# going insane, kitten won't use litter box, tried everything!



## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

About three weeks ago, I brought home a stray kitten (the vet said that she was about six weeks old.) Since I've had her here, there have been litterbox issues. I've seriously tried everything. I have two boxes, and I keep them meticulously clean, and the area around them is clean, too. I have tried scented and unscented litter (no, I didn't switch litter on her all of a sudden, one box was filled with scented, one with unscented, then I started to mix them very slowly--she had absolutely no preference.) The litter box is in a private place in the bathroom, and I don't have any other cats or animals, so there's nothing to traumatize her while she's in there. I haven't switched her food on her, either. She uses it fine MOST of the time, but every so often she goes on the floor--and she never goes in the same place twice (perhaps because I clean like mad as soon as she does.) I took her to the vet to see if she had an infection, even though she's really too little for that (so said the vet) but she doesn't.

Today, she started to pee on the floor. I picked her up so that I could take her to the litter box and show her to pee there, but she didn't stop peeing. She just kept peeing until I got her over the trashcan, which meant that there was a huge line of pee all over my carpet (which I immediately cleaned.) Then there was another time about a week ago when she pooped in the litter box, and then hopped out and immediately peed on the floor.

I've seriously read SO many forums and columns and websites about this--I have a free booklet from Purina Cat Chow about raising a kitten, and I've read that, too. I have tried every bit of advice I can find on the internet, and tried to fix any problem that the websites mention, and she still just doesn't always use the litter box. I asked the vet, and she said to just enclose the kitten in the small room with the litter box so she learns to use it--which I did. But every time it seems like she's been using the litter box great for a couple days, she suddenly decides she's sick of it and pees somewhere else. Most sources say that kittens should be relatively easy to litter box train, but I'm having a really hard time. I can't discern any sort of pattern as to when she goes and when she does not go in the litter box, either. I usually keep her enclosed in the bathroom when I'm not home, but she's peed on the bathroom floor, too, and on my bath mat (which I now do not keep on the floor--I keep it out of reach.) The vet also suggested a large cage--that's the only thing I haven't tried, because I can't bring myself to put her in a cage.

Does anyone have ANY advice for me? I seriously don't know what else to do--I can't find any information on the internet that I haven't already read or tried.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

First, welcome to CatForum.

Next, your kitten is still very much a BABY. Just like human toddlers who become engrossed in whatever activity they are doing; watching TV, eating or playing ... they do NOT want to stop and interrupt their activity to go to the bathroom so they ignore the signs their body is giving them ... until the urge reaches a critical point and they either take themselves to the bathroom or just 'go-where-they're-at' at that moment. IMO, anything further away than 10' could be too far for the young kitten. I keep my foster kittens enclosed in my master bathroom. During the times I let them into the bedroom to play and explore, I would invariably suffer some I-don't-want-to-stop-playing-exploring-to-go-potty and they've peed on my bed and carpet. They are so quick, I was never able to get to them in time to stop them or take them to the litterbox ... which was only about 15 feet away! _...but they were busy playing and didn't want to leave to go to the potty._

Also, your vet's advice about small places with the litterbox nearby is the best thing you can do to help make it easy for your kitten to do the right thing. When you have your kitten out and in the main area of the home with you, I would frequently carry her to the litterbox and place her inside it. You'll have to see how frequently you'll need to do this, maybe every half hour? 45min? or hour? ... whatever works and helps her to do the right thing.

Finally, I've noticed among the many litters of kittens I have fostered that the ages of about 5-6wks and through, sometimes up to 10-11wks are the worst for ignoring their urges and having accidents. Around 5-6wks of age they become very playful and inquisitive, ready to play and explore their world. As the kittens mature and age closer to 10-11wks, these accidents reduce in frequency as they learn to listen to their body's waste elimination signals. Just be patient and I am sure your kitten will mature and outgrow these frequent accidents.
Best of luck,
heidi =^..^=


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

> Most sources say that kittens should be relatively easy to litter box train, but I'm having a really hard time


As Heidi said, shes still so small. they're not even supposed to be separated from their moms until 12 weeks, one of the reasons being that its moms job to teach them about cleaning themselves and pooping etc during that period.


