Puzzled and frustrated 2 kittens

Hi all

I really hope someone can give me some advice.

I have 2 Bengal Kittens i love them too bits, they were from the same litter.
A male and a female.
They are very intelligent after just 2 weeks they have figured out their names and come when I call them.

But I have a problems.

They are very comfortable with the litter box and the filling that I use and they seem to use it 99% of the time. Problem come with that last 1%. They seem to just randomly decide that now is a good time to pee. Squat down and start to pee. I then shout at them and lock them up in the “cats roomâ€. I clean where they pee and use a sort of anti pee spray, and thus far they have not peed in the same place twice. I have tried rubbing them in it (once each) but from what I read here that is not the way to go. I never hit them but do have to hold them tightly on the way to the “cats roomâ€. I always try to make friends afterwards to show that I am not mad. How can I stop them from peeing, they are lovely smart cats and I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t understand why they are doing this.

Any advice would be appreciated.

PS. they are happy using the litterbox at the same time, and it even seems that if one is in there the other one goes in and join in the “funâ€

Perhaps there may be a urinary tract infection present? I only suggest that becasue a friend's cat was doing much the same thing, and that's what the cause of it turned out to be. It might be best to check with your vet on that one.

Good luck,

Sue

Also give them a second litter pan. And please see our thread about this that exists alreadyhttp://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9563

Could it be they are trying to mark their territory? Try some Feli-way too. But, I would aggree with millyanddaisy and get them checked at a vet for a urinary tract infection, which I've heard cause similar behavioral problems.

We have to be extra careful to keep Peaches in, because if she gets out and stays out too long, she starts peeing on everything. The first time, mom asked the vet about it and he said she was just marking.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to The Cat Site! It's great to have you here amoung other cat lovers! We are all here for any questions you might have, or if you just need a friend! I hope to see pictures of your fur babies (your cats) soon! I can't wait to see! If you need any help, you can always Private Message (PM) a mod for any questions! To do so, click on their in the top left corner of their post, and select "Send a Private Message to _______." You can do this with anyone who has PMing turned on! I would suggest posting in the "New Cats On The Block" Forum, where all your questions can be answered, and you can receive many heartfelt welcomes! There are post in there that are "Sticky Posts", which means they stay on the top of the forum section, and you can read those and get information about the site. If there are any additional questions, the moderators are there to help! I hope you enjoy the site!

WELCOME!

Like Hissy says, give them at least one more litter box - cats like to pee and poop in different places and at present they can't do that 'legally'. Though if you get a second box you may find that one cat uses one to pee and the other to poop and the other cat does the opposite! Mine do that.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

Like Hissy says, give them at least one more litter box - cats like to pee and poop in different places and at present they can't do that 'legally'. Though if you get a second box you may find that one cat uses one to pee and the other to poop and the other cat does the opposite! Mine do that.

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I have two litter boxes, and found that one mainly had poo, while the other mainly had pee. Some of each will be in each litter box, but, mostly, there's one type in each besides a few clumps. You'd be surprised by how cats are!

Ideally you need three litter pans- but most people don't understand that. Most people only usually have one or two and that goes against the cat's natural instinct. And because they are bengals, they are more closely entwined to their natural instincts than other more domesticated housecats- depending on which type they are- F1 F2 or F3

two litter pans, that's step one. two is having them checked out by a vet for a UTI. Also, how old are they? they could be marking, are you going to have them spayed?

the kittens are only 3 1/2 months old.

Today has been a disaster, the male kitten who only once have peed outside the little box did a record 3 pee's all over the house. each time i caught him and after some serious words i put him in the litterbox.

The Female has been good so far for the last 3 days. And she use to be the biggest culprit.

I am starting to think towards UTI and maybe take them to the vet to have them checked. Also i am going to have both "fixed" at 9 months.

each time they pee i clean up and then spray with a stay away spray, and so far i have not had them pee in the same place twice.

Also when the male pee's then it is not like a spray but just a puddle on the floor.

Any advice would be much appreciated as i am running out of ideas.

3 and 1/2 months is YOUNG. how old were they when you got them? I remember when we were waiting for Marsh to get ready to go home (he did at 4 months) other littermates were still peeing outside of the box so it's OK

who gave them to you this young, btw? it's irresponsible.

Maybe you should try placing more litter boxes around the house. Them being so young, they are still learning, and their bladders are still small, and they may be having accidents. Try placing more litter boxes in different parts of the house.

i only got them 3 weeks ago.

And it is a very acceptable time to recieve them. They have spent alot of time with the breeder making sure they are physically well. in essence you can have a kitten anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks, so 12 weeks is MORE than enough.

I also got them from a registered professional breeder so i trust in her judgement.

Taking them to the vet this morning, let see what he finds.

Sounds like when Hans has stones. He would just suddenly have to go, and would squat wherever he was standing, including while eating from the food dish.

