New kitten / 6wks old :-/

So my sister had a litter of kittens well the mom got really sick and was no longer caring for the kittens at all. 

So anyways I ended up with a 6 week old kitten for my new apartment. Well its been a bit of a struggle. Just looking for advice on training such a young kitten with lack of proper litter box training from his mom

So the kitten spends the day in my bathroom where his litter box, food and water is. Yesterday was his first day. He didnt poop at all in the bathroom but soon as i let him out he ran for a corner. I was able to pick him up and put him in the litter box before he started pooping. 

Well today makes day 2.. I thought lets see how it goes. He went in the litter box all day (no accidents on the floor all in the litter box) so I thought great hes getting the hang of it. Well while out and running around he ventures back into said bathroom for food and water.,.. but not to use the litter box? Why? No clue.. Well after not seeing him go for a bit i decide to put him in the box.. sure enough he uses the bathroom.. jumps out.. runs to my spare bedroom and pee's in a corner.

I cannot figure this behavior out. I put the kitten in the litter box every 30-45 mins. He jumps out and i put him back in 2-3 times then let him be. He knows where to go if hes locked in the bathroom but wont walk in there to use it himself... but will go there for food and water.

Any advice?

What a cutie!

Six weeks is pretty young for a kitten to be separated, but it sounds like you already know that. 

Have you had the kitten for only two days? When we adopted our kittens, they told us to keep them in a small room (bathroom or bedroom) for a week or so until they adjust. I would keep him confined to the bathroom exclusively for at least a few more days. Just make sure you get in there often to interact with him and that he has plenty of toys. Your apartment might not be big, but it is big if you are a tiny kitten.  It should help  him remember where everything is, too. Oh, and please make sure you keep the toilet lid down until he is plenty big enough to jump back out on his own - dryers and toilets can be killers.

Also, are the food and litter box as far apart as they can be? Cats don't want to poop where they eat. (and quite frankly, nor would I!)

Hope this is helpful to you.

gussy14 said:

What a cutie!

Six weeks is pretty young for a kitten to be separated, but it sounds like you already know that. 

Have you had the kitten for only two days? When we adopted our kittens, they told us to keep them in a small room (bathroom or bedroom) for a week or so until they adjust. I would keep him confined to the bathroom exclusively for at least a few more days. Just make sure you get in there often to interact with him and that he has plenty of toys. Your apartment might not be big, but it is big if you are a tiny kitten. 

It should help  him remember where everything is, too. Oh, and please make sure you keep the toilet lid down until he is plenty big enough to jump back out on his own - dryers and toilets can be killers.

Also, are the food and litter box as far apart as they can be? Cats don't want to poop where they eat. (and quite frankly, nor would I!)

Hope this is helpful to you.

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See thats what bugs me. He navigates to the bathroom for food and water no problem. But not the litter box? Yes they are as far apart as they can be. The seat is down. I just im just irritated he has no problem finding food and water but does the litter box? But if hes locked in there he found it today lol

Hi Mike. Welcome to TCS. Congrats on your new kitty. For starters I would try a brand of litter called "kitten attract". I think he might be marking the house with urine for a few reasons: because he is so young and away from his mother,  and because he is in a new place and everything in his world has changed overnight. Sometimes a cat urinates to mark his territory as this gives him comfort and security. You could try a Feliway diffuser. This mimics a mother cat's calming pheremones and could help him feel secure and he might not feel the need to mark the house anymore.

Maybe give him a treat when he does use the litterbox?

At 6 weeks he's a real baby and most kittens have'nt really got the hang of the litter tray then.  This is partly because they suddenly realise they need to go Right Now.  Also I wonder what he has been doing before you got him?

Putting out more than one litter tray can help, so can different cat litters, but mostly I think he just needs time.

Hope your sister has had her cat neutered.

Agree with the before said.  Ie, try with several litters if you let him into the flat.  Especielly as some cats prefer to do nr 1 and nr 2 in different places.

