How to Litter Train a Kitten: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

One of the most important first steps when bringing home a new kitten is setting up their litter box. These come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, target different purposes, and can be filled with a dozen or more different litter options. 

Because getting a kitten off on the right foot (or paw) is important for establishing good, lifelong litter box habits, it may seem daunting trying to make the right decisions for them. Here’s everything you need to know to successfully litter-train your kitten.

Main takeaways

• In young kittens, make sure their litter box sides aren’t too high.

• At a minimum, get one litter box per cat, plus one additional litter box.

• Remove waste from the litter box daily and deep clean the box weekly. 

• Keep litter boxes in relatively quiet, low-stress areas, but don’t make them hard to find. 

• Make sure the litter box is wide enough for your kitten to circle in freely. 

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What is the right age to start litter training your kitten?

You can start (and probably succeed in) litter training your kitten as soon as they’re old enough to go on their own without their mom’s help. In general, that’s after about four weeks old. This is because going to the bathroom in terrain similar to cat litter is instinctive to most cats. 

Very young kittens, less than eight to 12 weeks old, are still building muscle strength and coordination. So make sure the sides of their “potty-training” litter box are exceptionally low, around an inch to an inch-and-a-half high. As long as you can provide them a box they can easily crawl into — and they’re over four weeks old — it’s a great time to litter train them.

Preparing for litter training

Oftentimes, you should start prepping for litter training before you even have a kitten. Here’s what you need to know when you are ready to go on a shopping spree to provide the best experience for your cat.

Choosing the right litter box

The right box for a cat is dependent on their preferences. When preparing for a kitten, keep in mind how big they are and how old they are. The box’s width/length needs to be about one-and-a-half times the length of the kitten, with room for them to grow rapidly. 

For kittens who are large enough to crawl into a normal-size litter box, there are many options, including:

• Low sides for easy entry

• High sides to contain litter scatter

• Covered boxes for privacy and better litter control

• Top-loading litter boxes to prevent litter tracking and scattering

• Automatic, self-cleaning litter boxes

• Litter boxes that separate and sift feces or urine clumps from litter

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While preparing for a kitten, there should always be at least one basic box. This would have low sides, be quite wide, and not require them to crawl through a swinging door, through the top, or otherwise have a barrier to entry. 

You’ll also need:

• Enough litter boxes so that each cat in the home has one box, plus one extra

• One box on every floor of your home

All other litter box types sacrifice something a cat may like to help make the litter box easier to handle in a home. This is usually fine for most cats. But if your kitten isn’t ready for that, always have a basic box available. This way, if they do struggle with the boxes you prefer, they won’t delay in learning to use a litter box — or finding somewhere outside a box to relieve themselves. 

Avoid automatic litter boxes for new kittens, especially if they’re kept in a single room when you first bring them home. These boxes can be hard to get in and out of, and make strange noises or have strange smells. 

Selecting the best type of litter

There are numerous litter options, and all come with benefits. The standard litter type is clumping litter, which is usually enjoyed by both cats and their people. Other options may be less dusty, hypoallergenic, lightweight, more natural-smelling, more cost-effective, or healthier, with benefits such as crystal litters that change color based on a cat’s urine pH. 

Once a kitten is acclimated to one type of litter, they may not tolerate changes later. Start by choosing a litter with features that meet your needs. You can try a few options, putting them in different litter boxes and letting your cat show you which one they like most.

Young kittens around eight weeks old may be more prone to playing in the litter box, stepping in their bowel movements there, and generally getting litter stuck to themselves. Between this and their dust-sensitive respiratory systems, you may need to use pelleted, non-clumping litter, rather than clumping or crystal litter — or be ready to regularly help them clean themselves after a trip to the litter box. 

Picking a good location for the box

You will want to balance providing a quiet area for the litter box with being sure not to hide it so well that a kitten can’t find it — or doesn’t think it’s worth the trip all the way to the box. (We don’t want them brainstorming for an easier place to go.) 

