Need help litter training my 5 month old kitten...

[angel1437]

We have 2 cat's one that is a kitten at 5 months old and one that is an adult just a little over a year old.Our adult cat is fine with using the littler box.Our kitten on the other hand is really testing me I think.He will not go in the box he will go beside it or in front of it.He will also go beside the back door behind my broom.I took him in last month for a vet check and he ran some test and there is no health problems.The vet said maybe he will calm down when we have him fixed in November.Even though we are guessing him to be 5 months old the vet want's to wait to make sure he is of age before fixing him.The reason is we found him out side after a female cat had a litter of kittens and the people wanted them out of there yard.He was the only kitten out of the whole litter of 6 that lived.So not knowing his exact about age the vet said it is better to wait.Well anyway like I said he won't use the litter box I have tried other brands of litter. My dad and my husband had found some that said for kittens last week on it and brought it home and I am trying it now and no luck.We also have 2 litter box's set up one that is the dome type that is our adult cat's box she has always been used to it.I have what is a pink wash tub like thing you would get from the hospital for the kitten with his litter in it.I also put his poop in it and nothing.I am going to try putting him in the bathroom tonight to see what he does I read about that a little bit ago on here.Also he has tried going outside 3 different times my friend said maybe he could be wanting to use it out there but my dad really don't want him going in and out.He want's him only to be a full house cat plus we have other females around that are wild and not fixed so don't need any more kittens running around Our female in the house is fixed so no worry's there..Any other advice would be great.Thanks....

 

[Ms. Freya]

Hi Angel1437, welcome to TCS!

A great litter to start with is "Cat Attract" it's meant to entice cats into the litter box. You can also try putting him in the box and using his feet to scratch at the litter - the behavior is instinctual, so sometimes that starts it up. How tall is his litter box? Smaller kittens don't always like to use the box if they have to work to get into it, so you may want to start with something with lower sides until he gets the hang of it.

Good luck! It really sounds like you're on the right track.

Also, we have several members who've litter-trained their kittens before, so I'm sure some of them will be along soon with some suggestions.
 

 

[missymotus]

Kittens can be neutered once they reach 1kg/2lbs, which is around 8-10 weeks of age. There is no reason to wait until 6 months, I'd be finding a vet who is more up to date on things. 

Your father is quite correct on keeping him indoors, unless you build an enclosure or take him out on a harness/lead so he can be outside safely. 

Keep him confined to a smallish room, with a couple of litter trays so he gets the idea of where he's meant to go. Several days to a week should be long enough, depends on the kitten. 

Also make sure you are properly cleaning the areas outside the trays, an enzyme cleaner (biological laundry powder works well and is cost effective) removes all odours so they don't re-soil the area. 

 

[otto]

Those hospital wash tubs aren't very big. Give him a larger lower sided litter box. Cats like room to maneuver. Give him two of these boxes. Many cats prefer to poop in one and pee in the other.

And by all means, get him neutered before his pee starts to stink! :lol3: