Mom does not litter train kittens...

It is my neighbor's cats again... Right now kittens are 4 weeks old and started kitten food. It looks like the mom does not clean up them any more, nor does she teach them to use litter box... :-S

I think the mom might be inexperienced since she is the first time mom.

How can we litter train the little ones?

By the way, the litter box is always in the bathroom without lights on, is that a problem? (since the kittens might not able to see in dark places)

Thanks for your information :-)

When the babies have gone potty in an inappropriate place, take some of the solid waste and place it in the litter. Or soak up the fluid with a paper towel and place that in the litter. When you see them begin to squat or dig around in an inappropriate place, put them IN the litter and stay there with them until they go. Take their little paws and gently mimic the covering motion ... they will eventually get the hang of it.

You're right about them being in the dark. It's possible their sight may be already affected by constantly being in the dark. Your neighbor needs to have a dim light (like a night light) burning all the time in the bahroom and a proper light on for at least a few hours a day.

Click on this link: http://www.kitten-rescue.com/four_to_five_weeks.html to see how to help litter train young kittens. At four weeks, it's normal for them to not properly have the hang of using the litter tray yet.

Abufish..I know this is your neighbor's cat...but if she needs a low cost spay clinic for when her cat has weaned it's kittens, and she lives in the USA, she can go here:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

She should keep her mom cat indoors only until she has a chance to have mom spayed.

Katie

If they are in the bedroom, under the bed, and the litterbox is in the bathroom, they may not be able to find it. I would put a second litterbox with low sides closer to the nest. (Be sure to use regular clay litter, as kittens will eat clumping litter and it can make them sick.)

Kittens are babies, so they don't think about using the litterbox. But if it is really close, they will just start using it within a few days. I usually find a few mistakes on the floor before all the babies get the hang of it. It can be a bit of a messy process!

Thanks for helping this neighbor out. I'm sure she is glad to have someone to talk to with all her questions. I read your other thread, and I'm glad the yellow kitten is doing fine.

Thanks to you all, I asked my neighbor to try put kittens' waste in the litter box first, so might give mom a clue, and she agrees to put a light in bathroom. We'll wait and see what happens.

I also suggested that there are low cost spay places (there is one in our local) but she did not seem interested :-(. Probably "hint" her a few more times and see if she agrees...

Anyway, mom and all kittens are doing quite well as I saw yesterday... Kittens started jumping and running... a pale yellow one can actually climb onto the bed! Yellow is doing quite well but he IS really a whining devil ;-) I will adopt one of them (but don't know which one yet, already 5 friends came and want to adopt), so basically I'm just trying to bond to them all and hope they all adapt to human enviornment easily after go to the new home. :-D In a group of kittens is like heaven ... when I sit there watching, they slept on my arms and around me, so sweet!

By the way, in the litter there're two long hairs and 4 short hairs, looks like the longer hair ones are more quiet and much bigger. They always look "confused" and not very active, but if you play with them, they do respond after a while and play crazy... Is that gene? Or gender related?

Again, thanks to you all, I will post updates on their progress after my next visit (this weekend). It's nice to have this forum :-D

By the way, in the litter there're two long hairs and 4 short hairs, looks like the longer hair ones are more quiet and much bigger. They always look "confused" and not very active, but if you play with them, they do respond after a while and play crazy... Is that gene? Or gender related?

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There is a good chance that there may have been more than one father...which could explain the difference in their size and temperment.

Yes...please keep "hinting" about having her cat spayed. It is actually healthier for her cat to be spayed.

Katie

Yah keep a litter box where its easily reachable to the kittens. They are like toddlers, when they feel they need to go if a box isn't in site they will go where they are. Also if they have any sort of intestinal parasite it might be harder for them to hold it.

If htey seem not completely coherant when playing...mostly its probably because they are still figuring the world out. It takes a while for them to absorbe whats going on around them.

Originally Posted by Abufish

... They always look "confused" ...

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When my girl Lexus has her first litter last year, she did so in my bed and firmly put boot to concrete about keeping them there. No matter how often I would try to move them into the queening crate in a more appropriate place, she would keep moving them right back, so I put her queening crate up on the bed - she was happy enough with that and as the story goes, I slept with the crate and kittens there next to me for the better part of 4 weeks. *grin*

I will never, ever forget the morning one of the babies decided to poke his little face out from behind the blanket that was covering the crate ... he was just a little thing, eyes had only been open about a week or so, and just as he peeked out, I woke up ... well, I opened my eyes and he stopped, wobbled about for a second then got this wide-eyed look as if to say "WHOA! WHAT ARE YOU?????" before turning around and running back into the crate and the protection of his mommy. *giggle*

Originally Posted by gayef

When my girl Lexus has her first litter last year, she did so in my bed and firmly put boot to concrete about keeping them there. No matter how often I would try to move them into the queening crate in a more appropriate place, she would keep moving them right back, so I put her queening crate up on the bed - she was happy enough with that and as the story goes, I slept with the crate and kittens there next to me for the better part of 4 weeks. *grin*

I will never, ever forget the morning one of the babies decided to poke his little face out from behind the blanket that was covering the crate ... he was just a little thing, eyes had only been open about a week or so, and just as he peeked out, I woke up ... well, I opened my eyes and he stopped, wobbled about for a second then got this wide-eyed look as if to say "WHOA! WHAT ARE YOU?????" before turning around and running back into the crate and the protection of his mommy. *giggle*

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LOL thats great!! Oh boy that would never be allowed in our house...my fiance would not appreciate that. Hehe that is sooo cute though.

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

LOL thats great!! Oh boy that would never be allowed in our house...my fiance would not appreciate that. Hehe that is sooo cute though.

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My husband and I are on opposite shifts for our jobs ... he sleeps during the day and I sleep at night. He has a "day room" as he calls it that is extra-sound-insulated and has the room-darkening drapes - with absolutely ZERO cats. He works around heavy manufacturing machines and cannot afford to sleep poorly. The safety issues could be potentially disasterous!

So, I have my room and he has his room. The cats are in my room. Of course. Like they would BE anywhere else. Ever. If I am in my room, the cats are in my room. Always. *sigh*