Problems litter-training kitten

We have a kitten(about 7-8 weeks old now). His mother was another cat we have, who had him outdoors. At some point we noticed he looked ill, and took him to a vet. Long story short, he likely got attacked by a dog or other animal, suffering a broken rib and swelling in his stomach, but should make a recovery.

After that, we decided to keep the kitten inside, to help keep him safe while he recovered. He's doing really well, except we're having a lot of problems getting him litter-trained, to the point where we might have to get rid of him.

We've taken to confining him to the bathroom, where the litter box for the mother has always been, along with some food and water. We clean it regularly, and as long as he's in that room, he doesn't leave messes outside the box. Any time we let him out of the room(to be with his mother, or to run around a little bit), he never seems to go back to the bathroom to do his business. Instead, he just poops in the living room. At one point, barely even a minute of being let out of the bathroom, he went and took a dump.

We've never had so much trouble with cats not going where they're supposed to, and we really don't know what to do at this point.

Any advice?

There could be a number of reasons for this behavior, though it mostly just sounds like standard kitten litterbox training. Some take to it quicker than others do and he seems to be just a little slow grasping the concept. Here are a few suggestions of things that may be causing it, and what to try to sort it out. 

1) A medical issue. Because of his age it is unlikely, but any time a cat is not using the box the issue has to be addressed of if it is a medical reason. If he does have something like an infection going to the bathroom would be very painful. Therefore, many sick cats associate the box as the source of the pain and won't use it because of it. So, if this continues, a vet checkup would be a good idea. He should be going in soon anyway for vaccinations/de-worming/altering so I would mention it to the vet. 

2) Simple proximity. Kittens are not much different from babies in this sense, and when they have to go they have to go NOW. Make sure you set up multiple boxes throughout the house so he never has to go far to get to one. As he gets older you can gradually reduce the number. 

3) Location. While you are smart to confine him to a small area, he likely associates the bathroom with being separated and doesn't like it very much. Make sure you have boxes outside of there to make him more comfortable. And, while he's being confined, do what you can to make the bathroom cozy. I know he has his essentials, but adding a soft bed, a scratching post, and a few toys will go a long way!

4) Size of the box. Some kittens struggle with using the litterbox at this age simply because it's so high and is hard to get in and out of. Add his broken rib to the mix and I wouldn't be surprised if it's quite a challenge for him to get in and out of. Try setting up a kitten sized box (both in the bathroom and outside of it) and see if that makes a difference. You can use a small size plastic one, a high sided cookie sheet, or even the cardboard boxes wet kitten food come in. The easier it is for him to get in and out of the more likely he is to use it. 

5) Unable to find the box. When you let him out of the bathroom do you carry him into another room? If so, he may not know how to get to his box. Be sure that when you let him out you let him set his course so he knows how to get back. And, when you set up other boxes in the house, be sure you set him in there and let him leave on his own. That way, he will know how to get back to it!

To summarize, I would set up multiple, smaller boxes throughout the house and see if that doesn't help. If he does have an accident clean up what you can and put it in the closest box so that he will scent identify to it, and make sure you clean the soiled area really well with an enzyme remover like Nature's Miracle. Finally, be sure you are only using a non-clumping litter as he is still a little too young for a clumping formula. If his problems continue when he is a little older I would highly recommend some Dr. Elsey's kitten attract litter- it's amazing. If you start him on it soon watch him very carefully to ensure he isn't eating the litter which can cause a life threatening intestinal blockage. 

Above all, have patience. This little guy has clearly been through a lot in his young life and just needs some time to settle in. While he's adjusting make sure you get Mom to the vet and have her spayed ASAP as she can go back into heat and get pregnant again at any time. If there are other kittens do what you can to try and find them good homes so that they don't become feral from a lack of human interaction and, above all, be sure you properly vet and alter all of them in order to prevent inbreeding among the group and keep the spread of disease down. 

Best of luck and welcome to TCS. 

So, it's been close to two weeks since we started trying a secondary litter box, and it helped A TON. We did actually use that Cat Attract stuff before using the second box, and are still using it now.

