Un-litter trainable kitties!!!!

My kittens are currently 4 weeks old, are weaned so they are eating solids (and also nurse from their mum). They have therefore just started to do big poops, and we are finding them deposited all over the room!

We have tried putting them in their mini litter tray which is next to their mums litter tray, after meal times, and when we catch them in the act but the rest of the time they seem to prefer a quiet corner of the room! Their mums litter tray is covered so they are probably not learning from their mum as they should, but she is currently suffering from GI problems, so they cannot share a litter tray at the moment, and have their own smaller uncovered version next to it.

How long should it take for kitties to become litter trained, and is there any way I can teach them to do it?

Well I always thought the mother was the one who taught them that if the mother also uses a litterbox.

Isn't 4 weeks AWFULLY young to be weaned and eating solid foods? They need to be with the mother until they are 10-12 weeks old!

If they are using the same corner, how about putting the litter tray there? They might not like being near mum's if it is covered.

I would confine them to a smaller area - like a bathroom; not the entire bedroom. Or if you have a large cage, confine them in there.

When breeding my rexes, the mom/kittens stayed in the "tokoyo cage" (a very large multi-shelf wire cage) till the kittens were big enough to get out on their own - at about 8-10 weeks old. During that time they played, nursed, and learn how to use the litter box. Mom could come/go as she pleased but the kittens stayed in the cage with a shallow litter pan.

The barn kittens that we had would be brought inside at around 5 weeks old and trained in the bathroom to use the pan. Mom would be brought in too till the kittens were weaned.

I agree - put the litterbox in the corner they're currently going in. It's the only way to teach them that they should go in the box and not on the floor.

They are way to young and if momcat is in the picture let her do the training, she is more capable. Put down wee pads on the floor to catch mistakes and let the babies make their mistakes- because they are going to.

I know how you feel. Mine are 7 weeks old and for the most part, they go in the various litters I have around the babsement. Unfortunately, one thinks the shower is a terrific place to go poo...

They used to pee on the floor in a corner so I put a small litter box there and that worked great. Obviously, I can' use that technique in the shower...

They'll get it eventually !

Originally Posted by Jen

Well I always thought the mother was the one who taught them that if the mother also uses a litterbox.

Isn't 4 weeks AWFULLY young to be weaned and eating solid foods? They need to be with the mother until they are 10-12 weeks old!

Click to expand...

They started eating solid (wet food mashed into a paste) just before they were 4 weeks old. We were told to do this asap by my vet, and really they seem to be doing great on it - they munch away on the food quite happily. And they are still nursing from their mum and will until they go to their permanent homes (prob at 10 weeks).

Their poos seem to be ok, a nice soft consistency, so I can't really see any problem with the solid foods. They are slowly learning to use the litter tray, but are not really covering their waste yet. They are now confining their toilet moments to a specific area of the room, and also climb into their litter tray to use it on occasion! I think it will be a few more days before they have it down, but for now I think I will move the tray to their favourite corner.

Does anyone else have any opinion as to the weaning age? Reading around I got the impression this was a good age to begin weaning them, Im starting to get worried that Im stunting them somehow now!

Does anyone else have any opinion as to the weaning age? Reading around I got the impression this was a good age to begin weaning them, Im starting to get worried that Im stunting them somehow now!

I really don't think you are stunting them...sounds like they are doing great & thank-you for keeping them for 10 wks./finding them good homes.

As a human mother for many a abandoned kitten and/or foster baby...I usually start weaning around 5-6 weeks. I like to leave some of it up to the individual kitten...you can tell they might be ready for some "real" food when they start nibbling on the bottle nipple. Presently, my 6-week old kitten is completely off the bottle but drinking KMR out of a small bowl. On the other hand, I have two 8-week old brothers...one still cries for a bottle and the other took to eating/drinking from a bowl at 5 weeks. Go figure!

Food for all the kittens is premium kitten wet food mixed with premium kitten dry food and side dish of KMR.

Thanks leesali thats a relief to know - i have been feeding them kmr as well (we've been supplementing as the mother has had some problems - vomiting and diarrhea, the vets aren't sure whether its a womb infection or worms or gut infection), and i had a go today at getting them to lap kmr from a bowl - they aren't too interested for the moment..but i will keep trying!

btw we moved the litter tray and one of the kittens just wee-ed in the original litter spot! ..the battle goes on!