I hope the vet can figure out what's wrong!

And from working at a shelter, 3 months is the norm for sending home. Actually, 6 weeks is way too young, and even 8 weeks can be too early in some cases.

Originally Posted by Panther101

i only got them 3 weeks ago.

And it is a very acceptable time to recieve them. They have spent alot of time with the breeder making sure they are physically well. in essence you can have a kitten anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks, so 12 weeks is MORE than enough.

I also got them from a registered professional breeder so i trust in her judgement.

Taking them to the vet this morning, let see what he finds.

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I got my cat from the breeder too, and what this IRRESPONSIBLE breeder told you is NOT true. it's NOT ok for them to go home at 6-8 weeks! Did you read any books on this before adopting? They will tell you the age to go home is 12 weeks - they are too young to be separated this early.

Think about this, if it's not any medical condition, they WHY are they doing it???

Originally Posted by RarePuss

I got my cat from the breeder too, and what this IRRESPONSIBLE breeder told you is NOT true. it's NOT ok for them to go home at 6-8 weeks! Did you read any books on this before adopting? They will tell you the age to go home is 12 weeks - they are too young to be separated this early.

Think about this, if it's not any medical condition, they WHY are they doing it???

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Rare Puss, I think what "Puzzled and Frustrated" said was that she got her two kittens when they were 12 weeks old, which is old enough for them to go to a new home. Ideally kittens should go to new homes between 12 to 16 weeks of age after being well socialized while still with their Moms.

Now, I am wondering if with the stress of leaving Mom and coming to a new home they might have a mild urinary tract infection. If they havent had that checked with the vet since their arrival you should consider doing that. Another possibility is that their litter boxes at their first home weren't kept as clean as possible so they got into the habit of going elsewhere at that time , perhaps following the lead of their mother. This is only a suggestion for why they might be inconsistent in their use of the box and not trying to cast any aspersions on their breeder.

Perhaps, for the time being, have a number of small boxes located in different places around the house so they feel that they have lots of options. Use the Cat Attract litter in each box and see if that resolves the problem. If it does, then very very gradually, decrease the boxes starting with the one they use the least until you have 3 boxes in different areas around the house.

You will want to try and 'catch' them in the act of using the litter boxes as well and praise them profusely, telling them what good boys they are. Then, when they make a mistake and you catch them, don't yell at them, just pick them up (even in mid act) and take them to the nearest box , and only then start petting them and giving them attention so that they associate the litter box with 'good things' and other locations have nothing - no good or bad associations. Then clean up the place where they had their mistakes with a good enzymatic cleaner. As well, are the boxes ones with fairly high sides? Those are fine for big cats but sometimes small kittens can find the high sides intimidating or too much work when they have to go NOW:-).

Good luck in finding a solution.

Kathryn

One more suggestion - you may wish to consider having them neutered at younger than 9 months. Most cats become sexually mature at around 6 months - some younger and some older, so you may wish to plan on 6 months, then be prepared to move sooner than that if one or both show signs of sexual maturity. One of mine came into heat at the age your kittens are right now. You will want to prevent either of them coming into sexual maturity since once they figure out what it is all about, it is a lot harder to reverse any behaviour related to sexual maturity. It is a lot easier to prevent it by never allowing it to start.

Good luck at the vets - I just reread your response saying you were taking them in this morning.

Kathryn

Originally Posted by Kathryn41

Rare Puss, I think what "Puzzled and Frustrated" said was that she got her two kittens when they were 12 weeks old, which is old enough for them to go to a new home. Ideally kittens should go to new homes between 12 to 16 weeks of age after being well socialized while still with their Moms.

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Originally Posted by Panther101

the kittens are only 3 1/2 months old.

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Originally Posted by Panther101

i only got them 3 weeks ago.

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Kathryn, with all due respect -- No, she got them at about 2.5 months or 10 weeks, a little too young for me.

Originally Posted by RarePuss

Kathryn, with all due respect -- No, she got them at about 2.5 months or 10 weeks, a little too young for me.

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Hehehhe, let's split the difference - we will call it 11 weeks.

(okay - March 20 to Feb 20 = 1 month
Feb 20 to Jan 20 = 1 month
Jan 20 to Dec 20 = 1 month
plus 2 weeks = Dec 6 which appears to be their birthdate.

Back 3 weeks from March 20 is February 27. December 6 to February 27 is actually 11 weeks and 6 days - 1 day short of 12 weeks. Of course, this is all supposition that they were born December 6th.)

I mean no offense, as it does sound like you have had some serious issues with breeders who are not as responsible to their kittens as they could be. I do appreciate your concerns and it does have its place, however this matter is probably better brought up with the breeder than with Panther, who is trying to be a responsible owner and is seeking advice about her kittens' behaviour.

Panther, how did the vet's visit go today? Did you get any answers?

Kathryn