By nature, cats are fastidious and instinctively cover wastes with sand or dirt, and indoor cats find that a litter box suits this purpose well.
Your new kitten wants to please you. Most kittens are litterbox trained by their mothers. If your kitten isn't accustomed to a litterbox, it is your job to teach him what you expect and reward him for good behavior. There are three factors to consider: the kittens ability to control his bowels and bladder, his sense of home and toilet areas, and the method you use to communicate what is acceptable behavior for your new pet.
After you take your kitten home -- after meals, drinks, exercise, or excitement, gently place it in an easily accessible box filled with litter, several times if necessary until he gets the idea. After one or two tries in the litterbox, the kitten will usually become housebroken. Remember to praise the kitten lavishly for correct actions. Patience and continued loving care should handle any problems.
If your new kitten is sick with diarrhea or some other disease, it is almost impossible to housebreak him at that time. Nurse him back to health and then resume his training.
Order is important to cats. Changes in the environment including color or location of the litter box, color or type of litter, senility, lack of sanitation, odor of other animals on clothing, a new animal, baby, or visitor in the home, territorial anxiety in a multiple-cat home, a nearby female cat in heat, moving or getting new furniture, unsterilized cats in the home, stray cats outside the home, change in the household schedule, insufficient attention, loneliness, or emotional crisis in the family, can all lead to litterbox use problems.
If your cat stops using the litter box in favor of other surfaces in the home, a veterinary examination should be your first step. Inappropriate urination is a common problem due to urinary tract diseases or behavioral expression of feline displeasure. Occasionally the stress or discomfort of some non-urinary tract disease will lead to this problem. One (rare) cause, is retained or remnant ovarian tissue in a spayed cat. A sudden fright or an extended period of confinement may also cause occasional accidents.
Common problems may arise if the cat doesn't like the type of litter, its odor, or its consistency. Experiment with several brands until you find one the cat likes. The box may not be private enough or some object frightening to the cat may be near the box's location. Another problem may be that the litter pan is too small.
Try different cat box fillers, placing feed dishes where the cat has been urinating (a cat will not usually relieve himself near his food and water), or mo'-ing the litter box to a quieter, more private area. If commercial litter doesn't seem to work, try sawdust, sand, or newspapers. With multi-cat homes, several litterboxes may be needed. Frequent cleaning is a must, regardless of the number of cats. Make sure the litterbox is accessible, keep the location consistent. The sides of the litter box should be reasonably low for easy access and kept 'baited', but clean. Avoid scented litter or deodorants, Scoop or sift out waste often and change litter several times a week.
"Spraying" is when a cat marks a vertical surface with urine, This is a form of territorial marking, although cats with urinary tract disease will occasionally mark a vertical surface, too. The cat generally stands on all four feet, lifts his tail straight up, and squirts urine backward. The erect tail often quivers just prior to and during the expulsion.