Shouldn't our kittens be pooping on their own by now??? should i be worried??

Oh my they are little cutie pies!

I hand raised 2 litters of orphaned kittens. Both litters started to poop/pee on their own somewhere between 3 and 4 weeks old. At the time I confirmed with my vet that this was the right age for that. If yours don't start doing things on their own in a week, then I would start to worry. And mom will continue to clean them even after they start.

Patches sure does look like she will be a long haired cat. My Muddy had that long fuzz on him at that age. I don't remember a thicker tail, but definitely that stick out hair on his head.

I would be happy! Less work and clean up for you!

Mommy Cat is a good Mommy if you are not finding poopy in the nest. She is doing her job well. And when she doesn't clean up after them, guess who gets too!
Also, is your litter box small enough for the little legs to get in the box, or do you need to make a small step? They won't use a box they can't get in. And sometimes they eat the litter when they get in it. Good luck to ya!
My 4 used the box at about 4 1/2 weeks, but they used the bedding more I had to get rid of bedding/nest box until they got the idea of cat box. Now all use litter boxes.
K.

What cuties!!

I'm no expert, but speaking from experience, I wouldn't be worried at 3 weeks. My guys seemed to be getting the idea at 3 weeks, but only for that 47 hours they were orphaned. Before that and as soon as mommy was back, it was like they forgot all about it! I think they were being lazy.

My experience was just the opposite of wingss2fly's. When they were orphans, they were scratching around in the litter box, sniffing, and squatting, but nothing was coming out! Now, at 4 weeks (29 days today!), they are finally starting to squat and actually have something come out!

So at 3 1/2 wks, when mommy came back, they stopped trying. Then at about 26 days (so yeah, we're talking like 2 days difference here ) they started doing the scratch and squat again, with nothing coming out. So I guess I got lucky in that there were no messes! Not that I think that luck will hold out, mind you! I expect some messes.

Sorry I don't have a response for the long vs short hair. I'd believe Momofmany! I have two that are fuzzier than the other three, though none as fuzzy as Patches! I think they will be longer haired then their siblings. They don't look like Patches though- no pouffy cheek hair and no fat tail- and I don't know if they will be longer haired or just wild haired! So I have no idea for that.

All I know is Patches and her sister are CUTE!!

Both Talley and Harper were fuzzy like that at that age, with huge, furry tails. They both ended up having medium hair, with really long hair on their tails. Harper's hair seems a tad longer, but Talley's is thicker.
Who knows - I think it is all lucky guesses.

Both my foster families started to use the litter around four weeks. But it took a while for them to get the hang of it, and Mom continued to clean them for a week or so. So I would not be worried.