Kitty Litter Tray ~ Not!?

[raichu]

Hi, hope someone can advise me/my friend. My friend has recently (1 month ago) got a kitten. Basically it will NOT use its litter tray! She has been advised by her vet to:- confine kitten to kitchen most of time, wen she does it on carpet she is to put it in her tray, get her to bury it and not lift it out but leave it, then after another meal shut her in kitchen again and if she goes to tray and does it..well done,,if not scoop out the old and put in the new, advised to do this for one week and then phone back ~ Its is now a week and she still is not doing it in tray. My friend has tried all different types of litter but to no avail......Does anyone have any suggestions please. Really would be grateful for ANY advice or suggestions. Thank you.

[Kleiber]

Sometimes, if a kitten has been taken away from its mum too young, or has perhaps been orphaned, it has trouble learning to use a litter tray. When I first got my 2 old ladies, they were very young and had been orphaned and they didn't know about litter trays initially. They used to "go" everywhere! Behind the sofa was a favourite place! Cats like to do their "business" somewhere private, so can I suggest that your friend maybe puts puss's tray in the place where he/she is using mostly? Hopefully that's not behind the sofa or next to the bed!! The wee cat will soon get the hang of what's expected and your vet has given good advice. Your friend just has to be patient - it'll get there in the end, as cats are very fastidious and like to poo in their own special place. When my little stray had her kittens, she taught all of them to use a litter tray almost as soon as their eyes were open. Oh, and another thing - cats don't like dirty litter, so keep it clean for her. I find "Beauticat" very good - it's made from pelleted sawdust, smells nice and you only need a little bit, so it's very economical.

[raichu]

Kleiber ~ Thank you SO SO much for your advice it is gratefully received and I shall pass this on to my friend Thankyou. If anyone else has any more advice it too would be appreciated :) Kay x

[kazz2008]

raichu what i have done in the past to my four kittens as they grew


i let them do there buisness where ever and put it in the litter tray

pick the kitten up and make he /she to smell it

i no it may sound wierd but it worked for me it has worked for most of my friends who have brought new kittens ,one of my friends even bought a male grown adult and tryed it and it worked for him give it a go
i hope it does the same trick for you

post back to see how you get on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good luck

[Kleiber]

Glad I could (hopefully!) help, raichu. I wish your friend the best of luck. Remember, kitty is still just a wee baby & she will need training, just like little humans do! I'm sure she'll get there in the end. K xx

[showcatbenga]

Your vet's advice is sound. If your friend is not planning to recarpet her whole house in the near future, it will be a lot easier to clean up in one room only. Cat messes require special cleaning because most of the usual cleaning products (bleach, disinfectant, etc.) leave a scent behind that we don't smell but kitty does & can actually encourage repeat fouling in the area cleaned! Use a solution of biological laundry detergent & finish once dry with a fabric deodourising product.
It does depend on kitty's age & up bringing on how quickly they get the hang of toileting in a tray.
Has she tried plain garden soil, sand or compost? Or sheets of newspaper, either flat or shredded? Kitty's feet may be really sensitive to the gravelly, lumpy texture of commercial litters.
If your friend can borrow, rent or buy a large dog crate or house kennel, it may be worth setting it up with a small litter tray & a hammock type bed ( just tie or safety pin the corners of a pillowcase across the corner of the cage off the floor). Don't add extra coverings for the floor (Unless you want to try 'paper' training) because the plastic tray that comes with the crate is ideal. This may be the quickest way to get results. Kitty training can then be done every night. Give Kitty her supper in the cage & shut her in. Kitty should be reluctant (& very unlikely, lol!) to foul her own hammock bed & with no other options may begin to get the tray option idea.
At other times supervise kitty closely when you have her out several times during the day & evening for play, exercise & socialisation. In my experience kittens from 6 weeks up toilet right after eating. As they get slightly older (up to about 4 months) a short, vigorous play session often follows feeding & then toileting will follow immediately after. Hope this helps - x.

[raichu]

kazza2008 + showcatbenga ~ Thank you both VERY much for your advice I am going to go and pass this on to my friend now ...... I particularly like the idea of the cage and it definately makes ALOT of sense and I actually did not realise about the scent and how potent it was.......I will suggest my friend registers with this site too cos ITS FAB. Thanks to everyone ~ And I or she will post again to let you know of little Simba's progress. :) K x

[lissylou]

Hi there. maybe the litter tray sides are too high for your kitty, I have a 9 month old naughty tortie (and she is very...) Try about.com:cats. I find this site soooo useful. Hope this might be of some help.

[cor]

Even though cats like a clean litter tray I think at this moment in time you should leave it dirtier so the cat can smell it, once she is used to using the tray it will become second nature and it can be kept well clean again.
Also try different litters as cats will sometimes not use a tray as they don't like the litter. I also use the wood pellets that someone mentioned above and have found them excellent