Note to Malcolm

This is an open letter to Malcolm. He holds a warm spot in the hearts of Poodins everywhere for his brave and selfless actions.

Litter training:

When the beans rescued Autumn Savannah she didn't know what the litter box was for either; she was used to humans but grew up on a farm so she always went outside.

When she got pneumonia the owners of the farm took her in at night since it was January but let her out in the morning so she usually held it until then. When the beans rescued her they kept her inside and let her sleep with them in the bed.

They didn't know what to do about the litter box. Autumn didn't seem to understand what it was for, but she was such a good kitty that she never went to the bathroom in the house. Mommy was afraid she would explode!! The first night that she was with my humans she started giving the mommy kisses until she woke up. Somehow mommy figured out that was her way of letting her know she needed to go out. Mommy put on a robe and took Autumn outside. Once outside, Autumn did her business. When she finished, she went and sat on the sidewalk next to the mommy. Mommy picked her up and they went back inside and back to the warm bed. Mommy thinks that is the most charming thing she has ever seen...a house trained kitty.

Well, that solved the problem of Autumn not blowing up, but she still needed to learn what a litter box was for. Mommy went out and got bunches of dead leaves from around the area where Autumn chose to do her business and put them on top of the litter in the box. Still no go (pardon the pun).

Finally, mommy fed Autumn a LOT of stinky goodness and waited. About an hour later Autumn started telling the mommy that she needed to go outside. Mommy just waited. Finally Autumn started scratching around in the corner of the room. Mommy snatched Autumn up and placed her in the litter box. Since Autumn was already 'committed' at that point, she went in the box. After that she understood and there has never been an accident since. In fact, even now when she goes outside with the mommy she doesnt do her business outside, she always goes in the litterboxes in the house.

Also, mommy fosters abandonded kittens. we call them the Tiny Ones since sometimes they are only a day or two old. When the right time comes, mommy puts a litter box over the area they have chosen to do their business. They usually sniff the litter a lot and then pee next to it. Ha ha. Everytime this happens mommy just picks them up and puts them in the litter box. If they make a doodle anywhere other than the litter box, she puts that in there so they will know where to do it next time. It is kind of instinctual for them to bury their waste to avoid predators finding out where they are so they figure it out pretty quickly. But dont be surprised if there is an accident from time to time, they forget where the box is sometimes.

This process can take up to a week so dont be discouraged if it doesnt happen right away. Mommy says that even though it takes some time to litter train the Tiny Ones, it is much harder to wean them.