When I first bought mineModko Modkat Top Entry Litter Box, I was afraid that my cat could not use it.
Considering it was our first top-entry litter box, the fear made sense: Avery had never used anything like this before, and the concept can be a bit odd even for humans, let alone (or so I thought) grasped it for cats .
Modko Modkat Sleek Minimalist Top Entry Litter Box -Amazonas/Ebay
I've actually had very little trouble getting Avery to use the top entry litter box,once the old litter box was out of the picture.
In any case, a cat will prefer to use what they're used to, if it's even available (which makes perfect sense, the same is usually true for us humans), but with no other options I now believe that the vast majority of cats will do this you can find a top entry litter box in no time.
That being said, there are many small, simple things you can do to help a cat recognize the new litter box as their new "place of business."
So if you really wantJump on the litter box train with the top entryWeilyou address the benefits of a top entry box, but you're not sure if your cat is smart enough to put the pieces together himself - check out the suggestions below and do what you love to do.
Wait a full day or two with the new litter box; While some cats will never go into top entry crates, I've heard this is rare and most accept them fairly easily.
If you have any issues - or recommendations on what to try to get a cat to go into a top entry litter box as soon as possible - please leave them in the comments below as your comment really benefits another pet owner could help !
Now let's dive into the ways you can help a cat use a top entry litter box.
How to encourage a cat to use a top entry litter box
1. Do not change the litter at the same time as changing to a new box.
If your cat is used to a particular litter, she will associate the smell of that litter with her place of toileting.
It would indeed be very difficult to get a cat to accept both a new litter box and a new litter at the same time.
Especially if that new litter box is a little tricky, as a cat's first transition to a top entry litter box would likely be.
Try to leave as much as possible next to the new litter box. It should really help Kitty make a quick and easy transition.
2. Take some of the old litter and mix it with the new litter in the new litter box.
Easy as pie to try and something I've seen regularly when researching tips on how to get your cat to recognize pretty much any new litter box as her own new place to "go out".
Why does this help? Apparently, when the cat smells his or her scent, it knows that this is essentially an approved place to do business, and so the hesitation of "this is not a place I've used before" is reduced.
Really easy to implement, so worth trying right away in my opinion.
3. Place the new litter box in the exact same place as the old litter box.
This, in turn, is supposed to help a cat associate the new litter box with "the place I'm supposed to go."
Once again, it's easy to implement, although chances are if you have a new litter box you'd be putting it in the same spot as the old litter box anyway, so I probably didn't have to tell you to try it.
Of course, but if you wanted to switch the litter box at the same time as you switched to a new product, wait for your cat to get used to the new box and then switch after a few days of successful litter use.
4. Hide the old litter box. Bring it up somewhere out of your cat's reach.
Do you have a garage that your cat can't access? Try putting the old litter box in there.
If you want to have something close/at hand in case your cat almost has an accident, try keeping the old litter box in the bathroom, but always keep the door closed so your cat can't get in to use it.
Your cat will almost certainly try to use the old litter box to go to the washroom.
Even if you think he or she doesn't know where it is, you'll probably be surprised at how smart your cat is and how far she'll go to get her old box.
When I switched to my new top entry litter box, I hid my cat's old litter box in our washroom and kept it closed most of the day — until I took a bath for about 30 minutes and boom, that's when kitty rushed in, used the old litter and scurried away.
Not good for progress. Do better than me - keep the cat away from her old litter - right.
5. Show your cat the new litter box. Put him/her next to it, put him/her on the lid. Hold him/her a little near/above the box. Show it's safe.
Your cat will smell your old litter. Your cat will smell its own scent if you've also used tip #2.
The connection between the old litter box and the new litter box is when you put your cat's litter box in the same spot as the old litter box.
Associating the new box with the new "place to go" shouldn't be a huge problem, but in case you're worried, your cat seems a little scared of the new box (I had a feeling mine did when I got my first). top entry litter box), try to encourage some appreciation through these techniques.
But I assure you, cats are often not as bad as we think they are when it comes to adaptation and learning. Your cat should make the association. It should be fine.
6. Give your cat a good day or two with the new litter to see if your cat will walk alone.
I have not done this. I was so afraid my cat wouldn't be able to recognize the top access litter box that I tried to lure my cat into standing on the lid while bribing her with kibble, something which Avery wasn't too happy with — and for good reason, who on earth settles for eating near their bathroom? Not very hygienic.
I definitely should have given my cat some time to actually use the new litter box. He probably would have been 100% fine.
7. Desperate? This is what I tried to make sure my cat uses her new litter box.
I was pathetically desperate to make sure my cat would be fine using the new top entry litter box alone, so I did a number of things before bed that I wouldn't do if reliving the past would repeat.
I would leave my cat alone after #4 and just give him some time to himself.
But if you've tried getting your cat to go to the litter box on its own and it doesn't work, or if you're just curious as to what I did when I myself was desperate to get my kitten to go that to recognize new top entry litter box as a litter box, here's what I made (pulled from mineReview of Modkat):
So I used the magic of cat food to make him more comfortable. Now I'm not sure if that was a good idea and I honestly advise you not to do this unless you are desperate and have no other option - make sure the cat isn't doing anything with it for sure the litter box and try other tips first before you do this. But basically I would grab kibble and hold it in my hand over the top of the litter box, hoping to get Avery to eat out of my hand while he was standing on the lid. Eventually he went on the lid but seemed to feel like he wasn't secure enough to hold it because he quickly jumped back down after eating the kibble. I did a few more rounds of "eat kibbles on the floor" and then "eat kibbles off my hand while standing on the lid" - took a while, but he got used to the lid as well as I could expect. I then tried to get him to go into the crate by taking some kibble in my hand and holding it over the litter in the crate. He wasn't a fan of it at all. Cats are definitely smart enough not to do their business and eat in the same place. I managed to get him in by physically putting him in the box myself while the lid was off, which horrified him when I tried (you know the "TAKE ME OUT OF HERE" cat fight - yeah , I got a lot of them) ; He quickly jumped out of the box when he was put in, but that was about it. We let him and hoped he would be happy to go in the next day.
The lesson I learned here: he was fine. He probably would have been just as well if I hadn't gone through all that.
That evening he went into the new litter completely satisfied as there was no other option.
As I wrote in the Modkat's review, "He needed to pee, so he hopped onto the lid of the litter box, slowly pulled himself down into the box, did his business, buried it, jumped out like a ninja and got on with his life." "
So lesson #8:
8. Keep your cool and try not to worry that your cat will be too stupid to figure out a top-entry box.
Seriously. Don't be a problem child like me when you have control over being anxious. Your cat probably willEverything's okwith a top entry litter box.
If he or she can smell the old litter, it's almost certain that he or she will figure out how to get into the box.
After all, cats are experts at getting into tight spaces and hiding in places we don't expect in the first place.
It's probably a lot harder for us to imagine them going in than it is for them to go in.
Give your cat some slack and have a backup plan in place just in case, but chances are your cat is definitely smart enough to find a top-entry litter box without much help from us humans.
Have you ever tried using a top entry litter box?
Have you ever used a top entry litter box for your cat?
How did he/she take the new box? How quick was the change? Have you done anything special to teach your cat to use the top entry litter box?
As I said in the introduction, please leave your tips and advice in the comments below as your comment could really help another pet owner!