Should kitten have access to whole house while home alone? (Inappropriate peeing)

Last week I found a kitten abandoned in the parking lot of our apartment complex, someone had left him in inside a laundry basket. I couldn't leave him, so I now own the first cat I've had in a number of years, and it's been even longer since I've had a kitten. I have already taken him to the vet for his first series of shots, he was given a clean bill of health.

Kitten is about 6 weeks old. We live in an apartment, and we realized quickly that if his litter box was in another room, he would pee on the floor. So we began limiting his access to rooms, for instance if we are in the living room we bring his litter box, food/water and toys into the living room and shut the doors to the other rooms. At night, or when my husband and I are at work, we shut him in our bedroom with his box and all his things.

He seemed to be doing well with the litter box for the first few days, but has recently began peeing on the floor, and has twice peed on our bed. As far as I can tell, (I am purchasing a blacklight today to make sure) he seems to only be peeing in our bedroom. I have been doing tons of reading online trying to figure out why he's doing this, and how to make it stop. We are using non-clumping litter because we were told not to use clumping litter for kittens. In an effort to help make him stop, we are changing the litter completely one to two times a day, and washing his litter box out with mild hand soap and water each time we change the litter. We scoop out feces immediately. When he has peed on the floor, even in front of us, we have not scolded or yelled, we have just picked him up and put him in his litter box. He gets tons of love and attention when we are home, but we both work full time, so there have been a few days where he has been alone in our bedroom for long periods of time. This week will be a crazy week for me at work, and he will definitely be alone during the day, so I need to get this under control.

I am about to go to the pet store to purchase a blacklight, Feliway and the Cat Attract Litter. I have purchased Natures Miracle, and I was spraying it on the areas where he was urinating on the carpet, but now I'm reading that spraying probably isn't thorough enough, so I'm going to buy more so I can soak the areas completely. (Or use the white vinegar mixture, depending on how expensive Nature's Miracle is.)

I am wondering if he dislikes being confined to one room while we are gone and at night, and perhaps that's why he's peeing on the carpet. If I purchased a second litter box and left it in the usual spot in the living room in addition to the one in the bedroom, we could then potentially give him free reign of the apartment while we are gone. Would it be better to do this, or keep him confined to the one room?

Get him a second box anyway. You have to scrub out the smell, even with the Nature's Miracle or NokOut. Just spraying the spot doesn't completely neutralize the smell.  If you soak the spot on the carpet, when the NM evaporates, there is a chance that the odor will be present, but very faintly.

As for confining him in a small room with his food, water and litter box when you are gone, it will reinforce the idea that he needs to use the box and hopefully will get him in the habit of using it all the time.  You can't reason with a cat, just outsmart them.

catspaw66 said:

Get him a second box anyway. You have to scrub out the smell, even with the Nature's Miracle or NokOut. Just spraying the spot doesn't completely neutralize the smell.  If you soak the spot on the carpet, when the NM evaporates, there is a chance that the odor will be present, but very

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So after I soak the spot, scrub it with a brush or cloth?

Buckle up because this is going to be an experience.

I suggest you keep him, food, and the box confined to a bathroom.  No need to change litter every day (little box should have low sides btw..  Once he has been successful for a week or two then let him out while supervised.  I would not leave him out all day while you're away (I currently have two 11 week old Male MCoons and they are locked in a bedroom with food/box when we're asleep or when we're not home). 

Remember that because of his age he will miss out on some serious socialization skills as well as time with Mom and other siblings where he would receive constant reinforcement. Keep this in mind if you ever think about introducing a second cat down the road.

Make sure those urine spots are clean clean clean.  

As for Nature's Miracle I've had inconsistant results but same goes with similar products. Read the directions and visit their website. The citrus scent of NM is meant to deter them from hitting the spot again, but sometimes you'll have to follow up with a "no spray" type of product if the peeing has become a habit.

GL

If you haven't done so already, have him checked by a vet to rule out medical cause. At 6 weeks, he should still have extra nutrition (They wean around 8 weeks) so it's always a good idea to seek vet's advice.

 You have to understand that your bedding strongly smell of someone (you) and they associate that as being marked by someone, so they have to pee on top of it to mark with their own scent. You might want to keep him in a different room until he is used to the litter box idea.

If people who lived in the house before you had a cat or a dog and he urinated on the carpet, it's possible that your cat is reacting to that.

You might have to deep clean the carpet to get rid of any odors.

I have never tried this but cats usually do not like to eliminate where they eat, so you can set his bowl on top of the spot.

Good-Luck!

Another option is to keep him in one of those big cages (not a carrier) with a small litter box, food and water.

At 6 weeks, I really don't think he should be left alone too long. He might even need extra warmth like a heat pad. Your local cat shelter should have a foster program that can give you better advices.

You may actually be cleaning the litter too much if you empty the whole litter box and wash it with soap 1-2 times a day. He needs to be able to smell that the litter box is the place to go- I am not saying to not clean it just make sure there is still some pee scent in there. A dog cage with a litter box and water and food is a good idea, I just worry that at 6 weeks it maybe too long to leave him all day- could you get a friend to come check on him while you are at work? You are doing an amazing thing though by rescuing this kitten and things should get a lot easier as he gets older. 

Thank you all for the advice! I did go to the pet store and purchased Kitten Attract litter, Feliway, and a second litter box. I feel like we had better results today because I can clearly see that he was using the litter box today when I scooped it. I won't be able to tell for sure until this evening when it gets darker to check with the blacklight. But just the litter box use alone is definitely promising!