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

Thanks for the advice--that's what my parents keep saying to me, but a lot of websites and books and stuff say the kitten can be weaned at 6 weeks (she's 9 weeks now, in any case) and that even at that young age, they should easily use the litter box. Plus, what about the times she's literally looked at the litterbox (clean litterbox) and then decided to just not use it? Or gone in there, scratched around, and then gotten out and peed on the floor?

I'll definitely try just taking her to the litter box every half an hour to see if she has to use it.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Many people confuse "wean" with 'separate-from-family-and-give-away'. 
_That is NOT weaning!_ 
Weaning is transitioning the kittens to non-nursing foods like canned food and small-kibble dry food. Kittens begin showing interested between 4-5wks old and should be completely transitioned to receiving most of their nutrition from regular foods by 5-6wks old and only 'comfort-nursing' from their mother up to about 10-11wks. The kittens still need to remain with their mother through, and after, weaning so she can teach them all of the *other* cat-skills they need to know; eating, grooming, litterbox use and cat-manners.


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## ChelleBelle (Sep 14, 2009)

I got Brandy when she was 7/8 weeks, via the vet's info. Her age was unknown because she was found as a stray and her mom was dead. She was small and full of energy and LOVED to play at that age. She was OKAY at learning the litterbox at first. By the time she was 12-14 weeks we never had another accident while she was a baby. She would play with my family between 7-12 weeks and have a couple minor accidents, but learned quickly. Bella, my other cat, I got her at 12-13 weeks and she never had one litterbox problem. The difference in a few weeks can make a huge impact on the thought process of these babies.

'Chelle


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

I was in the bathroom, and the kitten looked like she was about to pee on my bath mat. She was scratching around and sniffing it. So I put her in the litter box, and she hopped right out, went over to the bath mat, and peed on it. I had JUST cleaned out the litter box. Am I doing something wrong here? I know she might be too little to find the litter box from another room, but the bathroom is a small room, the door was shut, and she was right there (the bath mat is not 3 feet from the litter box--but I usually keep it hanging from the shower curtain bar so it stays clean--it was down because I needed to shower.) I feel like I must be doing something wrong in trying to train her. She won't use the litter box sometimes even when it's clearly right there for her, and even when I show it to her to encourage her to use it. Then other times she uses it fine (and she poops in it totally fine. It's only the peeing thing.)


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

You aren't doing anything wrong, it sounds like you are doing everything right. Your kitten is just very, very young and I am sure she will outgrow this behavior. Also, some cats react to an odor that rubber-backed bathmats have. Our cat, BooBoo will always pee on a bathmat if he has the opportunity. He has always been like this, and he is the only one that does this ... so it is just a particular 'quirk' that he has. Seems like your kitten may have it, too. Finally, IF the kitten has peed on the rug and it was not cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner (_Nature's-Miracle Odo-Ban Simple-Solution_) ... it is very possible the kitten is smelling remnants of her urine and that odor is telling her "this" is a bathroom place. 
Another thing you could try, though I have never had occasion to use it ... is Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Litter.








Best of luck!
heidi =^..^=


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

> Plus, what about the times she's literally looked at the litterbox (clean litterbox) and then decided to just not use it? Or gone in there, scratched around, and then gotten out and peed on the floor?


At this point, understandably, it makes no sense to her to choose a less comfortable place than the comfy bathroom mat. Just like a human child wouldnt get that either.


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

Heidi n Q - I'll try getting a different bath mat without the rubber bottom. Thanks for the tip.

Faithless - the bath mat is only ever on the floor while I'm showering, and when I'm in the shower, I have it folded so the comfy side is not exposed. When I say she hops out to pee on the floor, I literally mean she hops out and pees on the linoleum. I don't see how that's more comfortable than a painstakingly clean (but unscented) litterbox.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I've never had a kitten, but I did have a cat who peed on soft surfaces all over the house. Long story short, I finally figured out that by giving her a litterbox that had only a soft surface in it -- a couple sections of folded newspaper -- she peed in that box like a champ and saved the litter for other things.  So maybe it's worth a shot. I do sympathize with how frustrating this kind of thing can be!


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

As others have said, giving a kitten the run of the house is almost sure to result in problems. They realize they have to go at most 10 seconds before they REALLY REALLY REALLY OMG HAVE TO GO!!!! So if you let them get too far from the LB, expect them to find someplace else. 

And I don't use rubber-backed bathmats for the precise reason Heidi said. :wink: 

I would make her up a comfy place to stay in a VERY SMALL room (like the bathroom). No carpet. There should be a LB, at least one comfy bed, and plenty of toys. When you are not home or unable to watch her, she should be in her room. Use babygates in the doorway if you can to keep her from feeling so isolated. 

