Kitten &I liter box. Help!!

Hi! I am also in need of help. I adopted a 6 week old kitten (yes I know that's WAY too young, but that's when she was given away so I had no other choice) and the first few days she was extremely stressed- wouldn't eat and didn't poop. After a day of this I got her wet cat food and she's now eating like a pro. Up until last night I kept her locked in the bathroom all night because she's so tiny and hasn't gotten to be the best buds with my older male cat. She hasn't gotten the hang of her liter box. When I first tried I of course put liter in it- she doesn't like the texture and while trying to sniff it ends up eating it. I replaced the liter with paper towels and as long as I put her in it often she would potty in it. Well, because of her waking up at 5 am constantly meowing in the bathroom (we can't have her doing that, as we live in apartments) we decided to let her sleep in our room last night. It's carpet, and I was hesitant. She slept the night away from 12am-5am. When she woke up I immediately put her in her liter box only for her to jump out run straight to the corner and poop on the carpet. This has happened twice today since but with pee instead of poop. I tired liter again, I thought maybe that's what she wanted and she still ends up eating some. It's clumping clay liter that is scented. I have looked and looked for non-clumping non-scented liter and cannot find it. I read on another forum I should confine her to a space constantly. For now she's locked in the bathroom- I put a clock under her bed hoping to help with meowing. Does anyone have any suggestions as to helping her go in her liter box? Should I order non-clumping and risk her continuing to accidentally ingest it? Help!!

I know you're trying to keep the cats separated for safety but I think you should slowly introduce them to one another. swap their territories so they learn each other scent, then lit kitty roam free while holding older male. When I introduced my kitten to my older male 6 years ago I held her in my hands and allowed him to sniff her. His eyes widened and he stared. Then amazing licked her. I know not all cats take to kittens this well. The reason I encourage you to unite them is she needs to learn how to be a cat from a cat. She needs to witness him using the litter box. My older male would "clean up" after my kitten by re barring her waste and literally cleaning her behind. If your male becomes too hostel you can always keep placing kitty into the litter box and whatever accidents she has outside place into her box. I'd stick away from the paper towel idea I believe it teaches them to urinate on papers, rugs, and towels. 

Good Luck!

Do not allow your kitten to eat clumping cat litter. It might cause some serious intestinal issues like blockages, etc. Also you cat may not like the scented litter. You need to find non clumping cat litter, preferably unscented for your kitten.
Until you can get that, you might try shredding newspaper and see if the kitten will use that.

Thank you all for the advice! So far she's been doing a little bit better with going in her box- when I put her in it! I have introduced her to the older male and he isn't too hostile, but with her being so playful he gets easily aggravated and will swat at her. He has "cleaned up" after her one time- but eventually she will get playful and make him angry. I do allow them to play together just supervised only for now for the fear that he will hurt her. For now I will stick with paper towels and will try newspaper. I think she's just so little she doesn't understand the concept of the liter. I think I'll start adding non scented non clumping liter under the paper towels and slowly wean her off of them. Hopefully we will make some progress with that. I will keep everyone updated!! Thanks again!

How old is she?

babylexus said:

Thank you all for the advice! So far she's been doing a little bit better with going in her box- when I put her in it! I have introduced her to the older male and he isn't too hostile, but with her being so playful he gets easily aggravated and will swat at her. He has "cleaned up" after her one time- but eventually she will get playful and make him angry. I do allow them to play together just supervised only for now for the fear that he will hurt her. For now I will stick with paper towels and will try newspaper. I think she's just so little she doesn't understand the concept of the liter. I think I'll start adding non scented non clumping liter under the paper towels and slowly wean her off of them. Hopefully we will make some progress with that. I will keep everyone updated!! Thanks again!

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You mention that your older cat will swat the baby when he gets aggravated with the baby. Is your older cat swatting with just his paw and no nails.  Is there any hissing or growling going on from either party when this swatting happens?  The reason I am asking is because if this just interaction without any hostility between them then I would just keep any eye on them and see what happens.  It is very possible that this swatting is your older cat trying to teach the baby boundaries.  I adopted a 6 week old kitten years ago into a household with 2 seniors.  My seniors would swat the kitten as a way of saying stop now.  They were not trying to hurt the baby but were actually trying to teach boundaries and correct her from being overly aggressive during play.  You definitely want to make sure your little one does not get hurt but she also needs to be allowed to bond with older cat to learn rules and boundaries if he is ready to safely do so.  Obviously if there is hissing or growling with the swatting then I would separate them but if this is a  peaceful interaction then I would observe before deciding to separate.  

