How to Litter Train a Rat

Litter training can help your rats use a chosen toilet corner, but it will not stop all toileting elsewhere. PetMD notes that some rats can be trained to toilet in one area, but this is not always the case, and Humane World for Animals confirms that rats can learn to use a litter box. The method below is the same one PDSA recommends, with the detail filled in.

Choose a tray and a suitable material

Start with an easy-to-reach tray that stays in place and leaves room for your rats to step in and turn around. A triangular corner tray that clips to the cage wall fits most cages and can't be tipped over. Use a material intended for small animals. PDSA recommends paper-based rat bedding or a washable fleece liner for cage flooring and warns against dusty bedding; the RSPCA also cautions against dusty, fragrant or coloured bedding and fluffy materials. For the tray itself, Woodgreen recommends non-fragranced paper pellets, and a low-dust, unscented paper-based material is a straightforward start. Follow the product directions and don't assume that any general-purpose cat litter is suitable.

Where to put a rat litter tray

Put it where your rats already go. That is the single biggest factor. Rats pick their own toilet spots, usually in a corner, and a tray anywhere else is just another box to sit in. Woodgreen adds a useful trick: rats tend to toilet as soon as they wake up, so a tray under a favourite hammock or near the main bed catches a lot. Woodgreen suggests one to three corner trays around the cage, on different levels.

• In a corner they already use for droppings
• Under or near a favourite hammock or sleeping spot, but not inside it
• On each level they toilet on, in a multi-level cage
• With a clear route that every rat can reach without squeezing past furniture
• Away from food bowls and water bottles
• Fixed in place so it can't tip or slide

How to litter train a rat, step by step

1. Watch for their chosen spot. Before moving cage furniture, notice where your rats tend to leave droppings. If they regularly use one corner, start there. If they use several corners, PDSA suggests a tray in each corner they use.
2. Put the tray in that spot. Keep the approach clear and don't place the tray beside a bed, food bowl or water source. Make sure every rat can reach it without squeezing past cage furniture.
3. Move droppings into the tray. When you find droppings outside it, place them in the tray. PDSA suggests doing it where the rats can see you. This gives a clear cue about what the tray is for. Return the tray to the same place after cleaning.
4. Reward use when you see it. Offer a small suitable treat and calm praise when a rat uses the tray. Reward the behaviour you want; don't scold or punish accidents. The RSPCA says never punish rats and always use positive reinforcement. Remove soiled material and reset the tray instead.
5. Keep the setup steady and observe. Leave the trays where they are while you see which spots are being used. If one is ignored, move it to the corner your rats prefer. If they use two corners, keep two trays rather than expecting one to serve both.

There is no fixed training timetable; PDSA simply says to be patient, as it can take a while. Follow your rats' habits and adjust the tray location rather than expecting them to follow a schedule. Droppings are easy to move into the tray as a cue, but urine may still be left elsewhere; a tray is not a way to stop every urine mark. Treat litter training as a way to manage mess between cage cleans, not to prevent all toileting. Our guide on how to train pet rats covers reward-based training more widely.

Toilet training a rat outside the cage

If your rats have supervised time outside the cage and also toilet in that area, you can try a separate tray there too. Keep it easy to reach and include it in the clean-up afterwards. AFRMA points out that a rat will largely housebreak itself if you don't keep it out too long at a time, so shorter sessions with a trip back to the cage mean fewer accidents on the sofa. Our rat free-roam safety guide explains how to prepare and supervise the area.

A rat who wees or leaves droppings as soon as it arrives somewhere new is often frightened rather than untrained. The RSPCA says this is a sign of fear or distress and that the rat should go back to its familiar home cage. Small drops of urine as a rat walks are different: that is urine marking, a normal scent behaviour that a tray won't stop.

Cleaning the tray and keeping familiar scent

Check the tray as part of your normal cage routine and remove soiled material when needed. Woodgreen suggests cleaning litter trays every other day, or more or less often depending on how many rats you have. Keep cleaning the rest of the cage as usual; a tray is an extra toilet spot, not a replacement for cleaning. PDSA advises checking the cage and clearing dirty bedding every day, with a deep clean once a week using a pet-safe cleaner. The RSPCA recommends spot-cleaning through the week and leaving a handful of unsoiled nesting material in the cage after a clean, so familiar smells stay without leaving dirty material behind. It also advises against air fresheners and strongly scented products.

• Daily: remove droppings found outside the tray and drop them in it
• Daily: lift out wet or soiled bedding
• Every other day or so: empty and refill the tray
• Weekly: deep clean the cage and wash the tray with a pet-safe cleaner
• After a clean: put the tray back in exactly the same place, with a few clean droppings as a cue
• After a clean: leave a handful of unsoiled nesting material behind

For the full routine, see the rat cage cleaning guide.

When the plan is not working

They ignore the tray

Check the location before changing the material. Move the tray to the corner they already use and make sure the route to it is clear. Put droppings into the tray when you find them elsewhere.

They use it, but still leave mess outside

Keep the tray that is being used and add another where you find repeated droppings. Some rats use a tray only for part of their toileting. Litter training is not a promise that all droppings will end up in one place, and it won't reliably stop urine marks elsewhere.

They toilet near the food or bed

Separate the areas. Move the tray to the preferred toilet spot and put food, water and sleeping places elsewhere. Keep the picnic bench bowl as a feeding place only.

They sleep or play in the tray

They dig all the litter out

Rats love to dig. Give them somewhere better to do it, such as a separate digging box, and use a tray with higher sides or heavier pellets that are harder to fling.

The tray gets dirty quickly

Empty it more often within your regular routine and check whether a second tray would make the setup easier to maintain. Don't wait for a full cage clean to remove soiled tray material.

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