Litter Box Training

I have two kittens, turning 8 weeks old on Saturday.  One of them uses the litter box without a problem.  The other one very obviously knows where the litter box is at, but she goes on the mat that I have the litter box on rather than in the box.  She hasn't been caught going anywhere else, so she knows where to go at.  Any ideas or advice?

There are lots of reasons, one being that in some cases, cats do not want to share their littler box with other cats.  Some cats will only use a box that is totally scooped and clean.  Some want to pee in one box and poop in another.  My first suggestion would be to set up multiple litter boxes in the room where the kittens are.  I use the very small ones and put them in all the corners and various places kittens usually go to pee and poop.  I start kittens out with sandbox sand instead of clumping litter because kittens may eat the clumping litter at first, so sand is safer.  I dump the entire contents of the sand litter boxes every day and put in clean sand.  It has worked like a charm for years.  Eventually I cut down the number of boxes, but a rule of thumb forever is that you should always have at least one more litter box than you have cats (or kittens). 

I've been using the only non clumping litter that I could find since I do know it's not safe for little kittens.  I will definitely set up another litter box and see how that goes.  One question for you though, I have read the whole 1 litter box more than the number of cats you have, but I have been curious about that for my situation.  I live in a small one bedroom apartment and at the moment the kittens are only in two rooms, the bedroom and the bathroom.  There are only so many places to put a litter box.  Do you still recommend that I have 3 boxes?

Yes, I do.  I have five boxes in sight right now, and each one has a deposit in it, and there is a deposit on the floor next to one because I didn't get that spare one clean soon enough.  You can use small boxes with your kittens.  I have several that are only 12 x 16" tucked into corners and these big cats still manage to use them.  There are even smaller ones that cost about $2 at Walmart.  I use these when I'm raising babies.

One of my four kittens would go on the doggie pee pads that I spread out all around the litter box. I kept putting her in the box, and eventually, around 8 weeks old or so, she began using the box. After that, she never went outside of it again, though I left the pee pads out for a few more weeks.

I think your kitten will sort it out soon too! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

One of my kittens decided she lined the bathmat if it's mot down she goes to the box one of six we have out, scooped twice daily at least[emoji]128586[/emoji]I need to use good cleaner on the floor in front of the shower then replace the bathmat I think . Probably your matt smells like her pee to her and she keeps repeating the action! You can by disposable bed pads cheap at home heath care pharmacies there like puppy pads.

I agree with @sarthur2 ... she probably just needs a little more time, and may be particularly finicky. The cats +1 litterbox rule is a good one, and I agree with @Red Top Rescue that it would be the way to go whenever possible. It is possible to use only one box for two cats, but that really depends on the personalities and preferences of the cats, and how dedicated you will be to scooping a few times a day. I had 2 cats and one litterbox for 12 years, with no problems. It just depends on the kitties, whether they'll agree to it, and whether you're willing to be diligent about keeping it clean for them. Good luck with your babes!

Thank you all so much for your advice!  I'm changing out the mat so that she won't smell where she was going before.  I also bought another box this morning.  Between those things, I'll also just be patient and see how this goes.  I've been grateful that she is at least going in the right area, an area of floor that easy to clean  up!  I just wasn't sure if I was doing something wrong.  This is really my first time being a pet parent.  I mean, we had pets when I was growing up, but the only cat we had we got when I was 4 years old!  So this is really all very new to me!