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New Kitten Behavior

post #1 of 4
Thread Starter 
Hello. I just brought a new kitten into my house. It's about ten weeks old, and is very active...the first thing I was wondering was if I should get it another kitten for a playmate. I try playing with it for about an hour each day but I can tell it's not enough, and though I can get toys and things for it they just don't seem to engage the kitten as much as the other pet in the house (a small dog). So I feel it should have someone else to play with. I've read that two kittens will get along perfectly but I feel it's just as likely that they wouldn't like each other at all, or that their relationship would be somewhere in between. And what if this kitten prefers to be an only kitten?

Of course, before I bring another kitten into the house I need to get the one under control. The kitten has no problems using its litter box, but when it is let into another bedroom in the house it urinates on the bed in that bedroom, in a particular spot. I read through the urinary problems thread and think that the solution might be simply that the first time it was in there, it had to go but did not have a box to use (its box is in the other bedroom, which is where I'm keeping it until I figure out what's going on) so it went on the bed, and then the next time (and the time after that) it was simply "reinforcing" the spot. I've placed it in other small rooms in the house with a litter box and had no problems. So I'm not sure what I should do, which is why I came here for help!

So basically, my problems are that I can't decide if I should get a second kitten, and that my cat is having some minor urine problems. Any help would be appreciated.
post #2 of 4
I always advise people taking a new young kitten home to keep it in one small room, perhaps a spare bathroom, most of the time so it knows where the litter box and food and water are. You're dealing with the equivalent of a toddler, so their bladder control and ability to find the bathroom in a big house can be limited.

A second kitten about the same age can help a lot. We have two fosters right now, and they keep each other occupied. The ARE sisters, but we've brought home two completely unrelated kittens who had never met, and after a few hours, they are playing and cuddling, usually. Watch out for one to be a bully, however.
post #3 of 4
Agreeing with the above. An extra litter box can also be useful.

there is a small dog in the house? how are they doing, do they play?

friendship with a dog may be enough. And as it is a small dog you dont need to be afraid they smaller cat can get accidentally hurt playing with a much bigger dog...

but yeah, a pal, preferably cat, is good for a kitten.

For a grown up cat - usually yes too, but some cats prefer to be alone, like you yourself mention.

Welcome to the Forums, and

Good luck!



ps. About the spot in the bed. Wash out with some good liquid soap. you can also use a little of winegar-spirit in the water. It neutralises the ammoniak in urine.
If it is difficult to wash: use a enzyme-cleaner. Such is very effective for urine and urine smells.

You can lay an aluminium-folie sheet over the place... cats dont like to piee on aluminium-folie, they get themselves wet, and they hate it.
Besides, they dont like to go on aluminium folie.
Another tip, is to lay a plastic cover over this bed.
post #4 of 4
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies...

there is a small dog in the house? how are they doing, do they play?
The kitten plays with the dog, but it's an adult so it tolerates it some of the time, but usually just gets irritated and runs away. I can see from that that it wants a playmate, but the dog just isn't the right fit, and honestly I don't really have time to play with it like it needs.

ps. About the spot in the bed. Wash out with some good liquid soap. you can also use a little of winegar-spirit in the water. It neutralises the ammoniak in urine.
If it is difficult to wash: use a enzyme-cleaner. Such is very effective for urine and urine smells.

The biggest problem is that it keeps going back to the same spot (which leads me to believe that there's some kind of leftover scent from when it used it before). Do you have any suggestions for extra-strength cleaners? The urine thread said to get some kind of fluorescent light and use the cleaner on it. Do you think that would work well here? Or maybe it would also do a lot of good just to leave the cat out of the room for a while, I don't know.
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