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Litter Training a Kitten

post #1 of 10
8/1/10 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
OK, so our new kitten, Keno hasn't got a clue on how to use a litter tray.

The family he came from probably didn't provide a litter tray for Mumpuss so she's been unable to train her kittens.

I'm just glad I don't live in their house - yuk. It must stink to high heaven.

Anyway, Keno is refusing to even try to use the litter box. I got some of his poo and put that in hoping it would attract him to the box. He sniffed at it from outside the box, then went and peed on a corner of some plastic I lined the carpet with. As soon as I saw him squatting, I put him in the litter box. He jumped out and went to pee about 2ft away from the box, leaving little dribbles as he went

We can't get Cat Attract litter in this country (UK) so if anyone knows of an equivalent please let me know asap.

Every kitten I've ever had has been taught to be clean by the mother. This is the first time I've hit this problem so, if anyone can give me ideas to try, I would be VERY grateful.

In the meantime, looks like I'm going to be using a lot of pet accident cleaner
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post #2 of 10
8/1/10 at 5:31pm
Just keep on as you have been doing until he gets it.

Putting the poop in the box was a good idea, but you need to put some pee in there. Sprinkle litter over his next puddle, sweep it all up and put it in his box.

Make sure the sides are low enough for him to get over easily, and perhaps not too much litter at first, in fact the smaller the box the better, you say he's going in the corner, so he wants a small space to feel safe in when he pees.

And make sure there is NO SCENT to the litter that might be bothering his little nose.

Also, you might offer two small litter boxes for now, one for poop one for pee, he may prefer that.
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post #3 of 10
8/1/10 at 5:33pm
PS Cat attract litter is indeed available in the UK. I just googled:

cat attract litter UK

and came up with lots of web sites where you can order it.
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post #4 of 10
8/1/10 at 6:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
PS Cat attract litter is indeed available in the UK. I just googled:

cat attract litter UK

and came up with lots of web sites where you can order it.

So did I...and got all the USA sites

Even tried putting in the UK bit and still got USA.

Anyway, the wee man has used the box

It was a bit of a battle of wills. Every time he started scratching, I put him in the box.

He hissed and growled at me...I hissed and growled back.

How I did get him to use it in the end was every time he started scratching around I jiggled the litter tray so that the granules made a noise and got his attention.

I have put his box in a quiet place that's quite secluded for him. After doing jiggling the box for a few minutes, I turned to do something else and heard a tentative scratching. He had a puzzled look on his face and was scratching the litter with one paw from outside the box. It is a small box specifically made for kittens. Then to my delight, he jumped in and started digging in the litter for all he was worth, then did a poo (he has the runs but I expected that what with him having worms and a change of food) so he was cuddled and praised - after I cleaned his back paw as he really put his foot in it

We'll get there in the end. Bless him. He hasn't had the best start to life, poor wee thing
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post #5 of 10
8/1/10 at 7:15pm
http://www.rlpetproducts.co.uk/store...s/cat-attract/

http://www.thecatswhiskersgifts.co.u...r/attract.html

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/cat-and-rabbi...r-c-73_430_512

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post #6 of 10
8/1/10 at 7:37pm
I've always found that putting the cat in a small room with a tile floor (NO carpet!) with his food, water, and a litter box, will usually result in a litter-trained cat in a couple of days.

Some regular dirt from outside sprinkled into the litter might help, too.
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post #7 of 10
8/2/10 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
And the good news is...

he's using the litter tray all the time now

Clever little boy

Took some really good pics (got my camera working again) and some videos of him playing with a ball. I don't think anyone took the time to play with him

He had great fun with them and is recharging his batteries at the moment

I'll start a separate thread with the pics and video clips in the Lounge shortly

He has an appointment with our vet tomorrow evening. I had Poppy at the vet tonight for a check up on her eye - she's been given the all-clear and had a quick word about Keno's hernia. They will check it tomorrow but think he'll be OK to wait until he gets neutered at 6 months.

I think this little cutie is going to be just fine
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post #8 of 10
8/2/10 at 12:14pm
Yay! What a good substitute kitten mother you are
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post #9 of 10
8/2/10 at 6:34pm
You may need to do one of 2 things. Confine him to the bathroom with 2 litter pans and keep him in there for awhile.

Or buy/borrow a large dog crate/kennel and do the same thing - keep him in there with a litter pan for awhile (at least and hour after he eats.
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post #10 of 10
8/3/10 at 3:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
You may need to do one of 2 things. Confine him to the bathroom with 2 litter pans and keep him in there for awhile.

Or buy/borrow a large dog crate/kennel and do the same thing - keep him in there with a litter pan for awhile (at least and hour after he eats.
He's using the litter box all the time now with great enthusiasm. He's so enthusiastic about it, I'm sure he's trying to dig his way to Australia
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