Hi, new kitten question...

He, we recently adopted a kitten from the local shelter. He is a
siamese mix, along with possibly Himalayan or Ragdoll. Anyway, I have
never owned a cat and asked the shelter a million questions. Many of
them regarding the litterbox. They all told me that it's instictual,
that they will just go to it, cats are clean, etc. We are keeping him
in the bathroom for now, as it's the smallest room. He is pooping right
next to the litterbox or in his bed. He is also peeing anywhere in the
bathroom. What do I do to help him learn to go in the box? I put him in
there and he just hops out.

Any help wouyld be great. Please feel free to e-mail me at


Megan and Charlie Cat, 7 weeks old

Does the litter box have low sides? You should use unscented, clumping
litter and no hood on the box. If this continues, he needs to see a vet to
rule out a urinary tract infection and parasites. Bring a stool sample with
you.
Gail
wrote in message
ups.com...
He, we recently adopted a kitten from the local shelter. He is a
siamese mix, along with possibly Himalayan or Ragdoll. Anyway, I have
never owned a cat and asked the shelter a million questions. Many of
them regarding the litterbox. They all told me that it's instictual,
that they will just go to it, cats are clean, etc. We are keeping him
in the bathroom for now, as it's the smallest room. He is pooping right
next to the litterbox or in his bed. He is also peeing anywhere in the
bathroom. What do I do to help him learn to go in the box? I put him in
there and he just hops out.

Any help wouyld be great. Please feel free to e-mail me at


Megan and Charlie Cat, 7 weeks old

wrote in message
ups.com...
He, we recently adopted a kitten from the local shelter. He is a
siamese mix, along with possibly Himalayan or Ragdoll. Anyway, I have
never owned a cat and asked the shelter a million questions. Many of
them regarding the litterbox. They all told me that it's instictual,
that they will just go to it, cats are clean, etc. We are keeping him
in the bathroom for now, as it's the smallest room. He is pooping right
next to the litterbox or in his bed. He is also peeing anywhere in the
bathroom. What do I do to help him learn to go in the box? I put him in
there and he just hops out.

Any help wouyld be great. Please feel free to e-mail me at


Megan and Charlie Cat, 7 weeks old


He is way too young at 7 weeks for his Mama cat to have shown him
the things he needs to know. How sad that he was separated from her
so early, but it is good that you have adopted him. You sound like a
loving and understanding person who will be patient with Charlie as he
learns the things he needs to know.

You're doing a smart thing keeping him confined to an easily cleanable
room while you train him. Do you spend time with him there? Are his
bed and food as far as possible from his litter box?

I think I would start by scooping up the poop you find outside the
box and putting it in while he watches, then picking up Charlie and,
praising him the whole time, put him in his box and cover the poo.
You can even use his little paws very gently to show him, and
never underestimate the power of praise. Most women
instinctively know this, but keep your tone sweet and soothing
like a purr and pet him.

I would also stay with him when I feed him (I hope you are feeding
him quality canned food and not just dry, it is better for him) and when
he is finished, put him in the box and pet and praise him.

Hopefully he will make the connection and start peeing in there too.

Other things you did not ask about, and may know, if so, sorry:

Handle his little feet and tail so that he will grow up to be a cat you
can touch there. You will want to trim his claws when he gets bigger,
and if he is used to your handling his feet it will be much easier.

Get him one of those scratch pads at Walmart or Petsmart, get
one that is vertical, that hangs on the doorknob of the bathroom,
and one that sits flat on the floor, or is at an incline, like the "Alpine
Scratcher." Why two? Because some cats prefer one over the
other, and many use both. Why scratchers? Because if you start
him out right, and give him something he prefers scratching, he
will not scratch your furniture when you let him out of the bathroom.

Scratching feels good to cats, and is necessary for their muscles
and for their need to mark their turf. (They have scent glands
in their feet and on the sides of their faces, when he leans into
your hand with his face he is marking you as HIS!)

When you let him out of the bath, get him a TALL scratching
post, at least 30 inches, not one of those short things. Cats need
to stretch, and if the scratcher is not tall enough, your couch arm
will do fine!

I would love to see some pictures of Charlie. I hope you will keep
us posted as he grows up. He is lucky to have you!

On 4 Nov 2006 08:25:52 -0800, wrote:

He, we recently adopted a kitten from the local shelter. He is a
siamese mix, along with possibly Himalayan or Ragdoll. Anyway, I have
never owned a cat and asked the shelter a million questions. Many of
them regarding the litterbox. They all told me that it's instictual,
that they will just go to it, cats are clean, etc. We are keeping him
in the bathroom for now, as it's the smallest room. He is pooping right
next to the litterbox or in his bed. He is also peeing anywhere in the
bathroom. What do I do to help him learn to go in the box? I put him in
there and he just hops out.

Any help wouyld be great. Please feel free to e-mail me at


Megan and Charlie Cat, 7 weeks old


My cat, who was a stray, probably didn't know what a litter box was.
He stays outside, but spends nights in the workshop. When I
discovered he was ****ting in a corner under a shelf, I put the box
there and left one turd in it. He has used it ever since.

wrote in news:1162657552.796188.193880
@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

He, we recently adopted a kitten from the local shelter. He is a
siamese mix, along with possibly Himalayan or Ragdoll. Anyway, I have
never owned a cat and asked the shelter a million questions. Many of
them regarding the litterbox. They all told me that it's instictual,
that they will just go to it, cats are clean, etc. We are keeping him
in the bathroom for now, as it's the smallest room. He is pooping
right
next to the litterbox or in his bed. He is also peeing anywhere in the
bathroom. What do I do to help him learn to go in the box? I put him
in there and he just hops out.




