Problems Litter Training Young Kitten

[Anquish]

About a week ago my wife and I got a new male kitten. He's the only pet in the house so no others for him to take example from. We were told he is litter trained, and 7 weeks old... But he is tiny and could be anywhere from 5-7 weeks.

He is having a lot of problems with the litter tray. At first he wouldn't use it at all so I've been following online advice to keep showing him the tray at appropriate times etc and have beenusing newspaper. I've got him to the point where 9/10 times if u place him in the tray he will use it, or continue to if u catch him beginning to go outside of the tray and put him in.

I find find that he will get to the point were maybe once a day he will go to and use the tray himself as if trained, but then next time he needs to go will revert to using the carpet etc...

Does anyone have any advice in this respect? I know its only been 5-6 days so some patience is necessary and he is definitely improving, I'm just wondering if anyone has had similar problems/how they overcame them and maybe how long I should expect the training process to take? Many thanks in advance

 

[Mamanyt1953]

He is very young, isn't he? I'd add a litter box or two, at least until he is older and his control is a little better, also, is the box you have low enough for him to get into without clambering over the sides? If his need is urgent, he may just consider the climb to be too much bother. You can, until he grows a bit, use a disposable baking pan from the grocery store and cut one side down for him, for easy entrance.

The good news is that he DOES know what the box is for...we just need to fine-tune things. In the normal way of things, he'd have stayed with mama until he was 10-12 weeks, and she would have attended to all of that.

 

[Anquish]

Thanks for the advice. No he's easily able to get in and out of both litter trays, I've already got a second one from reading about this sort of problem. He doesn't seem to have a preference to either...

But yea ive been thinking he is quite young, as u can see from the pictures.. I just wasnt sure what to make of what seems like progress then him having a few more accidents...

Aside from that, he couldn't be a more beautiful cat, has incredible temperament, very gentle even when wound up going crazy playing and sleeps with us for every nap and night

 

[catlitterguru]

Patience and persistence are the only advice I can give. Every cat is different so it is hard to say how long your training will take. Seeing that he uses it from time-to-time, that is encouraging. In addition to @Mamanyt1953’s advice, consider containing him in a small space. Keeping his living space close to the litter box so he can get to the box quickly if needed. After all kittens have a small bladder.

 

[Anquish]

I think our house is pretty good for that anyway, we live in a small one bedroom unit and are keeping access to the bedroom cut off after an accident or two on the bed, and also to keep him restricted to a small area so he isn't ever more than about 3-4 meters from the box at most...

 

[danteshuman]

1) Non clumping litter is a must because kitten will eat it ... especially a wee baby his age. 2) A very low litter pan or cut an entrance for him to get in & out of. 3) I would restrict him to 1 room for the month. When you leave the house I would put him in his room until he is at least 4 months old but I'm a worrier. It will make kitten proofing easier. Also you will be able to locate him with ease. (Kittens get into & climb every thing!) I would return him to his room, placing him in the litter box after he eats for the first couple of weeks to help him understand he needs to go _here_. I would also let him out of his room an hour at a time with supervision (you might want to make it your bedroom so he can sleep with you. He wants to, trust me!) 4) If he has any accidents I would clean it with an enzyme cleaner. I would also put his poo in the box and leave it there for 12-24 hours. You also want to keep his box clean because kittens roll around in that stuff or/& play in their litter boxes.

* You might want to stock up on lots of toys & some kitten chew toys ahead of time. Kittens turn into beavers when they teeth from 3.5-6 months of age. 2-3 months is about when the kitten crazies/kitten zoomies kick in to They also need kitten food for the first 12-18 months.

Congrats on your new family member we will be here to help in any way we can, when he becomes a crazy cat at 3 months an aloof teen and finally a confident adult cat

 

[Mamanyt1953]

No additional advice, and THANK YOU danteshuman , I entirely forgot about the non-clumping litter!

He is, BTW, past adorable and I am entirely kittensmitten.