Wondering if anybody may have suggestions as to what's going on, as this exact situation appears not to be covered in any of TCS litter-problems articles.
I'm having severe litter-pan problems with one (possibly both, although I've caught only one doing it) of my new, fourteen-week-old female kitten siblings (for an explnation as to how they came to live here, see my recent thread: Severe introduction problem: new, very friendly, socialised kittens hissing at resident cat). I mention this thread also because the problems started from the moment they arrived, and before any introduction attempts with my other cat, Nimrod. Their problems with him haven't changed the behaviour in any way.
Very simply, no matter what litter I try, the type of pan (open or covered), how many pans are around or where they are placed, at least one of the kittens (Rîna) leaves nice little solid messages either beside or in front of the pan. If possible, she will tuck her feces as close to a wall or corner as possible, and try to scratch around the place.
I'm uncertain as to whether he sister (Tällia) is doing the same, since at times I do find deposits in the litter. But so far as I can tell, Rîna has not once used the litter for solids in the two weeks she's been here. I've tried various locations, also the exact litter used in their foster home. I've tried placing pans directly over every place she's visited. I've put fresh and stale (depending on how long after an event I've caught her) feces in each type of litter and placed her gently in the pan. I've litterally filled the shower with pans (the shower seems to be one of her favourite places), and in every instance, she's found the one tiny place in there into which she can get, where there's no pan.
Her solids appear completely normal, and she appears to be in no discomfort or distress when going; she simply settles herself happily on the floor, pays a visit, has a scratch around the place, gets up and wanders away, tail up and purring. Urination is not a problem; she's happy to use whatever litter is closest, and appears to show no preference. Also, she's happy to dig around in the litter, both before and after urinating, and shows no distress. If she wants to do both, she'll urinate in the litter, bury it, get out and eliminate happily on the floor, regardless of which pan or litter she's using, or how many pans are in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, this is very close to rehoming teritory, as, having something of a sight problem, I simply can't afford a situation in which I might not see a mess (or worse, step in it). The only other alternative is to banish her (or both) outside, which would be an appallingly cruel thing to do to young kittens. In every other way, both are extremely well socialised, and very friendly and affectionate. The problems with Nimrod mentioned in my other thread aren't helping, but I'm prepared to be patient. This, however, really is becoming extremely serious, as there is simply no way to know where she (or both) might decide next to drop little messages. The only hint of consolation is that, in the main, those messages are left in general quite close to the pans. That isn't a 100% certainty however: twice they've gone in the bath, which definitely is not good. I've had to resort to leaving a couple of inches of water in there, which seems to have stopped them for the moment. I really don't like doing this however, as twice they've jumped straight into the water. Besides, long-term, that's not a viable solution.
Obviously, there will be a reason for what's going on, and I'm perfectly aware they're not doing this to annoy me. However, it is becoming extremely difficult to maintain patience, and definitely I don't want to reach the stage of resenting them so much that I'll stop giving a damn, and think of rehoming simply to avoid having to clean up messes on a daily basis.
Any suggestions would very much be appreciated.
I'm having severe litter-pan problems with one (possibly both, although I've caught only one doing it) of my new, fourteen-week-old female kitten siblings (for an explnation as to how they came to live here, see my recent thread: Severe introduction problem: new, very friendly, socialised kittens hissing at resident cat). I mention this thread also because the problems started from the moment they arrived, and before any introduction attempts with my other cat, Nimrod. Their problems with him haven't changed the behaviour in any way.
Very simply, no matter what litter I try, the type of pan (open or covered), how many pans are around or where they are placed, at least one of the kittens (Rîna) leaves nice little solid messages either beside or in front of the pan. If possible, she will tuck her feces as close to a wall or corner as possible, and try to scratch around the place.
I'm uncertain as to whether he sister (Tällia) is doing the same, since at times I do find deposits in the litter. But so far as I can tell, Rîna has not once used the litter for solids in the two weeks she's been here. I've tried various locations, also the exact litter used in their foster home. I've tried placing pans directly over every place she's visited. I've put fresh and stale (depending on how long after an event I've caught her) feces in each type of litter and placed her gently in the pan. I've litterally filled the shower with pans (the shower seems to be one of her favourite places), and in every instance, she's found the one tiny place in there into which she can get, where there's no pan.
Her solids appear completely normal, and she appears to be in no discomfort or distress when going; she simply settles herself happily on the floor, pays a visit, has a scratch around the place, gets up and wanders away, tail up and purring. Urination is not a problem; she's happy to use whatever litter is closest, and appears to show no preference. Also, she's happy to dig around in the litter, both before and after urinating, and shows no distress. If she wants to do both, she'll urinate in the litter, bury it, get out and eliminate happily on the floor, regardless of which pan or litter she's using, or how many pans are in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, this is very close to rehoming teritory, as, having something of a sight problem, I simply can't afford a situation in which I might not see a mess (or worse, step in it). The only other alternative is to banish her (or both) outside, which would be an appallingly cruel thing to do to young kittens. In every other way, both are extremely well socialised, and very friendly and affectionate. The problems with Nimrod mentioned in my other thread aren't helping, but I'm prepared to be patient. This, however, really is becoming extremely serious, as there is simply no way to know where she (or both) might decide next to drop little messages. The only hint of consolation is that, in the main, those messages are left in general quite close to the pans. That isn't a 100% certainty however: twice they've gone in the bath, which definitely is not good. I've had to resort to leaving a couple of inches of water in there, which seems to have stopped them for the moment. I really don't like doing this however, as twice they've jumped straight into the water. Besides, long-term, that's not a viable solution.
Obviously, there will be a reason for what's going on, and I'm perfectly aware they're not doing this to annoy me. However, it is becoming extremely difficult to maintain patience, and definitely I don't want to reach the stage of resenting them so much that I'll stop giving a damn, and think of rehoming simply to avoid having to clean up messes on a daily basis.
Any suggestions would very much be appreciated.