12 week old kitten - litter box

Our adopted 12 week old kitten [we think that's how old he is], Marvin was recently at the vet 2 weeks ago and had his first shots. He had a good bill of health from the vet and she said in a couple of months he can be neutered.

He and the other kitten both use small litterpans with non-clumping litter. They've always been good about using them. Two times today we caught him trying to pee on the carpet over by the door instead of in the litter pan, RIGHT after he pooped in the pan. We keep the litter pans very clean and he uses it when he's in the bathroom at night and up until today has never tried to go elsewhere. He went to the same spot on the floor 2 times today and tried to pee. He dribbled a bit before I could get him and put him in the litter pan the 2nd time and I cleaned it and sprayed it with some bitter apple.

Do you think this is a behavioral thing or that he might have a UTI or something?

It could be UTI, even that young. It's best to get him in and make sure. I hope he's ok, though.

If he gets a clean bill of health urinary wise, you can try adding the cat attract additive since you have them on non-clumping litter. Otherwise the problem may just be that he doesn't like his current litter very much.

You need to use an enzyme cleaner Bitter Apple won't do anything, he'll keep going back to the spot to pee until the spot is cleaned with an enzyme cleaner, you might not be able to smell it but he can.

Taryn

My first bet would be that he needs a larger litter box, and you should have one for each cat, at least.

I have seen our cats often poop in one box, get out of it, and piddle in another one.

I would also recommend getting him checked for a UTI. A larger litter box as some have suggested may help too if he doesn't have a UTI. My cat when I was growing up used to always pee in the box then poo right next to it. When we got a larger box she did a lot better. Also try something like Nature's Miracle to clean up the spots on the carpet. If you don't get that odor taken care of it may become habit.

Good luck! Also, congrats on adopting your new one.

The vet wasnt in the day after I posted this but she called him in a prescription of Clavamox to pick up at the office [since the other staff was there] because she said it sounded like he had a UTI. He didn't really try to do it but one more time after that and I've been giving him the Clavamox as directed and he's seemed okay but they said to finish giving it to him. Today he tried to pee in the corner again for the first time since the initial day he did it. I had scooped the litter box just a bit before I caught him doing it, but the other kitten must have went to that litter box and went to the bathroom in between without my knowledge. Do you think it's because the box wasn't "clean" that he is trying to go elsewhere or still possibly UTI? The Clavamox is only about half-gone so I don't know if it was a UTI if it'd be cleared up yet or not. I keep the litter boxes clean [scoop after every time one of them goes], so I'm not sure why he would just start doing this.

Well the theory behind him having a UTI and not using the litter box on occasion is they will often associate the pain of urination with the place they urinate. So that may be why he was using other places other than the litter box. Now if he is trying to go in the same spot over and over it may be becoming habit. Be sure to be cleaning that area thoroughly cleaner like Natures Miracle as suggested before. If by chance you are in a house that the previous owner had a cat that did the same thing and it wasn't cleaned well he could be picking up the habit by smelling the other cats urine.

As for meds being prescribed without seeing him and testing his urine it is really hard to be sure he had an infection. I would always recommend you get his urine tested if you think it is a possibility.

I hope you get your issue fixed with your new kitty. Good luck!

Another box or two can't hurt, and I'd try the Kitten Attract and/or the Cat Attract litter as well - and the suggestions you've gotten above. I've got four boxes for two cats (not giant boxes, just the large size ones from Walmart) in three areas. My boy really doesn't like peeing and pooping in the same box at all!

we have 3 litter boxes right now. we will try to get another one we just really have no room for more. i'll make room.

also, he didn't go in the exact same spot. it was a few feet away and i scrubbed the flloor with a strong cleaner as i didn't have access to the one recommended. he has been peeing and pooping in the litter boxes except those two instances so i'm not really sure why he did that 2 times.

he is going soon to get his 2nd vacinations so if anything changes i'll take him asap. he's eating playing, peeing, pooping etc all normally just those 2 times as an exception.

When my boy was having issues, I read a lot of behaviorists as well as internet sites, etc. Anyway, a common thread seems to be that when they're going right outside the box, it can be telling you they don't like the litter, or the box, itself for some reason. My boy did that when I was using Tidy Cat. Some behaviorists recommend getting a variety of litters, and of boxes (covered, not covered, etc.) and sort of putting a buffet of choices out - also in regard to depth of the litter. My boy seems to like it when it's pretty shallow. You can test that by building the litter up deeper on one end of the pan than the other.

Oh, if these kitties could just tell us what litter they like!

I have 8 kitties and 4 boxes which I scoop 2 times a day. I use scoopable Tidy Cats litter. We used to use clay non scoopable litter, and we had a couple cats that HATED it and stopped using the boxes. It was awful. We started using the Tidy Cats and keeping it very clean, and they have been doing great. Two of ours are covered, two uncovered for variety. It took us a bit to figure out exactly what works, but aside from our two female cats recent issues (we think its from our new kittens taking up our time/they both need spayed) we have not had problems with them using the boxes.