He's still having some issues though, which I think are mostly due to him outgrowing the second box. Sometimes he uses it, but kind of "misses" and gets on the rug we put under the box. Other times, he still goes on the carpet in the area we put that box, though I think this is mostly due to the box being too full/dirty and him not wanting to use it. It's still frustrating though that when that box IS full, he doesn't seem to think to try to go to the one in the bathroom(which doesn't fill as fast). I wonder if this is just him not "knowing" how to get there in time, or just going where he is because he needs to.

Oh yay I'm so glad to hear that adding the second box helped! It does sound like the few accidents he is having are more misses. A pretty good indicator he is ready for a bigger box. 

justpassingthru said:

Other times, he still goes on the carpet in the area we put that box, though I think this is mostly due to the box being too full/dirty and him not wanting to use it. It's still frustrating though that when that box IS full, he doesn't seem to think to try to go to the one in the bathroom(which doesn't fill as fast). I wonder if this is just him not "knowing" how to get there in time, or just going where he is because he needs to.

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I get what you are saying in terms of he should just go to the other box, but that's not how it works in Cat-land. And (get ready for a brief scolding): keeping the litterbox clean is 100% on you. I would highly recommend getting some sort of litter removal system together. A litter genie (basically a diaper genie for cats) is a little box that sits next to the litter box that you scoop into. You only have to change the bag monthly and it is great at containing odors so this may be a really good option. If you want something a little cheaper and a little smaller, just buy some cheap dog disposal bags and use those for your daily scooping. I recommend those over a plastic grocery bag because they contain the smell better and don't stink up your trash as much, but if you are someone who empties the trashcan frequently this may not be an issue and grocery bags work just as well. However you decide to do it just get your system in place and make it part of your daily chores! 

Just to address your other reasons (not going to the bathroom because he can't find his way there or because he has to go NOW)- both are viable explanations. Personally, given how much time it's been, to me it sounds like he just doesn't like his bathroom litterbox. That might be because of location (most likely) or the actual box. You could test it by swapping the bathroom box with the one he uses. If he starts having accidents in the main room or, if he goes running to the bathroom then you know it's a box issue. If he uses the main room box with no problem then you know it's a location issue. I would test it use so you know for sure. Once you know the reason then you can easily correct it (by getting rid of that box altogether or moving it out of the bathroom altogether). 

Overall it sounds like there have been huge improvements which is amazing. You just have a little bit further to go. Do the box switch test to nail down the problem and start scooping regularly! I think once you have it all figured out his accidents will cease completely. He clearly knows how to use it- he is just communicating to you that it's still not quite right. Listen to him! 

Another update.......I just don't understand this cat.

The messes outside the box have increased, and despite telling my parents over and over that he needs a bigger box, they keep forgetting(yes, I know this is on us, they're pissing me off now. >.>). We have been keeping both boxes pretty clean as far as I can tell. After giving up on getting another bigger box for him, I tried just switching the two. The smaller one(now in the bathroom) went unused since last night. The bigger one was used, yet he still had a couple messes outside of it.

Here's the real kicker. As I was cleaning up the messes, he decides he has to go to the bathroom again......and goes in the box just fine(before I got around to cleaning it). If it's a cleanliness-issue, I don't get why he would've gone right then(unless he saw me and figured he should use it in the box).

Oh some rare occasions, I have noticed him leaving messes literally randomly. One time he was on my lap as I was petting him, and I noticed something coming out of his butt, and onto my pants. And just today, again as I was cleaning up the messes, he had apparently just walked by and left some drops of stuff around.

I'm almost feeling at a loss here. The constant messes don't sit well with my parents. Even though they're mostly in one corner of the living room behind the couch(harder for others to see), they're still making the room stink and ruining the carpet. My parents may be more inclined to get rid of him if we can't get this to stop. I don't want to do this since I was the one who pressured us to take him to the vet originally, and paid the majority of that vet expense.
 

It wouldn't let me edit my last post again for some reason.

Anyway, just a little bit ago, I went to check if there were any messes. There weren't, and the kitten came up and jumped on the back of the couch(the litter box is in an area behind it). He just sat there and meowed at me......and randomly pooped a little right there. The litter box was clean, and all he had to do was jump down and walk a couple feet. I have no idea why this happened.

Is he having diarrhea or really soft poops? You keep saying drops and a little bit of poop. Has he been tested for parasites or dewormed?

vball91 said:

 Has he been tested for parasites or dewormed?