She is very young and small.  So she has a small bladder and not much time to get to a box.  I recommend having a couple boxes placed strategically around your apartment.  You can use disposable alum. cake pans.  they will also be easier for her to get in and out of.  I suggest you place one in her corner where she has already gone.  You will need to clean that spot with an enzyme cleaner to remove all scent or she will return to it.  I'm surprised you can't find non-clumping litter.  Have you looked at walmart, big lots and grocery stores?  Pet stores def. have it.

When she poops outside the box, put the poop in the box and let her see it and watch you bury it.  This will give her the idea and her scent will be in the litter box.

Let us know how it goes.

She was 6 weeks old Tuesday! And sometimes he has his claws out and sometimes he doesn't. He is an extremely territorial cat. The reason she's in the bathroom in the first place is because the night we brought her home we put her in a pet carrier by our bed so we could keep an eye on her (she was only 5 weeks 5 days) and the second he saw her by our bed he hissed. That was after they had already met and sniffed of each other. I have looked at Walmart no luck there and one pet store no luck there either. My next stop is target. Just now- she went poop all by herself in her liter box for the first time. For some reason she does much better confined to the bathroom. I even let the older can in every now and again. And that is super good to know about them interacting! I will allow them to play from now on- as long as it doesn't get aggressive! Thanks!!

Oh, she's much too small to have full run of the house. Keep her confined in a small area with multiple litter boxes that are easy access. I agree that they need to be lower to the ground for now and definitely no scented or clumping litter.

What are you feeding her? How much?

I agree- we have not let her run lose without supervision because she is so little. When we got her the previous owner had already started her on dry food. They mixed it with warm whole milk. I know cows milk is not best for her but I tried it and she would not eat it- she went a day with hardly eating I got extremely worried. I tried the dry cat food alone and she loved it but choked a bit. So I quit that, worried I went out and bought her kitten replacement formulas he hated it. With cat food in it, or without. I tried a bottle, I tried just a saucer of it and she hated it too. So after 1 1/2 days of hardly eating I went and got her wet food for kittens & cats. She LOVED it. She eats it whenever she wants to. They come in small pouches and I keep her food bowl not full but with some in it. She probably eats 2 pouches a day. Sometimes more which is spot on with directions. It says 2 1/2 pouches a day for kittens. She drinks water every time she eats too. She has a kitten liter box, it's low to ground and not huge. She just doesn't like the liter. I tried putting some in it this morning and running her paw through it and she jumped right out shook it around a bit and cleaned it. I think maybe it's just that type of liter. Maybe if I get some non clumping non scented she will be fine? She so far likes the paper towels and I'm wondering if it's because they're softer??

You can usually find unclumping litter at the dollar stores or grocerys. 

Something i used when training is the little tag along containers the oblong ones. You can get a pack of three for a few bucks. 

I will check dollar stores- hadn't thought of that! I did use a Tupperware container about that size when she was first training. She didn't seem to like it much but that was with liter. This is her box now. Usually the paper towels aren't like that, but she likes to play with them as well. I will fix it when she gets out.

She is so cute. I miss little ones. 

Hehe thank you! She's now sleeping in her liter box!

Try shredded newspaper. It's a stepping stone between towels and actual litter. And yes, she may be sensitive to the scent.

Wet kitten food is great for her. Cow milk is not something she can digest and could upset her stomach. You can also wet kitten chow with a bit of water.

I think for now I'll stick with her wet food and eventually mix up some kitten chow with it!

And okay! I will get some shredded newspaper. That's a good step forward if she will not eat it! lol she's a biter- she lovesssss to bite things. She bites the paper towels too but so far hasn't actually eaten it!

She could be teething. 

Oh really? I didn't know cats even did that! But that makes sense! Poor baby!

Yes, kittens teeth twice. Their baby teeth, or milk teeth, begin coming in around 4-6 weeks, which helps with weaning. Around age 6 months they begin to lose their baby teeth and their adult incisors come in. They will chew on lots of things when teething, that's why "kitten proofing" is good so they don't chew things they shouldn't.

She's also a little young to be 100% with the litter box. She should get better about it in the next two weeks! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Oh! Well that is very helpful to know! Thank you! And thank you everyone who has given me input, it all has been so helpful and informative for us! This is our first kitten so we are learning just as she is! Will keep everyone updated! Thanks again![emoji]9786[/emoji]️