Kitten will not use litter.

My kitten just will not use the litter tray, 7 weeks old, my dads kitten from the same family is using his one.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up? I do put her in the tray would like to catch her when doing a pee or poo but she hide when doing these things, mostly in the am time she will do a poo.

Originally Posted by lazerbri

My kitten just will not use the litter tray, 7 weeks old, my dads kitten from the same family is using his one.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up? I do put her in the tray would like to catch her when doing a pee or poo but she hide when doing these things, mostly in the am time she will do a poo.

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Simple Solutions Potty Training Aid is a product I used with my 7 week old kitten and it worked right away. I sprayed it on his litter and he started using it right away. I do not know if you have this exact product in the UK, but there should be similar stuff to spray on the litter to help them learn where they are supposed to go.

At that young age, some accidents can be expected. With that said, I haven't had a problem, though.

A few suggestions...

If you catch her peeing/pooing elsewhere...you can carefully/quietly/lovingly place her in the cat box. Don't do anything to scare here while she is peeing/pooing, though...even if it's in the totally wrong place. If she is scared, she will be encouraged to find a more private hiding place to do her business. She doesn't know the difference at this point.

Put her in the litter right after she eats. Establish the routine for eating and pooing, to help her figure it out. Typically, they will need to potty right after they eat, especially at that age.

Confine her to a smaller area, one room - bathrooms are good. Food, water, and litter...keep a good distance between litter and food. They don't like to potty right by where they eat. It's instinct. Confinement seems mean, but just a couple of days to establish what the box is for should help. Kittens that small aren't ready to have full run of the house anyway, in most cases. Go in and check on her frequently, if she's just used the box, then let her out for awhile. At that age, I normally only let them loose when their "tank" is empty.

Our kitten had a simular problem when we first got him. He hated using a used litter box, even if it had only been used once. We ended up buying Cat Crystals, which are pretty much just little beads that feel like plastic. He started using this litter just fine and then eventually were able to switch to normal litter around 6 months old.

Hi
This is all great info and I will put all this info to good use.

Thank you all very much for the fast response.

Since the kitten is so young, she should be confined in a small room (ie bathroom) whenever you are away from home or busy to supervise her.

The litter box should be placed in a quiet area, away from his food. (if you put the litter box in 1 side of the room, put the food and water on the other side as far away as possible from the litter box) Don't put it in a loud place to discourage/scare her from going. Use a litter box that has a low side so it's easy for her to climb in there. I use those aluminun foil baking pan for the 4 weeks old feral I once rescued. And don't use litter box linen, cats hate it.

Do not put any deodorant or anything with smell in the litter. If you are terribly worried about the smell, just put in some baking soda.

Do not leave any towels / rugs in the room you keep the kitten, they tend to find the most absorbance place to go.

If they happen to go on the floor, wipe clean the pee and pick up the solid waste and put it in the litter box and place the litter box at where she went, and slowly move the litter box in by in towards where you want the litter box to be permanantly. Remember do not use any chemical cleaner to wipe the floor to leave some unpleasant smell.

I never completely clean out the litter box until the kitten gets the habbit of using the litter box. I leave 1 or 2 solid waste inside the box so it helps them to remember it's the place to go.

If I catch them go and don't cover up their excrement I place them back into the litter box, make them smell it, and they would instantly cover it up. It's their instint.

I hope it helps.

The kitten is really too young and hasn't learned proper cat manners. You'll have to confine him to a smaller room. What kind of litter are you using? Where is the pan located? How HIGH is the pan?

Kittens should be kept with mom/siblings till a minimum of 10 weeks old - up till that time they will learn how to use the litter pan properly (still making a few mistakes), eating on their own - they do still nurse for a few more weeks, and other house manners.

What age did you get the kitten? And why so young?

I got the kitten at 6 weeks old, I changed the litter to the white Cristal stuff and she is using it, I also moved it away from the feeding area..!

She has used it now for both things now, thank you all for the tips.

I have posted photos of her here if you would like to see her.

Thanks again

She's adorable!! Does she have a name yet? She looks a little older than 7 weeks, I think. Very cute!!

I'm glad it worked out with the litter!

Yes her name is Shadow my boys like sonic cartoons.

I think it all just falls back on her age as the reason why she isnt consistant with the litter. Her mother is the one to teach her cat manners, she should have stayed with her until at least 10 weeks to learn everything. Kittens who leave way too young often have behavioral problems as they grow up and even when they are older.

For now, she should be confined to a crate or a small room. A kitten this young shouldn't have full acess to your whole house or apartment. It is just too big and unsafe for her to remember where everything is. If you give her a large room to be confined to, then provide a few small litterboxes all around for her to use, then slowly start taking one away every week or so as she grows up.

I phoned my brother who got the cat and he said she is 8 weeks, this would explain why she looks older, lol.