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. Put a tray where they already go, move droppings into it, and reward use; keep the tray separate from food, water and sleeping places.

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. Use a substrate intended for rats. 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, a low-dust, unfragranced paper-based material is a straightforward starting point. Follow the product directions and avoid assuming that any general-purpose cat litter is suitable.

Keep the toilet area apart from food, water and sleeping places. Rats should have a choice of where to toilet, feed and rest. A picnic bench feeding bowl belongs in the feeding corner, not the litter tray. Its listed size is approximately 25 cm wide, 18 cm deep and 16 cm high, so allow for its footprint when planning the feeding area and leave the toilet corner clear.

How to litter train a rat

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, set out a tray in each corner they use.
2. Put the tray in that spot. Keep the approach clear and do not 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. 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; do not scold or punish accidents. 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. 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. PDSA describes litter training as a way to manage mess between cage cleans, not prevent all toileting.

Cleaning the tray and keeping familiar scent

Check the tray as part of your normal cage routine and remove soiled material when needed. Keep cleaning the rest of the cage as usual; a tray is an extra toilet spot, not a replacement for cleaning. The RSPCA recommends spot-cleaning through the week and leaving a little unsoiled nesting material in the cage after a clean, so familiar smells remain without leaving dirty material behind.

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. Our Rat Free-Roam Safety Guide explains how to prepare and supervise the area. For the wider cage 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 will not 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.

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. Do not wait for a full cage clean to remove soiled tray material.

Frequently asked questions

Can every rat be fully litter trained?

No. Some rats use a tray more consistently than others, and droppings or urine may still appear elsewhere. The useful goal is to make one or more toilet places easy to find and cleaning easier to manage.

How many trays should I start with?

Try one in the usual toilet corner. If your rats use several corners, start with a tray in each one they use and keep the locations that help.

Can the picnic bench bowl be used as a tray?

No. It is a feeding accessory, not a toilet tray. Keep the feeding and toilet corners separate.

More rat-care help

Browse the Rat Care hub for more setup and care guides. Read the PDSA guide to rats as pets and the RSPCA rat environment guidance for the care recommendations behind this guide.