Kitten peeing in hubby and mine's bed!

sooo, I have three kittens who are approximately six weeks old. They are all male and really just wonderful kittens so far. They have responded really well to positive reinforcement and acceptable alternatives when it comes to scratching the sofa, biting fingers, etc. And after a week of these techniques they aren't doing this anymore. They have also learned their names, come and how to go up and hind legs on command (that was my husband's idea.)

For the first 5 days we had them (it's been a little over a week now - they are rescue kittens that is why so young) every single one used the litter box w/ ZERO accidents. Most times the kitties are not allowed in our bedroom, but they walk through it on their way from the bathroom (their room) and the living room (where they play). When they showed some interest in exploring the bedroom we let them explore and E.T., our most developed kitty went pee on our beds. We said no and put him in the litter box and said "good boy, good boy." We were upset because EWW who wants kitty pee on their bed, but understood - they are just babies. But, THEN...........he went two more times VERY intentionally. In fact, he runs for the bedroom door when we open it. When he went today, he ran in jumped on the bed and peed just as I caught him.

What is going on? Isn't 6 weeks old a little young for territorial issues. He seems to be responding to what we are doing, but I am wondering if there would be a way to give him cooked chicken or something after he goes in the correct place.

Any advice??

I don't have much advice, but this is what popped into my head:

Have you washed the blanket in Nature's Miracle? Just detergent along won't get rid of the smell and he will keep using your bed.

Also, since they are so young, I think I wouldn't let them in your room for a while yet.

Like bluegirl said, you need to soak the bedding in an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle, and you may need to do it more than once in order to thoroughly remove the urine smell so it cannot be detected by your cats. Otherwise that smell will tell them that it's OK for them to eliminate there. This is likely why E.T. went "very intentionally" today.

Secondly, you really do need to have at least 2 more litter boxes, especially if you are going to allow them to access a large area (which, by the way, I don't think is recommended at their age). The general rule is one box per cat, plus one extra. Six week old kittens are going to have accidents. The muscles involved in elimination aren't fully developed yet. Consequently, they sometimes don't realize the need to go until it's too late. They can also forget where the litter box is, if there's only one, and they can also get so engrossed in exploring, playing, wrestling with each other, etc.

As far as the cooked chicken idea --- that's fine. And I commend you for recognizing the need and importance of providing positive reinforcement, especially at this early stage of their development. So many people want their cat to do this, or not do that, but don't provide the cat with any attractive alternatives, and they don't praise/reward the cat for compliance. For example, if you don't provide suitable scratching posts, of course the cat is going to scratch your leather couch. If you don't provide adequate vertical space, of course your cat will want to jump on your counters, or other potentially dangerous places.

Hopefully other people will be along with more ideas. Good luck!

It sounds just like what Enzo did when I first got him. He was also a feral cat until 4 months when I brought him home. I couldn't figure out why he used the litter box perfectly for a few days and then pee on my clothes or in the bed. It was so frustrating!!!! Then I FINALLY figured it out, he only used the litter box for a few days after I changed it! He needed a perfectly clean box!

What I did then was to buy the crystal litter, the kind that is clear balls that look like plastic beads. That worked great for me because he wanted the litter clean and those crystals soak up the urine and you can scoope the poo out of it. It was the only litter he would use as long as a normal cat. After a few months of that I switched back to tidy cats and fresh step and he's used the litter box perfectly since then.

I think he just had to grow out of it. I hope this helps you!!!!


Edit.....I also just remembered that we cared for a young kitten, still bottle feeding. We kept her in a tub with a small homemade litter box. She was too young to really know that she needed to use the litter box. Maybe you should keep them in a small area, like the bathroom. That way they are never too far from the litter box.

Thanks guys for all the helpful information. We actually do only have 1 litter box for THREE kittens! I know you are supposed to have more, but have been putting it off because it seems to be working really well The litter box is ALWAYS with them though (it moves from room to room with them) And when they were allowed in the bedroom that first time, we showed them where it was - the other two were intentional.

We used baking soda and simple green immediately and then washed it w/ normal detergent. Although we couldn't smell anything, he probably could, that would make sense and coupled with a not REALLY clean litter box it was probably much more appealing. I'll look into that other kind of litter and make sure it is safe for such young kittens (sometimes they digest it) that might be really helpful. Also, just the few times we cuaght him in the act and put him in the litter box and said goodboy seems to be working. They have to walk through that room on their way to the kitchen and we've been really careful if we see him even move towards the bed area we pick him up (don't say no) but put him in the litter box and say goodboy.

All these suggestions will probably do the trick. And I may have to buy another litter box or 2. Ok, my only concern with that is will having different litterboxes make them more territorial. When they get older, maybe 6 months, I want to teach them how to use the toilet. It seems too young for territorial, but I have three BOYS! soo, it is a worry for me.

You will be happy to hear then, that males are MUCH less territorial (in most cases). I'll assume you are going to nueter all of them. You shouldn't have a problem with them especially since they are growing up together.

As for toliet training they must learn to use the litter box first because that's what's in the training aid for useing the toliet. (I'm not sure if you looked into them already and know that).

As for the crystal litter, they have a special one formulated for kittens. It has smaller pellets and has little kittens on the front. Enzo was never interested in eating it.