Suddenly the bathtub is a litter box!

I have been so proud of Shelby these last two weeks, I guess I expected to skate through this period without any problems....no more.

She had been using her own private litter box but we moved it near the adult's box. This all came about because Persi decided to steal kitten food at any opportunity he could. So we would set Shelby into the bathroom where she could eat her own food behind closed doors and we placed the adult's food on top of the washer where she can't get YET.

The problem now is we can no longer leave her in the bathroom alone to eat because she hops into the bath tub and uses that right after eating. I guess the answer is to now stand guard while she is eating and then carry her and set her in her own litter box as soon as she is done eating. Any quick fixes I'm not thinking about? BTW, she will steal the adult's food any chance she gets.

Anyway to put another small litter box in the bathroom for her to use after she's done eating? Also, consider purchasing the Cat Attract litter just to help reinforce the use of the box.

I'm not sure how old your kitten is and don't know the back story here, but the way we handled separating kitten food from adult kitty food (we free feed) was to buy a really large rubbermaid box and cut a small hole in it. The hole was large enough for kitty to get into the box, but small enough that the adult kitties could only get their arms in there. The box was large enough that they couldn't reach the food dish.

Laurie

I'm not sure what it is about bathtubs. But Peaches will use the bathtub as a litter box from time to time. She only seems to do it if I haven't scooped the litter boxes that day, or sometimes she'll do it if she is constipated. I just figure better the bathtub then the carpet or my bed. At least the bathtub is easy to clean!

we have a foster kitten that will poo in the tub if we leave the door open, better than the sink though!

This is interesting. We adopted a kitty from a shelter back in October and he, too, would use the bathtub as a litter box but only for urination. Eventually, as slow as we are, we learned that it was because we weren't scooping his litter daily and instead were doing it every other day. We also added another litter box because from what I have found it, it seems that some kitties don't like to poo in the same litter box that they urine in. With the two litter boxes and scooping every morning and night, the problem appears to be resolved. Why he chose the bathtub, though, we have no idea except maybe it smells a little dirty ?

Do you think maybe she's suddenly become sensitive about doing her business in the same room as the big kids?

I like the idea of putting her food in a box the others can't get into.

You could just feed them all kitten food or mix both kinds together, then you would'nt have to separate at feeding time.

For some kittens/cats there is an attraction to the bathtub or bathroom. If you think about it they do have very strong sense of smell and it is a bathroom. Also for some cats especially kittens, eating stimulates the digestive system and triggers the need to use the litter. Did you say you moved her litter recently? This also could be a contributer. She definitely needs her own litter box and would you want to eat in the bathroom?