When you are home and can watch, bring her to where you are--close doors so she is restricted to the room you are in and put down a LB. Take her to the LB every few minutes or so. I did this w/ Jonah until he was 14 weeks old--he never had a mistake, but I wasn't taking chances. They get distracted and forget -- returning the kitty to the box and just offering the opportunity to go will pay off. 

Just be patient -- she was very young to be separated from both mom and litter and she needs a little help. My Jonah was 3-4 weeks when I found him in the road, though, and he has developed into a lovely, normal kitty w/ great potty habits, so you CAN help do Mom's job and succeed!


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## china_cat84 (Apr 27, 2010)

I agree with what everyone says and I have another tip - maybe you're keeping the LB TOO clean? When I first got my kittens, they only used the LB maybe 50% of the time. I, too, cleaned the LB often and it was pretty much spotless. I really got sick and tired of cleaning up pee and poo from all over my bathroom (where they were kept). I decided to train them to use the box kind of like how I trained my dog to potty outside. My dog refused to go outside - he would much rather use a pee pad than go outside. So, we put his used pee pad outside to show him that the outside it where he needs to potty. We also kept him confined while in the house to a small area - an area that contained food and a bed so he would want to avoid pottying there. 

With my kittens, I just cleaned up the poo and pee with paper towels and put the paper towels in the LB - I had to do this, since the LB was clean at the time. Then, I would clean the area where they toileted with enzymatic cleaner and white vinegar. Then, I would put them in the box and let them smell the dirty paper towels. I also kept their food and beds withing 5 feet of the box. Not too close, because then the food would be deemed as "dirty" but close enough that they'd want to keep things clean.

You have to be creative too. My Pixie began to develop a liking to using the bathtub as a toilet. At first, she would only urinate in it, right over the drain. Then, she started pooping in it too and I'd have to clean up 2 or 3 poops every morning! She would only do it when I wasn't there - when I'd put her in the bathroom during the night or when I left the house. So, I cleaned out the bathtub and added enough water to the tub to cover the bottom and the drain - so if she decided to jump in, there would be a small splash. She never pooped or peed in the tub again!

You might try squirting your kitten with water when you catch her peeing/pooping outside the box. Instead of water, you could also spray her with compressed air-in-a-can. Sometimes making a loud noise works - like blowing a loud whistle. Anything that might startle her and make her associate that "annoying thing" with going outside the box. It might sound kinda mean, but sometimes the best aversion therapy is just squirting them with water or air.


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

Thanks everyone! She never had the run of the house (I always kept her in the bathroom while I was away) but I've been much more diligent about making sure she has litter box access and reminding her that it's there and that she should use it when I do take her out to play. And sometimes I just sit in the bathroom and play with her rather than taking her into the rest of the house. She'd started to use the tub this morning, but I filled it with an inch of water, so hopefully that works. And I think I may try the newspaper thing next, since it seems like soft, flat surfaces are her preference, as she always digs to the bottom of the litter box before using it.

You are all so helpful! I really appreciate all the advice. It has been so helpful and the accidents have gone down to almost none, the only one being the tub thing.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Yay! Do keep an eye on her, as peeing on slick surfaces is another sign indicating a UTI, but I am hoping the decrease of peeing incidents just means she is maturing and 'getting-the-hang' of being a big cat.


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## Harrypotterbabies (May 20, 2010)

I just got two kittens. We kept them in a room for the first couple of weeks that we had them with their litter box and their food and water dishes. Besides work and eating, we were in there with them during all of our spare time. They used the litter box 99% of the time. The other 1% I'm not sure what happened. But as of now they are each almost 6 months old and both using the litter box every time they need to go. 

I wonder if maybe your litter box's "private place" is a little too private? Maybe it's a little hard for your cat to get to if he's in a hurry?


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

Now I have to eat my words. Within an hour of posting last night, she peed on the linoleum right next to the litter box. Literally 4 inches away from it. Had she taken two more steps, she would have been inside. I hadn't tried the newspaper thing yet, but I had removed some of the litter so she could get to the bottom more easily (and she seemed to like that!) The private place isn't too private--it's under like a cabinet thing in my bathroom, but it's very easy to get to. I could crawl under there if I wanted to (I don't, but I could.) So it's private, but it's an easy access. There's nothing in the way of the boxes, either. It's a straight shot from basically any angle in the bathroom, she doesn't have to crawl over anything to get in them, doesn't have to crawl over or under anything to get to them.

