November’s Pet Partner of the Month is Allen County SPCA, located in Allen County, Indiana. Allen County SPCA has many cats available for adoption so they know a thing or two about house training. They were kind enough to share their house training tips with our readers. Litter Box Training
Allen County, explains that adoptable cats are usually litter trained, as their mothers’ tend to teach them at an early age where to use the bathroom. Usually if you keep a cat isolated in an area where they have easy access to an appropriate litter box, instinct does the rest; they are very clean animals!
If a cat stops using their litter box check with a veterinarian to rule out a possible medical issue. If there are no medical issues, it’s also important to keep in mind that cats do not like drastic changes in their environment, such as a new baby, another pet, or moving. The changes can make them upset causing the cat to not use their litter box.
Proper House Behavior
Allen County also pointed out that some cats need to be trained on how to behave in a house. There are many ways to stop your cat from scratching, climbing, knocking things over or getting on the counter. First, Allen County suggests trimming nails often. Also providing enough scratching posts and interactive toys can keep the cat busy and out of trouble. Cat owners find a gentle squirt of water to be very unsettling to the cat and may deter unwanted behavior when caught in the act. Cats learn from positive reinforcement and redirection. For example; if the cat is scratching the couch you nicely direct the cat's attention to it's scratching post or toy instead.
The best tip Allen County SPCA provided for house training is to be active in your cats' life.
If you have any questions for Allen County SPCA feel free to contact them at Info@acspca.org or visit their website: www.acspca.org