In very young kittens, you may need one box per room, so there’s always one in sight. Once they’re over eight weeks old, as long as they only have to cross one to two rooms or so to find a box, you should be OK. 

Some cats prefer that the box be in an otherwise relatively open room, while others like slightly enclosed spaces like behind a sliding closet door or in a closet with a cat door. This is a good time to provide some options so your cat can tell you which ones they prefer. 

Even after your kitten is a litter box pro who wouldn’t dream of going to the bathroom anywhere else, be sure to have at least one litter box on each floor of your home that they have access to. 

How to train your kitten

Training your kitten to use a litter box is often easier than you’d expect, and most kittens take to it instinctively. Below is a guide to help you get started.

Introduce your kitten to the litter box

When you first welcome your kitten into your home, be sure they are in a room with a litter box that they can easily see. Encourage them to investigate it and place them inside the box intermittently as well. If you notice them sniffing or scratching at the ground, especially if they start to circle, pick them up and gently place them in the middle of their litter box, so they’re encouraged to go to the bathroom there.

Reinforce good litter box habits

Be ready to reward your kitten after they use the litter box — just be sure not to break out the treats while they’re still in there, or chaos may ensue. Don’t punish them if they go outside the box: Just place them back in again and try again next time.

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Keep the litter box clean

In the beginning, it may work best to remove a kitten’s waste right after they go, so they always have a fresh, clean litter box available. Once they’re used to the box, cleaning it once daily works well for most cats.

Cleaning the litter box also includes replacing used litter with fresh litter about once weekly to every other week. If your litter box doesn’t have a liner (which is very normal), be sure to scrub the box as well.

Dealing with accidents

When a kitten inevitably has an accident outside the box, clean it up promptly. You can transfer poops back into the box, then show your kitten — so they get an idea of what’s possible. 

In cases of accidents, this cleaning technique is safe on most surfaces and will eliminate cat urine smells entirely:

1. Blot it dry.

2. Soak it with white vinegar for an hour.

3. Blot it dry again.

4. Soak it with hydrogen peroxide for an hour, if the fabric tolerates it.

5. Blot it dry again, and sprinkle with baking soda to deodorize. 

Remember not to yell at or punish a kitten who has an accident. They won’t understand what is wrong, and a stressed cat is far more likely to go to the bathroom outside the litter box. 

Galina Sandalova / iStock/

What to do if your kitten won’t use the litter box

Getting a kitten to use a litter box consistently often starts with convincing them to do it just once.

Move them to a starter space

You may need to set them up in an otherwise empty room with hard flooring (such as tile), their toys, and a low-sided, large litter box with easy-to-scratch litter (like clumping litter). Cats tend to like soft areas where they can dig to go to the bathroom. So if the litter box is the only thing in the room that fits the bill, they will use it. Once they start, you can slowly introduce more items into the room and start transitioning them out of the room entirely.

A few other things worth trying:

• Mimic behaviors: For a kitten who doesn’t seem to get the concept, digging into the litter while they’re in there or even holding their paws to gently show them how to dig can help.

• Try a different litter: Some kittens hate certain textures or scents, so a different type of litter could help.

Bottom line

Kitten litter-box training is usually pretty simple and is mostly contingent on you being consistent. If the box is where it needs to be, easy to use, and is clean, you should have an easy time teaching your kitten how to become a properly trained house cat.

References

“How to Train Your Cat to Use a Litter Box - Veterinary Teaching Hospital.” Veterinary Teaching Hospital, 15 Oct. 2020, vetmedbiosci.colostate.edu/vth/animal-health/how-to-train-your-cat-to-use-a-litter-box.

Primm, Kathryn. “Client Handout: 4 Secrets to Litter Box Training Your Kitten.” Dvm360.com, dvm360, 21 Jan. 2019, www.dvm360.com/view/client-handout-4-secrets-litter-box-training-your-kitten.