Before you clean up, put some of his pee and poo in the litterbox and
let him sniff it there, using lots of petting and praise so he will
associate the box with pleasantness. Then, since they return to the
same place to do their business, get something like Nature's Miracle
which will eliminate his odor on the floor completely. He'll catch on
soon. Once he has learned to use the box, scoop it daily so it's always
clean and he wants to use it.

Bobble

--
Save the earth... it's the only planet with chocolate.

Sonny's web page -- http://web.ncf.ca/ai151/index2.html

I agree with everyone here and would simply like to add that depending how
long you've had him - your kitten may simply be freaked out and nervous.

I recently adopted a 13 month yr old from a shelter. I knew he could use a
litter box but when I brought him home he simply flung litter all over the
bathroom and did his dirty work everywhere else in there.

but after a few very irritating days I cautiously let him enter the rest of
the house. I put the litter box in the place I hoped to keep it permanently -
and he just started using it. odd but cats can be that way sometimes.

I also think that putting the doo doo in the litter box when you clean up
will help.

p.s. In my experience if a cat has peed on something he/she will smell that
pee FOREVER and continue to pee on said object. It doesn't matter how many
times you clean it. thus this object MUST be removed from the cat's access.

i.e. I had a cat that peed on the bathmat. no matter how many times it got
washed, despite my use of bleach, she just kept peeing on it everytime I put
it down. I simply came to except that it needed to be thrown away. If
there's a particular cloth object (towel, bathmat) that your new kitten is
using, take it out immediately. Your kitten may have chosen "the worng"
litter box. IAbathmat is soft and can be scratched. And if you keep
cleaning it up then the kitten thinks - hey great bathroom always clean and
easily accessable.

I think you should get rid of anything cloth based in the bathroom.
Ultimately the litterbox will be the only thing that he/she can scratch at.

good luck and keep the faith - eventually your kitten will figure out the
program.

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

If the kitten is only 7 weeks old he is too young to be using clumping
litter. They still tend to eat everything at that age and the clumping
litter can play havoc with their digestive tract. It's best to wait a couple
of months before using that type of litter.


"Gail" wrote in message
ink.net...
Does the litter box have low sides? You should use unscented, clumping
litter and no hood on the box. If this continues, he needs to see a vet to
rule out a urinary tract infection and parasites. Bring a stool sample
with you.
Gail
wrote in message
ups.com...
He, we recently adopted a kitten from the local shelter. He is a
siamese mix, along with possibly Himalayan or Ragdoll. Anyway, I have
never owned a cat and asked the shelter a million questions. Many of
them regarding the litterbox. They all told me that it's instictual,
that they will just go to it, cats are clean, etc. We are keeping him
in the bathroom for now, as it's the smallest room. He is pooping right
next to the litterbox or in his bed. He is also peeing anywhere in the
bathroom. What do I do to help him learn to go in the box? I put him in
there and he just hops out.

Any help wouyld be great. Please feel free to e-mail me at


Megan and Charlie Cat, 7 weeks old

kitkat via CatKB.com wrote:
I agree with everyone here and would simply like to add that depending how
long you've had him - your kitten may simply be freaked out and nervous.

I recently adopted a 13 month yr old from a shelter. I knew he could use a
litter box but when I brought him home he simply flung litter all over the
bathroom and did his dirty work everywhere else in there.

but after a few very irritating days I cautiously let him enter the rest of
the house. I put the litter box in the place I hoped to keep it permanently -
and he just started using it. odd but cats can be that way sometimes.

I also think that putting the doo doo in the litter box when you clean up
will help.

p.s. In my experience if a cat has peed on something he/she will smell that
pee FOREVER and continue to pee on said object. It doesn't matter how many
times you clean it. thus this object MUST be removed from the cat's access.





Hi and thanks for all your advice! I have been following him around
since he woke up to "catch" his poop, LOL. Nothing yet, but I\i*-+9*
-33jh (Charlie on the keyboard)
I will try to put his poop in the box. Thanks and I'll hang out a while
to learn more about kitties, if you don't mind!

Megan


i.e. I had a cat that peed on the bathmat. no matter how many times it got
washed, despite my use of bleach, she just kept peeing on it everytime I put
it down. I simply came to except that it needed to be thrown away. If
there's a particular cloth object (towel, bathmat) that your new kitten is
using, take it out immediately. Your kitten may have chosen "the worng"
litter box. IAbathmat is soft and can be scratched. And if you keep
cleaning it up then the kitten thinks - hey great bathroom always clean and
easily accessable.

I think you should get rid of anything cloth based in the bathroom.
Ultimately the litterbox will be the only thing that he/she can scratch at.

good luck and keep the faith - eventually your kitten will figure out the
program.

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

A&A's Mama wrote:

Hi and thanks for all your advice! I have been following him around
since he woke up to "catch" his poop, LOL. Nothing yet, but I\i*-+9*
-33jh (Charlie on the keyboard)
I will try to put his poop in the box. Thanks and I'll hang out a while
to learn more about kitties, if you don't mind!

Megan

Hey Megan,

If leaving the pee and poop in the litter box doesn't do the trick,
there is a litter additive called Cat Attract that is sold by Dr.
Elsey:
http://www.preciouscat.com/attract-l...e375381667c9a4

You can buy it online at the Precious Cat site, or sometimes certain
retailers will carry it. The Precious Cat cat litter is awesome, by
the way. I would also switch to an unscented scoopable cat litter as
kitty may be put off by any scented litter.

Good luck - I'll bet A&A are in 7 heaven having a kitten!

-L.