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I have to question this point as well. At the beginning of all this we talked about him needing to go to the vet to rule out a medical issue. Has he been seen yet? If not, that definitely needs to happen ASAP. 

If he is otherwise healthy then this to me is him trying to communicate something to you, and you just need to figure out what it is. I still think there may be a problem with the litterbox/litter/box placement. Have you tried putting a box where he keeps going? If not, I would highly recommend it. If he starts using that box consistently then you can slowly start moving it a little bit each day back to a more acceptable location. He will dictate how much you can move it- it may be a foot, it may be an inch. You will know if you went too far because he will likely go outside it once again. To deter him from that spot once you start moving it try placing either a scratching post on top of the area or his food and water dishes. He's less likely to go there if his stuff is there. Also, be sure you are cleaning his accidents really well with an enzyme remover like Nature's Miracle to get all his scent out.

You also need to take a step back and analyze the situation as a detached observer. Cats never do things accidentally and there is a reason for this. He is giving you all the clues and you just have to piece it together. I would highly recommend keeping a log of when he has an accident, where, and what the circumstances surrounding it are. Also, start thinking about the situation from his perspective. What is it about that spot that you think he finds so appealing? Maybe it's somewhat covered and private whereas his box is somewhere more open? If so, perhaps try a hooded box and place it somewhere more secluded. Also, what is the area around the existing litterbox like? Is there another animal in the house who may be deterring him? Something may be triggering him to use it sometimes and not others. Or, perhaps his current box is too cornered and he doesn't feel like he has any escape routes. Start documenting all these things and you may start to see the puzzle put together. 

Finally, I think I'm not understanding something about your situation. How come you can't just go get a box or have your parents stop one day when you are all out and run in and buy one? Be sure to reiterate to them that this is a fixable problem, but more tools and more time are needed to do so. And, the primary tools you need are another visit to the vet, more litterboxes, and a different brand of litter. If you haven't tried it yet I still highly recommend Dr. Elsey's Kitten Attract. It is amazing stuff at attracting them back to the box! 

Keep working with him and you will eventually get it straightened out. But, it's going to take some effort- it's not just going to magically get better. Listen to what he is telling you! 

I also want to mention I really hope you get the mother cat fixed because she will get pregnant again.

I agree with all the advice above. You should have at least three litter boxes out and put him right in the box when he starts to go. I also agree that this may be a medical issue as he probably has worms so he needs to go to the vet to be dewormed. I also wanted to mention you can buy the cat attract additive to put in any litter.

First off, he WAS taken to the vet for his original medical issue, and by now he seems to have made a full recovery. About the deworming, both of my parents gave me opposite answers on if he had or not, so we can try looking into that. Does deworming(and/or the equivalent for other parasites) require a vet visit, or is there medicine we can buy in a store that works?

We did finally get a brand new litter box for him(not covered. It's just much longer and wider than the small box he had before). I placed the new box, with clean litter(we did use some of that Cat Attract stuff before, and it seemed to help. I was told the new litter we have may have something like that built in, not sure), at the place where he's been going the most, returning the first big litter box back to the bathroom where it originally was.

To try to describe the area, on the far side of the living room, we have a small couch set at an angle. There's an end table on one end of it, and just a path for us to walk around on the other. Behind it is an(unused) exercise bike and another end table, and there's a door to a small furnace room in the corner(we don't get in there very often though). His box is set next to the wall along that path we have to the furnace room. The majority of his messes tend to be in the space between his box and the furnace room, sometimes almost next to it(which would make it hard for us to get into the room if we moved the box closer that way). In terms of how the kitten can get to the box, it can go the path we walk, crawl under the end table, or simple jump/climb over the couch.

The only other animal in the house is the mother, though she's often outside a lot anyway. She's only ever used the box in the bathroom. She doesn't really take care of the kitten anymore though. She just kind of hisses and spats at him. Not sure what is the reason for that.

I understand you took him originally. The concern is that he may have developed worms/parasites after that visit. Especially if he still has contact with Mom who still has contact to the outdoors. It's worth an additional checkup just to be safe. 

There are some OTC dewormers in the UK- I don't know about the US though so I will defer to someone else's expertise. 

