How dies a cat know to used the litterbox when they are first born havng never used it?
In: Biology
It’s instinctive for a cat to want to bury their poop so they naturally gravitate towards the litter box.
Sometimes a kitten might need help getting used to it but it’s hardwired in their DNA to do so.
They don’t always. They will want to bury their waste, but they will drag whatever is nearby on top of it if they don’t understand the litterbox. Domesticated kittens will sometimes learn to use the litterbox because it smells like pee and poop, but you may have to put them in the litterbox after/while they pee and poop for them to learn it.
I’ve had cats that had kittens and we had to litter train them, but some caught on by themselves because of scent association. The cat I have now was a stray from birth-8 months, so I had to put actual dirt in the litter box before she would use it.
They evolved to cover their poop as protective measure against predators which may track and hunt their scent. It’s passed down instinct over millions of years, they just know from birth.
Definitely instinctual to cover, even when it doesn’t make sense. I trained my cat to use the toilet instead of a litter box and he would still paw at the toilet seat lid with a look on his face that said “???????” for a minute or two before deciding that was good enough and walking off.
We have a rescue, Jessie (one of three cats, the others were from legitimate breeders). He was, we think, taken from his mother too early, and never learnt to bury his poop. He knows to use the litter box, but never buries it. One of our other cats does that for him lol
I took in a stray who had been living in a field, and she definitely did not understand the litter box at first. Was around 4 months old when I brought her home, had to sort out some parasites and whatnot to get her to actually take a solid shit. As soon as I was able to, I picked the poo up from the floor, walked it over to the litter box and placed kitty inside with it. Took her lil leg and helped her bury it. I saw the comprehension dawn on her face and have never had an issue in 4 years since!
You can put kittens in a litter box, take their paws and make a digging motion. That’s usually enough for their instincts to kick in
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