4 week old kitten urinating problem/possibly blind

I am currently fostering a kitten around 4 weeks old. His mother passed and the shelter was going to put them down because they are too young to be vaccinated. I am currently living in Anguilla, BWI. Animals are not treated the same here as they are in the States.

Anyways, I’ve had him for about a week. I had him and his sister, but she unfortunately passed. She was the runt of the litter. This is my first time fostering kittens.
He has a problem of urinating and then just sitting in it. I have started trying to litter box train but I think he doesn’t like how the litter feels. I can’t get a different one because here in Anguilla this is the only clay non clumping kitty litter they have. The litter pieces are very large and rock like, so I imagine it doesn’t feel the best on his paws. I have had to get pee pads because I was having to do laundry everyday and I thought they would help keep him a bit more dry. They’ve helped with keeping linens clean but he’s still getting soiled.

The other two kittens from his litter are at another foster home and are not having this issue. They are already litter box trained but they are using finer clumping litter and I am not about to take that risk.

I’m just getting frustrating with him being covered in urine. I take him potty right after he eats and 30mins after. He tinkles a little and then throws a fit and no more comes out, so I stop stimulating. Then I put him in his bed and he will sleep for a few hours and then wake up covered in urine. I believe he is urinating in his sleep, but he does have accidents while awake too. I feel like when I stimulate him he isn’t letting it all out.
I am stimulating him over the litter box and leaving a little bit of urine and feces in the litter so he knows what it’s for. He cries constantly when he is in the litter and he will crawl right out.

Any advice on litter box training and ideas as to why he is sitting in his urine?

The vet is closed here until Tuesday so any help here is appreciated.

Also, he tends to cry a lot. If he isn’t eating or sleeping he is crying. Whether you hold him or let him explore he just cries. Is that normal?

I am starting to think that he might be blind. Which will be a whole new game changer. I have always noticed he relied on sound more than sight, but I just thought his vision was still developing. Today he has been very active and walking around but he is bumping into things right in front of his face. He will come when called but will stop half way and wait for another sound cue.
This might explain why he cries a lot and why we are struggling with litter training. I carry him to the litter and hold him above it. If he can’t see maybe he isn’t picking up where we are at. I always set him down in the litter after I stimulate him to urinate. So today I have been leading him to the litter by sound and letting him crawl in himself. Then stimulate him to urinate.

We will definitely be going to the vet soon because I have read the blindness may be reversible.

If anyone has tips on raising blind kittens that would be helpful. I have already been doing a lot of research but personal experiences would be great.

I have just started trying to wean him. He isn't really getting it. I try to dab the Second Step mixture on to his mouth so he can lick it off but he doesn't and just get really fussy. I try doing it before giving him the bottle. He doesn't really notice the low dish and he just steps and knocks it over. This again is why I am thinking he is blind.

I hope to get him into the vet Tues right when they reopen.

Sorry I know that was a lot, and I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right section. I just really want to help this little guy out and do the best job I can at raising him.

I'm thinking about keeping him because his life would be very poor here in general. Then if he is blind....I don't think he'd have much of a chance.

Is he eating solids at all yet? If not, it might be too soon to litter train him. It's also possible that his bottom is sore from being stimulated. Does it look swollen? Peeling in his sleep is not normal.

You could try sand in the litter box.

Thank you for taking this guy in. Please let us know what the vet says!

Thanks for the reply!

No he is not eating solids, but neither are his siblings who have already started to use the litter. Even if he doesn't use the litter that is fine. I am just concerned as to why he urinates and then just sits in it. 

Well for him all I need to do to stimulate him is take my thumb and pointer finger and just rub by his tail, like by his hips. He doesn't really need much stimulation on the actual part. His anus did look swollen yesterday and we actual met up with the Vet tech, but he didn't seem concerned. He said it was common in kittens. He did get deworming medicine too so he had diarrhea last night which did irritate his anus even more, but today he is better.

Just any kind of sand?

I will but that won't be until Tuesday. Such a long wait

You can put some olive or veggie oil on his irritated parts to soothe it.

Fine sand sold for playgrounds.

He's just too young. He's not ready. He has no mom and no litter mates and he is stressed. Let him be a baby for a couple of more weeks. Most kittens have mom or litter mates and still don't easily wean or litter train until 6 weeks. Just change the pee pad daily and clean him up with a warm, damp cloth to simulate mom licking him. Give him a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel to snuggle, and a stuffed toy. He needs comfort. What and how are you feeding him? He really will get there, just a bit slower. I had 4 babies who had each other AND mom and they all weaned and litter trained at different paces - one was very late but did fine eventually. Slow it down for him and worry less. Give him a blanket with a corner soaked in kitten formula or goat's milk to suckle. Love him unconditionally and he will be fine! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

PS: At 4 weeks he needs no stimulating to go wee or poo. He just needs time and love. Trust me! And yes, keep him forever if you can. You will never regret it!

