Everyone Needs A Role Model --- Even Your Cat!

Kittens Need A Role Model, Too!

You see an adorable kitty, can't resist, and suddenly, he or she becomes the latest addition to your family. Unfortunately, this impulse adoption doesn't always turn out the way we plan.

Within a week, we are moaning and groaning over that cute little kitty who has managed to smell up the whole house with indiscrimate urine and feces deposits in places, seemingly designed to be overlooked until we try a bare-footed midnight raid on the refrigerator. Yuk!

What most of us don't realize is that cats learn from their mothers. Hunting is not instinctive to cats, as many people believe. It is learned behavior. Mother cats teach their young to hunt. In the same way, mother cats teach their young to use a litter box.

If you are pulling your hair out over the problem of teaching your cat proper litter-box etiquette, try borrowing a well-trained adult cat from a friend for a day or two. When your kitty sees how things are supposed to be done, it is very likely that he or she will soon be living up to your expectations, and you can once again look forward to a clean smelling house and Yuk-free midnight excursions to the kitchen.