Is litterbox use instinctive or taught

Help settle an argument: is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to
poop in sandy box or where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by
mom-kitty or humans)?

In article osol.net,
enlightened us with...
Help settle an argument: is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to
poop in sandy box or where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by
mom-kitty or humans)?




It is taught. Usually by Mama.
Most cats (though not all!) want to cover their droppings by nature -
using the litter box for that purpose is learned.
Outdoor, indoor/outdoor, and previously stray or feral cats will often
prefer your houseplants because they learned to go in dirt.

If you take a feral kitten that has never seen a litter box, it will not
know what it is for unless you put soil in it. Then it sees the soil and
smells it as the familiar potty place and will use it. Gradually mix in
/ increase kitty litter into the soil to re-train.

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In article osol.net,
enlightened us with...
Help settle an argument: is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to
poop in sandy box or where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by
mom-kitty or humans)?




It is taught. Usually by Mama.
Most cats (though not all!) want to cover their droppings by nature -
using the litter box for that purpose is learned.
Outdoor, indoor/outdoor, and previously stray or feral cats will often
prefer your houseplants because they learned to go in dirt.

If you take a feral kitten that has never seen a litter box, it will not
know what it is for unless you put soil in it. Then it sees the soil and
smells it as the familiar potty place and will use it. Gradually mix in
/ increase kitty litter into the soil to re-train.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...
It's instinctive because they like to be able to Cover Up what the Left Behind so others don't
necessarily smell it and know they were there. Watch some stray/feral cats sometime and they do the
same thing in dirt or mulch or whatever.


It is not instinct to use a litter box - take those same cats and put
them in a home and they will try to do potty in a plant.

Mama (or substitute) teaches them to use a litter box as soon as they
can walk. If no box is present (feral, stray, etc), she teaches them to
go wherever she goes, usually soil.

Take a kitten from Mama at 5 days old, it will never know to use a box
unless you teach it. This is something that has to be done when raising
abandoned kittens.

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html
LITTER BOX TRAINING
The 4 week mark is a good time to introduce the kitten to the litter box
too. Place the kitten in the box after each meal. You may have to take
the kitten's paw and show it how to scratch in the litter. Usually the
kitten will catch on quickly.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In article ,
enlightened us with...
It's instinctive because they like to be able to Cover Up what the Left Behind so others don't
necessarily smell it and know they were there. Watch some stray/feral cats sometime and they do the
same thing in dirt or mulch or whatever.


It is not instinct to use a litter box - take those same cats and put
them in a home and they will try to do potty in a plant.

Mama (or substitute) teaches them to use a litter box as soon as they
can walk. If no box is present (feral, stray, etc), she teaches them to
go wherever she goes, usually soil.

Take a kitten from Mama at 5 days old, it will never know to use a box
unless you teach it. This is something that has to be done when raising
abandoned kittens.

http://www.feralcat.com/raising.html
LITTER BOX TRAINING
The 4 week mark is a good time to introduce the kitten to the litter box
too. Place the kitten in the box after each meal. You may have to take
the kitten's paw and show it how to scratch in the litter. Usually the
kitten will catch on quickly.

-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Who is General Failure and why is he reading
my hard disk?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------

In , kaeli
wrote:
| In article osol.net,
| enlightened us with...

| is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to poop in sandy box or
| where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by mom-kitty or humans)?

| Most cats (though not all!) want to cover their droppings by nature -
| using the litter box for that purpose is learned.

Yes, the correct answer is "both": there is an instinctive preference
for loose absorbent substrates, but they need help to get the right
idea.

| If you take a feral kitten that has never seen a litter box, it will
| not know what it is for unless you put soil in it. Then it sees the
| soil and smells it as the familiar potty place and will use it.

Not quite, although soil can help.

What usually happens is that a feral finds a choice of places to go, and
can't tell the right place from a wrong one. I've had no trouble with
ferals - juveniles or adults - by ensuring that the litterbox is the
only place inside the pen offering the right "feel". Thus, to start, no
thick wads of newspaper, no towels or soft bedding, etc. until they've
"discovered" the litter box. They catch on quickly.

In , kaeli
wrote:
| In article osol.net,
| enlightened us with...

| is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to poop in sandy box or
| where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by mom-kitty or humans)?

| Most cats (though not all!) want to cover their droppings by nature -
| using the litter box for that purpose is learned.

Yes, the correct answer is "both": there is an instinctive preference
for loose absorbent substrates, but they need help to get the right
idea.

| If you take a feral kitten that has never seen a litter box, it will
| not know what it is for unless you put soil in it. Then it sees the
| soil and smells it as the familiar potty place and will use it.

Not quite, although soil can help.

What usually happens is that a feral finds a choice of places to go, and
can't tell the right place from a wrong one. I've had no trouble with
ferals - juveniles or adults - by ensuring that the litterbox is the
only place inside the pen offering the right "feel". Thus, to start, no
thick wads of newspaper, no towels or soft bedding, etc. until they've
"discovered" the litter box. They catch on quickly.

On 25 Aug 2003 17:51:29 GMT, TCS
wrote:

Help settle an argument: is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to
poop in sandy box or where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by
mom-kitty or humans)?

I feel it is instinctive. A number of years ago I was feeding some
ferals. A couple of the mothers brought several very young kittens.
I filled a pan with litter and put it out and one by one all of the
babies ran and climbed into it. I was truly amazed. I didn't observe
any of the adult cats using it. MLB

On 25 Aug 2003 17:51:29 GMT, TCS
wrote:

Help settle an argument: is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to
poop in sandy box or where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by
mom-kitty or humans)?

I feel it is instinctive. A number of years ago I was feeding some
ferals. A couple of the mothers brought several very young kittens.
I filled a pan with litter and put it out and one by one all of the
babies ran and climbed into it. I was truly amazed. I didn't observe
any of the adult cats using it. MLB

Instinctive.
As illustrated by 11 out of 11 baby kittens.

TCS wrote in message news:slrnbkkj51.21u6.The.Central.Scrutinizer@turi ng.kaosol.net...
Help settle an argument: is litterbox use instinctive (kitties prefer to
poop in sandy box or where other poopy smells exist) or taught (by
mom-kitty or humans)?