Having trouble litter-training my kitten.?

Question

My kitten is approximately 11 weeks old, a Himalayan. We got her at 7 weeks suffering with severe cat flu...some unscrupulous pet shop owners had bought her at 6 weeks old despite knowing she was too young, and she got very sick very fast. She is thankfully recovered, but we're having another problem with her now: her litter tray.

I think that, as she left her mum so young, she didn't learn how to use the tray from her. She hates the feel of cat litter underfoot, including the light sandy type. She's happy to stand on newspaper, and I have seen her use the tray once without supervision. At night, we have been keeping her in a large dog cage, and almost every night she successfully uses the tray. But during the day, she just won't do it. She either does her business just outside the tray, or goes somewhere else completely. She likes to 'mime' covering up her poo on the floor, but won't do it in the litter. I manage to catch her most of the time and put her in her tray, so she knows where to go, and I've never punished her for going anywhere else. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

If you're giving her free run of the house during the day, she's probably overwhelmed at the large, open space. You may have to keep her in a smaller room for a while till she gets used to using the box. Once she's successfully using the box, let her into a larger room. Gradually work her up to having free roam of the house and have more than 1 box available to her in different places.  You might try using shredded newspaper for litter for a awhile and gradually add some conventional litter till she's using all conventional.

Answer 2

You're doing the right thing by putting her in her tray when she's about to go on the floor. When you clean the spot that she has 'dirtied' i.e. your carpet's, floors etc, try using an ammonia free cleaner. Cats are attracted to ammonia, and so think this is a good spot to pee etc.!!

When our 1st kitty wouldn't use the tray, I sprayed all the little corners, nooks and crannies with an ammonia free cleaner, and it showed him where not to go! Hope this helps you, good luck :-)  

Answer 3

Place The Poo In The Litterbox! She Will Probably Follow On Sometime Soon! Read This Article! -> http://www.wikihow.com/Litter-Train-a-Ki...

Answer 4

try switching to Yesterdays News, it is a pellet and made of paper, also when she goes out side the box, pick up the poo and place it in the litter box she will get the idea