help cant figure it out.

hi my name is james. I have recently taken a kitten into my home. his name is Binx!  He is aproxmienlty  8 weeks old. I found him in my garge about two weeks ago. i am assuming something happen to the mother cat. He was very scitish at first, but then warmed up to the family very fast. i am just having a few problems.

First off he is scheduled for his first vet visit next week. 

My only real issue is i ant get him to go in his litter box everytime. I have two boxes for him. one on each side of the house. His food and water, and bed are about 8 feet away from the first box. then the other in on the other side of the house. ive seen him use his box several time, and even cover it up. I had to show him how to do it. even taking his paw and covering it up with it. But there are time were he gose under the bed or behind my couch. i dont get it. theres even a box on that side of the house. I have also tried the whole rubbing there belly after eating or playing to get them to go. ive even done as much as taking him to the box periodicaly through out the day. 

So i dont think its the litter at all. i was thinking maybe constipated or something with his insides. Assuming i have no idea what he was eating outside. he is on kiiten food, and gets one cup of food a day, and as much water as he can drink. figured trying to limit his consumption might help with either problem. im stuck and dont know what to do. please help, and advise welcome.

I think he needs a vet visit to be dewormed first. Oftentimes the parasite make it hard for a kitten to hold it and it just may be related to a health reason alone. Second his litter boxes may not be in the best spots for him so he is going in the right spots for him. Cats like their privacy when the go and they do not want to do it anywhere close to where they eat. So I would look to where you have the boxes now. Do a lot of family members pass by the box often? Is the box anywhere near his food or water? I would say the first litter box may be too close to his food and I would move it maybe to the other side of the room. Whenever you move a litter box just plop him in there and let him find his way out. Another possibility is he smelled something under the bed or behind the couch that smelled like a litter box. If you had pets on the past that may be were they left their prior deposits
and he is just doing the same. I would get an enzyme cleaner and clean away not only Binx's scent but also maybe other pets' smells in the spots where he is gone. Also this could also just be him too scared to go in the right place.8 weeks is still pretty young.

You might want to add a little wet food to the diet. He is big enough to put a litter box in your bathroom. My cats and kittens all like to take a break with me. 

 The litter might not feel good on his pads. Try very fine cat litter. Mine like it much better. They don't like the feel of crystals, or coarse litter. 

For sure take him to the vets. And I also have been told a very little (,05)ml of oil would help constipation; 

There are many good replies on this thread, but I also wanted to point out that 8 weeks old is a really tiny kitten! A litter box that seems to be right there to you or me can seem tremendously far away from a kitten that small, especially if it's in another room or if there is traffic between your kitten and the box when he needs to go. When my kitten was that age, she once panicked and went outside the box when her box was only 10 feet away, but around a corner and out of sight.

For a kitten that young, I'd suggest either lots of smaller boxes scattered throughout the home, one for every room or so, or I would limit his territory to a few rooms of the house, and only bring hi into other rooms with supervision. As he becomes more comfortable and uses his boxes reliably in his limited territory, you can slowly increase his range. If you go the lots of smaller boxes route, as he gets bigger he'll probably start favoring some boxes and ignoring others, and you can eliminate extra boxes that way.

flowerdew said:

There are many good replies on this thread, but I also wanted to point out that 8 weeks old is a really tiny kitten! A litter box that seems to be right there to you or me can seem tremendously far away from a kitten that small, especially if it's in another room or if there is traffic between your kitten and the box when he needs to go. When my kitten was that age, she once panicked and went outside the box when her box was only 10 feet away, but around a corner and out of sight.

For a kitten that young, I'd suggest either lots of smaller boxes scattered throughout the home, one for every room or so, or I would limit his territory to a few rooms of the house, and only bring hi into other rooms with supervision. As he becomes more comfortable and uses his boxes reliably in his limited territory, you can slowly increase his range. If you go the lots of smaller boxes route, as he gets bigger he'll probably start favoring some boxes and ignoring others, and you can eliminate extra boxes that way.

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I agree totally with this. It is unreasonable to expect a kitten to find a box every time. I usually limit kittens' space and let them intot he whole house gradually. Do not expect them to be perfect until they are around 4 months. It is better to try to get a kitten to use a box i a limited area and not to let them get into any kind of habit of going anywhere eles.

Please do not declaw him!! It's an amputation of your cat's fingers and toes for the sake of the furniture. If it is really an issue with the furniture Claw caps will do the same thing and you don't have to amputate your cat's fingers and toes. Your vet Will put them on for you for a small charge or you can do it yourself. If the furniture is still more important, then cat ownership may just not be the thing for you. This is a no declaw website so you are going to get more responses than just mine.

We have several articles about declawing and why it isn't good for your cat.  Please read through them:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-and-alternatives

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/declawing-post-surgery-care-and-complications

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/why-cats-should-not-be-declawed

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/a-personal-look-at-declawing

I really have to weigh in against declawing, too. Removing a cat's toes and severing his tendons is risky, painful, and irreversible. It frequently leads to the kind of anxious, pain-driven behavior that gets a cat sent to the shelter and ultimately put to sleep - yowling and crying, aggression, and inappropriate elimination, the last of which you know first hand is extraordinarily frustrating. The thing is, with a kitten, you can almost always determine the cause of this behavior and take steps to remedy it. In an anxious, hurting, declawed adult, you will have a much more difficult time of it.

If you're worried about your furniture or your safety, cats can be taught not to scratch people or furniture. You can keep the claws trimmed or covered with claw caps, and you can redirect any scratching to sisal or carpet posts, or cardboard panels. These are inexpensive and far more fun to scratch than furniture.

I understand that this kitten was an unplanned addition to your household, and it's truly admirable that you've committed to providing a safe home for him. But it's a lot of work. If you don't have the time or patience to monitor additional litter boxes and work with your cat on claw etiquette, it's possible that a very young kitten isn't the best fit for your situation. A kitten will never be more placeable than he is at 8 weeks old, so please consider trying to find a new home for him if there is no other alternative to declawing him. Your kitten (and his toes!) will be grateful.

Declawing is illegal, and even a criminal offence (mutilation, animal abuse) in most civilized countries all over the world.

If you really consider declawing your cat, please look at this Jackson Galaxy video and if, after that, you haven't changed your mind, please find him a home with someone who will accept him the way he is, the way he is meant to be. A cat - WITH claws!!

Declawing is to a cat like amputating your fingertips and toe knuckles would be to you. And a cat walks on his toes!!!

Just imagine the horrendous pain when he tries to walk after that...