orphan kittens: free range?

Hello! I've gotten so much help from this forum since adopting three orphaned kittens. So thank you!

They were 5 weeks old when I got them and are 6.5 weeks now. I've read that around 6 weeks it is good to let them run around the house and be "underfoot" so they they become socialized to the movements of people and experience of a household. However, so far their only adventures beyond the bathroom where they live have been, brief, intensely supervised and sometimes hectic since they love to scamper off in three different directions. Even though I try to let them out after they've already used the litterbox recently, twice these adventures have left me cleaning up cat pee with an enzyme cleaner. The babies are *great* at using the litter box while they are playing in the bathroom. There they do not hesitate to take a time out from playing and use the box, but it seems to me like they are too young to remember to return to the box when they are outside the bathroom. Putting another litterbox in our small, carpeted livingroom, where our dog is free to roam is not a practical option.

So I am wondering: How old do kittens need to be before they are able to remember to return to their box to eliminate?

I would "upgrade" them to a bigger room if you can. So, from the bathroom to a bedroom instead of free roaming in the big house. You'll probably want to have at least 2 short sided litter boxes/trays, though. That way, you can kitten proof the room easier and still contain them. When they're a bit older 8-10 weeks, give them more space to roam.

Thanks, Stephanie! We live in a fairly small apartment, so there's not really a whole kitten-safe room that I can give them other than the bathroom. I would if I could. What I've come up with is using the baby gate that keeps the dog out of the kitchen when we're gone to give the kittens a little more space to play at least while one of us is home. We'll see how it goes!

Several months old. Remember they are tiny babies who cannot "hold it" very long, so its wise to have a few pans around - maybe a small one in each room.

I don't let my kittens have free range of the house without supervision till they are 4 months old.

Just in case anyone else with the same question ever comes across this thread...

From 8 weeks on my kittens have been totally capable of finding and using their litterbox-- their one and only litterbox, tucked away in a bathroom. No accidents. The first couple days that they were allowed to roam I would periodically put them in their litterbox. I do most of my work from home, so they get to run free most of the time. I am around, but not really supervising. They are only enclosed when no one is home for a long time-- and that is not because of litterbox issues but because they constantly antagonize my adult dog and I worry that she will lose patience with them to the point of hurting them. If I didn't have a dog, they would never need to be confined.