Urination problem

About a month ago, I took in a (then 7 week-old) kitten that a friend of mine had found and couldn't keep. A bit of background, he was found when she and her grandmother were driving in Houston and saw a woman putting him on the side of the road. When they picked him up, he was dazed and bleeding a little from the nose and mouth, but other than being malnourished and having a broken canine, he was fine. (We're guessing he was caught in the wake of a tractor-trailer.) Once I brought him home, he used his litter box just fine... for about a day.

He likes to pee on plastic bags, box lids, and my bed. I've taken him to the vet and found that he's perfectly healthy (and a urinalysis ruled out a UTI.) For a while, we were thinking that he was just so excited that he peed in the first place he saw. But this theory was disproven when he woke up from a nap on my lap, walked into the bathroom where his food and litter box are (I have to keep him in there while I'm at work for his safety and that of my pet rats) for a snack, walked back into my room and squatted on my pillow. When he's in the bathroom, he uses his litter box with no problem.

I'm moving to a new apartment this weekend and wondering what tips y'all could offer once we both get a fresh start. The vet suggested multiple litter boxes, I've purchased enzymatic cleaner, and I'm more than willing to listen to any bits of wisdom y'all can impart.

He is really small and has no bathroom manners. He remembers when he could pee and poop wherever he was and momcat will clean up. Guess what? You are momcat. It is extremely rare for a just weeks old kitten to have a UTI, he is just free peeing and pooping because that is what kittens taken from their mom way to early do. Ideally, he should go to a home at 12 weeks old. But he was lost, or abandoned, so you need to have patience and put him in one room when he eats (preferably the bathroom) have his food and his litter pans available, he should have two pans and they can't be right next to the food. Don't have a bathroom mat with a rubber back in the bathroom, that invites cats and kittens to pee on it. Keep him in there until he has done his business, then let him out. You can lessen his anxiety of being confined if you can put a pet proof screen door on the bathroom instead of a solid door.

hi,
i would probably reccommend moving his food into another room(or even just outside the bathroom) as cats are very clean creatures and wont deposite waste near their food or bed. Then when you go out move his food into the bathroom but well away from the tray. Peeing on plastic bags is more common than you might think, it can be a sign of stress. As he feels the need to "mark" anything new/strange as his environment . I would probably advise getting a plug in defuser that emits a replica female hormone that they would get from their mother. It calms them down and makes them feel at ease with their surroundings. We cant smell it so its great. In Engand they are called Feli Friend. It should also reduce he urge to mark items.
Hope this helps. good luck

I brought home a 6 week old feral kitten from a TNR clinic a month ago - yesterday. Unfortunately, he doesn't like to tinkle in the litter box. He'll go next to it or in the corner or along the wall, but rarely in one of the 4 boxes I have set up for him. I kept putting the boxes wherever he was going. Fortunately, he hasn't ever gone on the bed. He will tinkle on paper towels and in the nylon play cubes, as well as the carpet. I thought may be he was avoiding the box if there was already something in it. But I've been keeping them clean and several times the other boxes had nothing in them during tinkle on the carpet times.

Sometimes he will go in the litter box. When he does I praise him no end! And when he squats outside the box, I pick him up and put him in the box mulitple times (provided I can catch him before he starts).

I'm using Swheat scoop litter. It's not next to his food. He has the run of the master bedroom during times when I separate him from the other 4 established putty tats. The rest of the time he has the run of the house. I'm at a loss.

Originally Posted by kitten queen

I would probably advise getting a plug in defuser that emits a replica female hormone that they would get from their mother. It calms them down and makes them feel at ease with their surroundings. We cant smell it so its great. In Engand they are called Feli Friend. It should also reduce he urge to mark items.
Hope this helps. good luck

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I believe that the analog in America is Feliway, which you can buy in Petco or Petsmart. It comes in a diffuser and in a spray bottle, I believe.