a place to bury their "mess", and since I don't have any potted plants inside, they didn't have any other choice. The worst experiences I heard with cats is them not using their litter box the first few times, it's very easy to get them to use it. As for dogs, rabbits and similar animals, I've heard of people training them to go in the same place indoors every time, but never in a litter box. It doesn't come naturally for them to bury their "mess", and maybe they don't even like the feel of litter on their paws. People usually place papers or diapers on the place meant for that, and teach them to go there.

I have two cats. One has always been an inside-only cat and used the litter box without fail for 14 years. The only snag occurred when we introduced a new cat into the house and my girl was high anxiety over it. Then she decided to go in a place that was more of a comfort zone (she didn't have to go near the other cat.) We ended up placing a new litter box on that spot and she, as well as the other cat, now use both litter boxes (old place and new place).

The newer cat in my home used to be an inside-outside cat until she moved here and is now inside-only. She managed to use the littler box appropriately at her old home and we had no trouble at all getting her to use the litter box here. She has a silly tendency to try to cover her business with more than just the litter (the rug the pan sits on, the scoop and brush at the pans edge), but other than that she's spot on.