So I'm still a bit baffled. She got wet this morning trying to get in the tub. I'd left an inch of water in there.


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

And she's just peed in her bed. Which is in the bathroom, which is where the litter box is. So it's not even that she doesn't have access to the litter box, now it's like she's choosing not to use it. Which is strange, because I haven't changed the litter brand, moved it, done ANYTHING to it other than kept it clean (and it's not neurotically clean, I generally clean it once a day, twice if it seems really full.)

Also, sometimes I notice when she's been sitting, she hasn't gone to the bathroom but there will be like a tiny bit of pee on the couch or something. Not that she PEED there, but like that she had to pee and it leaked out. Except when I take her to the litter box as soon as I see that, she doesn't have to go.

Wtf?


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## silverbook (Feb 3, 2005)

Are you using a traditional litter box? If so it is possible that the sides are too high for her when she really has to go. Especially since she is so young. You may want to try using a disposable cake pan as a litter box until she is a bit older.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

Anytime I've had young kittens in the house, I've put out a "starter" litterbox for them to use. The empty cat food case boxes work great because they are covered in plastic wrap. The boxes are less than 2" tall, so the little ones didn't have to jump in and out. It was almost like walking from one place right into the box. I think kittens do better going on something almost flat. And it seemed that the kittens always 'graduated' to the regular litterboxes on their own, when they were ready.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

catcupcake said:


> ...sometimes I notice when she's been sitting, she hasn't gone to the bathroom but there will be like a tiny bit of pee on the couch or something. Not that she PEED there, but like that she had to pee and it leaked out. Except when I take her to the litter box as soon as I see that, she doesn't have to go.
> 
> what the heck?


Sounds like she may need to have a vet visit. Is she a manx kitty?


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

She has a vet appointment coming up in a couple of days. Even though I've been keeping her in enclosed space with the litter box, and only letting her out under supervision, she still just won't use it sometimes. She'll basically choose anything over the litter box. The sides aren't too high--both my boxes are specifically for kittens, but that is an interesting consideration. I've experimented with keeping it really clean and only sort of clean, with the amount of litter in each box, with giving her treats after she's used it. But if there is ANYTHING on the floor, or if the water has drained out of the bathtub, she will pick those spots instead of the litter box. It's like the box is her last resort, only if nothing else is available.

And yet she has never had a problem pooping in it. She has ALWAYS pooped in the box. It's almost like she just PREFERS not to pee in the litter box. In which case I have NO idea what to do.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I haven't gone back to re-read replies, but someone here once solved their cat's pee-ing problem by giving her a place to pee that was similar to what she was peeing on. Her cat wanted to pee on folded newspapers in a litterbox next to the one with litter; one for pee, one for poo. 
You could try puppy wee-pads.
I also had a kitty going through a degenerating issue w/ his spine and he couldn't stand in the litter any longer so I gave him a tray with a towel in it. When he could no longer step over the sides I placed his towel on a flat carpet-protector mat, like used in hallways or under desk chairs.
Can you try different things?


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

I have you tried adding a second litter box? I gather some cats like to pee in one box and poop in a different box.


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## catcupcake (May 9, 2010)

She has two litter boxes. She pees and poops in both of them equally. I haven't tried the folded newspaper thing yet, but it's the only thing I haven't tried. Some days she pees only in the litter box, just fine, and then other days she pees everywhere. Like this morning, she peed on the mat I have outside of the litter box just AFTER I had cleaned it (so it didn't smell like litter any longer--because the litter was built up inside it.) Is it maybe the rubber thing that she likes to pee on?

Ugh I just don't know. I'm following all the directions my vet gives me, following as much of the advice on here as applies to my cat, and she just does not like it!

I'll go dump one of the boxes and replace it with newspaper.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

atback I'm sorry, I know it's frustrating. atback We have a cat who will pee on rubber-backed bathmats every chance he gets, so we keep the bathroom doors closed and deny him access. 

In front of our litterboxes, I've done away w/ bathmats and started using a stiff rubber/plastic truck floor mat. I haven't had any issues w/ anyone peeing on it and it is very easy to clean quickly.


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