Ten-week old kitten not using the litter box

My first suggestion would be to put him in a small room with the litter box. After a bit, when he's been consistently using the litter box in that room, for instance, a bathroom... then allow him more space.. like.. I think my process would be:

put kitty in the bathroom to a master bedroom, keep him there till proper litter box usage is established. Then, when it's clear that he's using the litter box consistently (a day or two, perhaps), then I'd let him be confined to the bedroom and bathroom for a while, until it's again clear that he's using the litter box consistently. From what I've been told, and this has worked with most of our problem children in the past...gradually let them have more space, and then you're also supposed to have one box per floor (and sometimes if that floor is really large, I'd put more than one on it)

Also, there are some things to try if this isn't helping: Try a different style litter box, and a different type of litter. He might also be one of those kitties that simply has to have a spotless litter box, but my guess is at his young age, it's just got to be reinforced that indeed, there is only one real spot for pottying.

Oh, the other thing is, if she sees him starting to go, pick him up, put him in the litter box, and then take his paws and make the scratching/digging motion like a cat does in the litterbox. Sometimes they just need to get the idea.

It would probably be best to confine him to a small space, a big kennel maybe or a bathroom, until he learns how to use the box. There's also a 'Cat Attract' litter that they sell at Petsmart that is supposed to work really well. Try to place him in the box after he eats, when he wakes up and after he plays so that he'll be less likely to go on the floor. URI's can get bad quickly in little kitten's so you may want to check with your Vet.

Also if he's used to going on shredded newspaper, use that for the time being, and gradually add the litter you would prefer him to use a little at a time over a couple of weeks. If the one you're using isn't what he's used to, then he may not take to it straight away!

Confine him to the bathroom or in a large dog crate till he's consistent on the litter. Be sure the litter pan is not too high that he can't get in and out easily.

Since he was in an enviornment where mom didn't teach him litter manners it will take a little longer.

And get him to the vet if he might have a UTI and sneezing. UTI's are life threatening on a male! Sneezing is not good either. Would bet he doesn't have shots either.

Keep us updated! Now, I'll be watching the thread to see how he's doing with the cold and with the box.

Hehe, well, mine are in a constant uproar since it seems of late we are adding and subtracting kitties . But.. it's good to keep them on their toes with a new addition every once in a while. At least the domestic (oldest of them all) has been more active lately with the crazy additions.

I also forgot to mention.. if she decides to change the location of the litter box.. and you probably already know this but just in case.. I'd suggest doing it a few feet at a time, so ... like if it's at point A, and she wants to move it 30 feet away to point B.. move it about two feet a day or some small amount so that it's gradual. Now, having said that.. that's advice that was given to me, but I've never had a problem just up and switching them. That probably has something to do with four four-footers who have to inspect every thing I do in the house, especially overseeing the litterboxes.

Yeah, I was spoiled by my domestic, Noel. Then we got Bengals... It's a good thing I love them.

I think your friend should go see her Vet. ASAP! The reason why he's peeing on the floor, may have something to do with him being sick. I would bring him to the same vet that I got him from- that way he knows the history of the cat first hand! Tell her not to give up, he's just a kitty and he will learn. She needs to have patience with kitties, they are still new to all of this pooping and eating on their own! Keep us posted!

You could also suggest Cat Attract litter. I see in Cat Fancy they now make Kitten Attract & Senior Attract litter, too!

There's been some great advise here. Sounds like when we got Stanley. He was from a cat hoarder's house where there were 60 cats that did their business wherever there was space for it. When he came to our house he had a raging URI and did his business next to the litter box or in nearby boxes or corners.

We had to put him in a large dog crate with a small litterbox for a few days. We used the cat attract litter and let him out with supervision. It took about a week and he's been very good thus far. He still doesn't cover very well, but at least it's in the box!

I've been able to phase out the cat attract litter by mixing in the Tidy Cats. Now he's adapting well to corn litter which doesn't make him sneeze. We're working on the URI, he still has some sniffles, but I think the litterbox issues are under control.


Tell her not to give up hope!!

Cat Attract is an actual litter you can use. Here is a link to it.

My cat had the same problem when he was a only a few months old. We would only let him in the living room (where the litter box is) and had to keep that litter box spottless! We put him in the litter box ourselves every few hours for a couple days until he figure out what it was for. However, once the box got dirty he stopped using it....used my leather coat instead! So we went out and bought the expensive cat cristals, it's just balls of absorbable plastic basically, we used that for a few months and by the time he was around 5 months old he would use normal litter. Hope that helps!!!