The crying: Is he getting enough to eat? That is the main reason kittens cry. If he is full, then he needs comfort. Plain and simple. The hot water bottle and a stuffed toy should help. Maybe a clock ticking in his nest. He wants mama. Just be patient.

At four weeks he may be able to start lapping milk replacement from a bowl. As mentioned before kittens can pee/poo on their own by four weeks old. A general formula for feeding kittens is his weight in ounces times 7 divided by the number of feedings per day which, for a four week old kitten, should be about five times a day. 

Example: Kitten weighs 13 ounces. Formula would be: 13 x 7 divided by 5 which would mean that he gets 18 milliliters of formula five times a day. 

I don't know how much this helps but good luck with him! 

With his mommy just having passed away he's probably used to her cleaning him up but he will get the hang of it soon. I've fostered lots of bottle kittens and they all seem to go through a phase where they think they shouldn't have to clean themselves.

Well all the information I look at out there say they can start being weaned at 4 weeks. I also am in no way forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to. He's being fed enough, comforted, loved and cared for just fine. Plain and simple. 

We have recently discovered he might be blind and we believe that is why he was crying a lot.

I am here for help, not be to scolded like a child. I have obviously done my research and am following what those say. Even the jar of KMR second step says you can begin weaning at 4 weeks.

fostermomma said:

 
At four weeks he may be able to start lapping milk replacement from a bowl. As mentioned before kittens can pee/poo on their own by four weeks old. A general formula for feeding kittens is his weight in ounces times 7 divided by the number of feedings per day which, for a four week old kitten, should be about five times a day. 

Example: Kitten weighs 13 ounces. Formula would be: 13 x 7 divided by 5 which would mean that he gets 18 milliliters of formula five times a day. 

I don't know how much this helps but good luck with him! 

With his mommy just having passed away he's probably used to her cleaning him up but he will get the hang of it soon. I've fostered lots of bottle kittens and they all seem to go through a phase where they think they shouldn't have to clean themselves.

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He urinates on his own but has yet to defecate on his own, but he does when stimulated. Should I just stop stimulating all together then? I'm worried he wont defecate then.

Yeah the feeding math is difficult because I don't have a way to weigh him and they never did at the vet. I can see if they will when we take him in this week. They don't really seem to want to do much with him here because he is so young. :/

kimc03 said:

 
Well all the information I look at out there say they can start being weaned at 4 weeks. I also am in no way forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to. He's being fed enough, comforted, loved and cared for just fine. Plain and simple. 

We have recently discovered he might be blind and we believe that is why he was crying a lot.

I am here for help, not be to scolded like a child. I have obviously done my research and am following what those say. Even the jar of KMR second step says you can begin weaning at 4 weeks.

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4 weeks is the average, which means that some are ready earlier and some are ready later.  This little guy sounds like a late bloomer.  I would give him a bit more time with just bottles, and then slowly start to offer the solids increasingly as he seems interested.  He won't be ready for the litter box until he's ready for the solids.

Being blind may absolutely effect his development, but he's taking a bit longer than average regardless.

talkingpeanut said:

 
4 weeks is the average, which means that some are ready earlier and some are ready later.  This little guy sounds like a late bloomer.  I would give him a bit more time with just bottles, and then slowly start to offer the solids increasingly as he seems interested.  He won't be ready for the litter box until he's ready for the solids.

Being blind may absolutely effect his development, but he's taking a bit longer than average regardless.

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Okay thanks. Yeah I tried once with the "solid" and he didn't take so we've still been doing the bottle. He has started to chew on the bottle too and I know they say that is a sign they are ready, so thats also why I tried to give it a go.

Do you know of any other helpful tips/signs that he might be ready? He gets a daily gel vitamin thing, and he does lick that off of my fingers, but that is a bit easier because it isn't runny.

We've started to work with him like he is blind and I feel we have already made great progress this way. I feel somehow he knows that we understand him more now. Hopefully we will know for sure this week if he really is fully blind.

You could try letting him lick the food off your fingers as well.  

It's been several weeks now with my Tortie and I am still unable to tell whether she's deaf as a post or just stubborn as a brick, so you may want to keep this in mind while treating your new fosterage as though he's blind. Cats are peculiar that way. :-)

You might try some visual cues - a focused lens flashlight or laser pointer would be the best choice here.

As for the peeing problem - the pee pads are a good choice, and as someone else mentioned, a gentle washing with a warm, wet cloth to simulate momma's grooming. And yes, something warm and soft to snuggle up to. 4 weeks is awfully young to be without momma, and though many sites will say that they can be weaned at this age, not having momma around at this age is something else entirely.

It sounds like the little guy is just stressed out, lonely, and more than a little frightened at times. If he's actually blind, then this can only add to that.

You're doing everything you can, so just keep with it - be there for him, ensure he's comforted, and give the laser pointer/flashlight a try to see if he responds.

Best of blessings to you!

Another thing you could try is mixing a little KMR into the wet food. I've done that with a few that didn't want to start eating solids.