Big Problem!!!

I have a huge problem but let me give you some backround first.....

I rescued two kittens in July, they are sisters and are now about 19 weeks old. When I first got them they had coddedia and since have been cured. Bonnie one of the sisters has been having trouble going to the bathroom since I got her. She has been to the vet numerous times and they can't seem to find anything wrong with her For awhile the constipation was BAD, poop would get stuck and the vet would have to remove it, it would come out all dry and hard, and she would scream because of the pain. She spent two days in the emergency vet once. She is on a stool softner and laxatone to help her move things along. Right from the beginning she neve used the litter pan to poop but she used it to pee, and I know this is probably because she associates it with pain. But she is doing better now. Her poop is soft and not hard anymore and I never hear her crying in pain. She goes in the litter box scratches around but she continues to poop under the couch And this morning she went pee and poop under the couch.....

She is a very happy kitten she loves to run and jump and play and keeps me up at night playing with my feet. She is very affectionate and loves to cuddle with me. My questions are:

1. How can I get her to go poop in the litter pan?? I have tried new pans, new litter etc...

2. Has anyone ever heard of this problem in kittens

The vet said she could have a small rectum and maybe she would grow out of it. On out last visit she expressed her anal glands and didn't get much of anyting out..... Any advice woluf be helpful!

Thanks

Yes, the pain and memory of the pain is surely the mainly responsible.

With a little luck this will perhaps be better in time as the painful memory fades.

You may try with several litterpans.

Much water to lessen the risk of pooh being hard.

You may try with her in one room, litter pan in one corner, food in another, water in third, her layingplace in fourth. Some playthings and soft classical music so she dont feels alone.
In this way she re-learns to do in litter-pan.

But. In those cases the solution is sometimes to let them be outdoors cats. Perhaps on a farm or something, so it wont hurt anybody if she does her everywhere...


Good luck!

You may have tried this already, but, since she seems to prefer under the sofa to do her business.....maybe a hooded litter box will help. Many cats will not use a litter pan, if it is not completely private. Maybe your litter pan is in a high traffic area?

Your kitten sounds like she may have had Mega-colon. If it is not severe, most grow out of it and are able to eliminate waste normally as adults.

Thanks for all the advice. Letting Bonnie go outside is not an option! I live in a busy area and would never let my cats out!

I have hooded litte pans now, one with a flap and two without the flap. I am going to move one litter box to a more private area and see if that helps. The weird thing is she goes in the litter box scratches around for awhile and a couple times I have seen her poop in it but mostly she goes under the couch. I may also put a small litter pan under the couch, just to see what she does. Our couch has a large opening under it.

Thanks Again... I am going to do some more research about mega colon

Yes, the private idea is good.

A little pan under the couch man work, but

A extra idea may be to spread little food under the sofa! They dont do theirs on food!
I saw an advice to glue the dry food...

Another idea. If you see her do the poo in the litter pan or hut as she does sometimes! - do reward her! So it will be extra clear to her making hers in the litter is something good! Have something extra good near, only to fetch in a second. Some cat goodie.

When you clean up under the couch, do you put the poop in the garbage? When I was litter training my kitten, I found the only thing that helped with the pooping on the floor, was to take the poop (in a scoop of course), and put it into the litter box. I locked her in the room with me when I did this (she stayed in my bedroom for the first month or so until she was fully trained), and made sure that she watched me pick it up, I'd bring it over and let her look at it, then she'd watch me go over and place it in the box. Then I would pet her, and show her the poop in the box, and pet her again, and I just kept this routine up. I would praise her excessively when she went in the box, and eventually she was only going there. Maybe this form of conditioning would work?

You also need a good enzyme cleaner to get the poop smell out of your carpet. You can go here to look at all the different websites offering these

Odor and Stain Control If you don't remove the odor, the cat will go back repeatedly and poop in the same spot.

Thanks! I have never had to litter train a cat or kitten. My cats have always gone straight for the litter pan!

I cleaned with Natures Miracle and I will do it again this weekend.