And this Kitten attract Litter is a good tip. Dr Elseys is one, but there are probably also others.

You dont need to feel the whole litter with this, it is enough to have the upper layer.

Last.  Having two cats is often easier than one, and most cats do prefer to have cat company.

If some of the siblings doesnt has a good adoption home yet, you CAN take in one more, without being ashamed for your soft heart.  

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

If you follow Stefanz suggestion of another cat, an older kitten might be best as it will be up for all the playing your young one needs and hopefully will set a good example at the litter tray.  Kittens learn so much through watching their mothers and this is partly why being taken away so young is a problem.

I would keep him in the bathroom all the time until he gets a bit older, or gets more consistent with his toilet habits.  Are you directly supervising him when he's out of the bathroom?  Keeping him in the confined space would ensure that the litter box is only a few feet away when he suddenly realizes that he has to use it.  I would also consider putting out multiple boxes with a variety of litter types for him to choose what he likes best, though the problem with him seems to be using it consistently. 

Stella was about his age when I got her, and being a feral baby she had probably never seen a litter box.  Thankfully she knew exactly what to do with it and we haven't had any issues.  For the first ~3 weeks or so that I had her she was almost exclusively confined to my bathroom, and by the time she had more space given to her she had a very good idea of where her box was and that she was to use it.  It's something that comes naturally to cats, but with kittens you need to make it pretty simple.  They aren't going to have the time and patience to look for the proper place, but they can certainly seek out the food pretty easily!
 

Try putting litter boxes in different places while he's out. Kittens are like babies, they don't realize they have to go until they need to go, and since they don't have diapers, this means going on the floor if the potty is too far away. Last summer we raised 17 kittens and had at least 1 box in every room they were allowed to wander freely in, 3 in the living room since it was a bigger room and the number of boxes went down as they got older and able to make it to the box when they needed to go.

The trying different litters is a good tip too. We have one cat who will use the box with scoopable litter, but if we put in nonscoopable litter, she uses the toilet to pee because her princess feet can't touch the stuff (she taught herself to use the toilet because we had nonscoopable litter in the litter box while it was next to the toilet and she just naturally did it!)

Good luck with your new baby! I know it's frustrating, but he's still young and learning what's right and how to control himself.

Well things have been going ok (but not good) hes still going to the bathroom with no accidents when hes locked in the bathroom. But when hes out he doesnt try to run to the litter box. Iv put him in there and hes gone but not on his own. He ate some food (in the bathroom on opposite side of litter box) left the bathroom and ran to the first corner and tried to poop. Lucky I picked him up in time to put him in litter box.

So its not that he cant make it to the potty when he has to go (its closer than the corner is) he just does not want to use the litter when he is able to walk outside of the bathroom. This is what confuses me. Why use the bathroom when your confined in there but not when you have the option to leave? Why walk out of a place your already in to use the restroom?  

If he's always going in the same corner you'll need to clean it with an enzyme cleaner, if he can smell it he will probably continue to eliminate there.They are sold at petstores. After you do this I would try putting another litter box in the corner he likes.

Good luck.

smitten4kittens said:

If he's always going in the same corner you'll need to clean it with an enzyme cleaner, if he can smell it he will probably continue to eliminate there.They are sold at petstores. After you do this I would try putting another litter box in the corner he likes.

Good luck.

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I agree.  Think of him as a toddler at this point.  It might be easier to clean that are thoroughly and then try another small box in that corner.  You could progressively move that box (a few feet at a time) to a more appropriate space as he gets the hang of using it right.  

MoochNNoodles said:

I agree.  Think of him as a toddler at this point.  It might be easier to clean that are thoroughly and then try another small box in that corner.  You could progressively move that box (a few feet at a time) to a more appropriate space as he gets the hang of using it right.  

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This I will. Hes went here 2-3 times now. Ill get some cleaner this weekend.