Tips on litter training a baby kitten?

Question

I've had cats my whole life and have never ever had problems litter training one. I'd just show them the litter box a few times and from then on, they'd just go in it.

Recently, I got a new kitten -5 weeks old- and I am having problems litter training her. Granted, she is so young (too young to be away from her mama, but she was orphaned). I'm trying to be patient, but she is going where ever she happens to be at the moment. She is a happy, excited to be alive kitten and she plays/runs around like a crazy-woman, but when she has to Go, she just goes.

I've calmly and repeatedly taken her and shown her the litter box (so many times!!!!!!!) and sometimes she goes in it when I put her in.

Does anyone have advice that might help the baby learn to always go in the box?

Note: One problem is that she can climb Up but doesnt know how to get Down yet, so she has a tendency to pee on the bed or chair. I've been making ramps all over my house, lol!

Answer 1

I really think time and growth are going to be your saving grace. Cats are clean animals and want to use their litter box. When she gets a little more familiar with the layout of your house and bit bigger to jump around and navigate it easily, she'll be just fine. In the meantime, you may consider keeping her confined to one room with the liter box in it, when you're not home.  

Answer 2

i had the same problem once. i put the cat's waste in the litter box whenever possible. most cats tend to smell around for familiar places to go. once i put the waste in the litter box, i only had to place the kitten in the litter box once before she got the idea. hope this helps!

Answer 3

try putting her in the litter box and leave her in it a few minutes even she uses or not

Answer 4

Set up a nursery for your kitten in a small room. Put everything she'll need in there.Use a small pan for a litter box (foil cake pans are great) and use plain clay litter. Clumping litter can cause blockages in kittens who have to taste everything. This smaller space will keep her from being overwhelmed and having the litter box closer will help remind her to use it. After you're convinced she is using the litter box everytime, move her to a larger space and eventually let her have run of the house. Make sure to keep her box sparkly clean and in a quiet, accessible spot and have more than one box. This worked very well for a 6 week old I found in the woods. He had never even seen a litter box but has yet to go anywhere but the box since I brought him home.

Answer 5

One of the lesser known reasons for leaving a baby with its mother for a longer period of time is to allow for sufficient brain growth so that the young can survive on their own, able to learn and respond to their environment (litter box training). Persistence is your answer until your kitten is better able to understand.