Support

2 Kittens – Green stage in 48 days!

13th August 2016 | Green Stage

User: Demmuffins, Location: Boston, MA

Hi all,

This is my first time posting. I’m just really excited and had to share my news! I have two kittens, Ben and Desmond, and we have just graduated to the green stage (on our 48th day)! So that’s just about 7 weeks.

I started both kittens immediately when I brought them home (they were 8 weeks old). This was a little early–most things I have read say you should start them at 12 weeks. But I wanted to start them immediately so they would only know the toilet as their litter box. I didn’t start with the LK on the ground. I assembled it on the toilet with the red tray on the first day. They took to it immediately, but they did have a little trouble hopping up onto the toilet, since they were so small. I solved this problem by putting a package of toilet paper (4 roll pack) next to the toilet, so they started using this as a step to get up. They are much bigger now, and they no longer need a step–they can just hop right up.

My kittens have VERY different personalities. Ben is extremely outgoing and courageous. He is always investigating new things and wants to get into everything. Ben took to the LK very easily and didn’t mind any of the changes he encountered as we went along in the process. Desmond, however, is much more timid. I call him my little “momma’s boy.” He needs to be babied and gets nervous with too much change. I have learned so much about my kittens’ personalities just by going through this process with them.

When I first started making changes to the LK, Ben was 100% fine, but Desmond needed a LOT of coaxing. He pooped on the floor next to the toilet twice, and that’s when I either a.) went back a step until he was ready for the next phase; or b.) literally sat in the bathroom with him and coaxed him along until he used the new tray and felt comfortable with it. He needed a cheerleader! He needed someone to let him know it was still his bathroom and he would be ok using it. Of course, treats every time he used it became the norm. Lots of snuggles and lots of treats. And that’s how we have gotten here today! I did use the Multi-Cat Kit–I wasn’t going to at first, but when Dez pooped on the floor that first time, I immediately switched back to the previous tray and ordered the Multi-Cat Kit. When it came, I just moved things along at his pace. I keep saying we could probably take the whole thing away at this point and Ben would be fine, but I know Desmond isn’t ready for that yet.

Anyway… I’ll post again when we are litter free!

Good luck to all!