Critter City

Litter box training made easy!

Scrappy, owned by Bree of Illinois!

      Yes, your rat CAN be trained to use a litter box.  It just takes patience and also, do NOT have high expectations.  Not all rats will use it as expected.  Some rats will only poop in it, some will do both.   MOST rats will poop in it though because they like to have a set place to do this and like to dig around in the litter.  If there is no litter anywhere else, they will  go to the place where there is litter, which will be in the litter box.

What you will need to do:

1.  Remove ALL litter/bedding from the bottom of the cage.  If there is no litter for them to use except in the litter pan, they will use the litter pan.

I know some people insist on   keeping something on the bottom anyhow and using the tray too, but this confuses the rat and they just go either place.  If you want to get them litter box trained, you must follow my  directions to a TEE or  you wont get the results that are intended.

2.  Depending on the size of the cage, you will want to buy a plastic litter pan.  If you have a ferret or critter nation, you can buy a nice small plastic litter box intended for kittens.    For a smaller cage, I  buy the plastic stackable trays sold at Walmart or the Dollar store.  You will want to buy two of them. They usually have holes in them so what you will do is secure the bottom tray to the side of the cage. Fill the top tray with litter and this way it wont tip over, as the bottom tray will be secured to the side of the cage.

Plastic tray to use as litter box.  Of course, you wont use those school supplies you see in there. LOL!

3.  You  should use YESTERDAYS NEWS.  I prefer this because rats that use litter pans like to dig. This is the best litter to dig with. It can be pricey if your not careful but I have figured it out.  Yesterdays news also makes a litter for CATS.  This is the exact same litter they use for the litter intended for ferrets and also the litter for small mammals, but they price it much lower for cats.  It comes in a green bag, but they  recently changed it to a tan bag.  At Walmart you can buy this litter in the pet sectino where cat litter is sold.

4.  To keep the cage clean elsewhere, lay down layers of newspaper first, and after that, cover the newspaper with needlepoint canvas which is sold in the craft section at walmart too.  I buy a few packs, as 6 sheets come in each pack.  You can take these sheets out and wash  them in dish soap.  The litle holes will drain any urine should they pee out of the box and the newspaper absorbs the urine.  Change the papers out every  other day unless they do not urinate on them and this way you can go a bit longer.  If they continue to pee to bed, use cheap   white paper towels for them to nest with and toss them out soon as they become wet.

Plastic needle point canvas sheets. I find them at Walmart in a pack of 6 for under $2.00 !

5.  The best way to clean a cage safely and to be sure your killing germs is to use peroxide and water in a spray bottle. Wipe it dry. You can use this on plastic shelves and toys too.