Is he going by the furnace when it is on or off?(My furnace area also houses the air conditioning so I am assuming your's is that way too). Perhaps he likes the coolness but is afraid of the noise...

You do need to put a box there, despite the inconvenience, or nothing will change. You have to know if it's that spot or if it's going outside the box in general. Like I said you can move it eventually but it's the quickest way to solve the problem. No, it isn't ideal, but neither is he pooping on the floor. Where my cats prefer to use the box is right in front of the door that houses my Washer/Dryer. SO, every time I have to do laundry I have to move it. It takes literally 5 seconds and is better than the alternative!

Running into a meeting so will have to write more later. Just wanted to get this initial feedback to you ASAP. 

justpassingthru said:

The only other animal in the house is the mother, though she's often outside a lot anyway. She's only ever used the box in the bathroom. She doesn't really take care of the kitten anymore though. She just kind of hisses and spats at him. Not sure what is the reason for that.

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If she's not spayed yet, she may be in heat or pregnant, so she is driving off her kitten to get ready for more.

EB24 said:

I understand you took him originally. The concern is that he may have developed worms/parasites after that visit. Especially if he still has contact with Mom who still has contact to the outdoors. It's worth an additional checkup just to be safe. 

There are some OTC dewormers in the UK- I don't know about the US though so I will defer to someone else's expertise. 

Is he going by the furnace when it is on or off?(My furnace area also houses the air conditioning so I am assuming your's is that way too). Perhaps he likes the coolness but is afraid of the noise...

You do need to put a box there, despite the inconvenience, or nothing will change. You have to know if it's that spot or if it's going outside the box in general. Like I said you can move it eventually but it's the quickest way to solve the problem. No, it isn't ideal, but neither is he pooping on the floor. Where my cats prefer to use the box is right in front of the door that houses my Washer/Dryer. SO, every time I have to do laundry I have to move it. It takes literally 5 seconds and is better than the alternative!

Running into a meeting so will have to write more later. Just wanted to get this initial feedback to you ASAP. 

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Thanks again for all the continued support.

I don't know if the US had OTC medicine, but I can try checking.

As for the furnace, it's not on during the summer(for obvious reasons). We don't have air conditioning throughout the house; just individual machines in two rooms(none in the living room where these events happen). Again, we HAVE had the litter box in that area. It's just that he would have his messes between the box and the furnace room door(which is maybe a 4ft long area).

Today we actually took a carpet shampooing vacuum to most of the carpet in the house, to help clean up and get rid of the smell in the room. I'll try moving the box closer to the door and see if that changes anything.

I am not sure about good OTC wormers in the US but I do know that hartz is a company to avoid and they sell both flea and worming products. I would probably advise getting something from the vet usually deworming is included in the early kitten care packages at most vets and they give the dewormer with the vaccines. They may even be able to sell you one if you do not want to bring her in- I would just give them a call and see what they advise and they may even tell you the name of a safe OTC dewormer.  

So, it's been several weeks since my last update.

We got some OTC de-worming stuff for him, moved his box a little closer to the furnace door, and regularly cleaned things. Until this week, he's been mostly accident-free(the one time I think he had one, we missed cleaning his box and it was fairly dirty).

But, it seems the accidents are happening again. A day or two ago, I found a mess on either side of his litter box, and pretty much NOTHING in the box itself. It was clean. I did notice a lot of footprints on it, as if he had walked over it. Yet, nothing in the box itself. I thought maybe the litter was too shallow or something, so I added more fresh litter to the box.

He's still mostly using the box, but today I found several more messes outside of the box. They looked more runny than solid though, but it seems a lot like it did when I first posted the problem.

Could he have worms again? Is it common for cats to get them frequently? We haven't changed anything about the box, litter, or placement, so I'm not sure what else would make him start doing this again. On another note, is it common for cats to NOT cover up their droppings in a litter box? For some reason, this kitten(well, not much of a kitten anymore I guess) doesn't always cover things up.

Thanks.

Yes he could still have worms and parasites. I was just watching a very interesting video by a vet on IBD in cats and she was saying that the many kittens have  coccidia and giardia which are not treated by the general deworming. She suggests kittens have three fecal samples. I would suggest you bring in a fecal sample to have tested for coccidia and giardia.

Here is the video and she talks about parasites in the beginning: