Pet Den

Training your cat to use the litter box

OK, so you’ve brought your new kitten home and have started its training programme. One of the most important aspects in Kitty’s training programme would be the use of the litter box.

You can either buy a litter box or adapt an old box/tray with sides about one inch high for this purpose, but the most important thing is to get the animal to understand what you intend to do with the box. Toilet-training your cat is very important if you don’t want to spend all your time cleaning, disinfecting and putting air-freshner around your house.

Training your cat to use the litter box can be a bit difficult, but the earlier you start, the better results you will have.

To help it get the message, place it in the litter box (filled with sand or some other filler) after it has been fed. The easiest way is to observe the cat closely. You would be familiar with the way a cat behaves when it gets ready to use the toilet. They generally start nosing and sniffing around corners, squatting and scratching with its front paws. At this moment, place it on the litter box.

Place its front paws in the sand and make it scratch; this will give it an idea as to what you want it to do. Of course it won’t automatically learn the process, but with a few sessions of trial and error, it would know what to do.

Remember to change the filler and clean the box every time your cat has used it. If not, it would be unhygienic for both you and the cat and all of you might catch various harmful germs which may start breeding in the litter. The smell would be bad and the cat would also refuse to use the box.

If your cat continues to litter in other places without using the litter box, clean the mess with a paper towel and place the paper towel in the litter box. Then place the cat in the litter box close to the towel so it understands what you are saying. Never punish your cat for littering around the house. This would only help in the animal learning not to do it in your presence.

Always praise your cat when it uses the litter box. Then it will start associating your praise with its good behaviour. Continue with your praise after it has picked up the habit without taking it for granted. You’ll never again have problems with Kitty littering your house!

I set my pet free...

My pet was a squirrel
That slept on my cupboard
She liked to eat milkrice
But she didn’t eat rice.

She liked to drink milk
But she never drank it without me
She liked to play with me
But she tricked and bit me.

She liked to jump around
But she didn’t like to sleep
She was a big trouble
But only when I wanted to sleep.

I loved my pet a lot
But let it run free
She comes daily to eat
But only out of my hand.

Her son was bred and born
On my room cupboard
Now both are coming daily
But only to eat out of my hand.

Gimhani Upeksha Waduge, Grade 9 (English medium),Carmel Girls’ Central College, Chilaw.

Kukka, my dog

My pet is a dog. Its name is Kukka. It has a short tail and sharp teeth. It’s brown and white and has black spots on its head. Kukka likes meat. It drinks milk daily. Kukka plays with me; it can run very fast.

My uncle presented me with Kukka on my birthday. My pet catches mice. It likes to bark. Kukka is very naughty at times, but it’s my friend. It likes to sleep on my bed. I love my Kukka very much.

A.D. Darshana Appuhamy, Grade 4, Joseph Vaz Primary College, Wennappuwa.