N00b here, with questions

Hi everyone,

I am hoping you can offer some suggestions as we are at our wits end. Forgive me, this will be long.

We got a kitten from a shelter and brought her home (we already have 2 small dogs). I believe she and her brothers and sisters were left there at a very young age without their mother. She was spayed as part of the agreement with the shelter. She is fairly social until you try to touch her - she is not fond of being held for very long. We decided to try and train the kitten to use the toilet using LitterKwitter. This was working fine until we moved to one of the smaller trays. She then started using the bathtub. We immediately went back to the larger ring and filled the tub with a little bit of water. She continued to use the tray to defecate, but was urinating on my wife's chair. We tried to clean the chair as best we could, but she would continue to urinate on it. We abandoned the toilet and switched to using a covered litter box, but she still used the chair. We ended up throwing the chair out (we wanted a new one anyways ). We have tried moving the litter box to a more secluded area where the dogs can not get to and she continues to defecate in the box, but does not cover it. She *has* used the litter box to urinate a couple times, but found out this morning that she has been using our leather couch and loveseat. I saw her pawing at the couch this morning and upon investigating, realized this is where she has been going.

We have been given a good bill of health from our vet, we've tried different types if litter, tried to praise her when we see her using the litter box (which is rare as we both work), but we can not seem to get her to use her litter box.

I am not against getting a litter robot or other automatic litter box to ensure it is as clean as possible for her, but I really don't want a pet that ruins all of our furniture.

Please help!!

Welcome to TCS.

You'll probably get more responses if you post this in the Behavior forum. (Could one of the mods move it?)

First of all, you need to clean any area where the kitten has peed with an enzyme cleaner. You may think you've gotten rid of the odor with a regular cleaner but cats can still smell it. I have no idea whether that type of cleaner can be used on leather. You'll have to read the directions to find out. Or maybe someone else has experience with that.

Have you tried Kitten Attract litter? It's expensive but you don't necessarily have to fill the litter box with it. I know a lot of people just sprinkle a layer over the top of the regular litter.

You could also try an open litter box. My cats will use a covered litter box if that's the only choice, but they don't really like it. They usually don't cover either pee or poop. I figure it's either because they don't have room to turn around, or they're in a hurry to get out, or both. I had been using the covered boxes for about six months when I added a new cat to the mix. I put out a small open litter pan just until I could get another covered box, only to find that all the cats were using the open pan and avoiding the covered ones.

Good luck with your new kitty.

Thanks for the response!

I have been reading more all day. We have a shopping list to get Kitten Attract litter, enzyme cleaner, and a UV light to see if we missed anywhere.

I'll update with any breakthroughs.

Another suggestion would be to have 2 litter boxes. Some cats do not like to urinate in the same area(box) where they defecate. The general rule for litter boxes is one per cat PLUS one. So 1 cat needs 2 boxes.

Hope things get better.

How old is your kitten? How long have you had her? It sounds like she is very stressed and confused. How did you introduce her to your home and dogs? Was she originally using a litter box before you decided to "toilet" train her? Have you "toilet" trained a kitty before? Are your dogs completely house trained? How do your dogs and kitten get along?

Originally Posted by doinshots

Thanks for the response!

I have been reading more all day. We have a shopping list to get Kitten Attract litter, enzyme cleaner, and a UV light to see if we missed anywhere.

I'll update with any breakthroughs.

Click to expand...

Since the situation is quite desperate, I would just use Kitten attract litter on its own... Get a LOT of enzyme cleaner, as you really need to soak the area, not only spray it lightly... I would advise to buy by the gallon...

Originally Posted by Skimble

Another suggestion would be to have 2 litter boxes. Some cats do not like to urinate in the same area(box) where they defecate. The general rule for litter boxes is one per cat PLUS one. So 1 cat needs 2 boxes.

Click to expand...

Size and Location is also very important - cats do not like being trapped since they are already completely vulnerable when going the box. Good locations are on room corners where they can see the whole room from it, but still have some privacy... Open boxes are better than closed and if you have it inside of a closet, bring it out...
IMO litter boxes are too small and too expensive - the best ones are large Sterilite or Rubbermaid Containers I get at Big Lots for $5-6!! They are huge, and PERFECT!!

A Feliway plug in could help also...
Good Luck!