When to litter train kittens?

Question

i have 6 kittens who will be 4 weeks old on tuesday. 2 of them have started to drink kitten milk from a saucer and 1 of them will eat a little kitten food mashed up- most of them still prefer mummys milk - and one has a bottle of formula.

They are living behind a sofa in the main room of the house right now and I have put a towel in the corner & put a mini roller tray (like you would use for paining) on it, with cat litter in. This is lower than a normal litter tray as this would be hard for them to get in & out. The mums litter tray is in the other side of the house in our utlity room near the cat flap. The kittens are unable to get that far yet & i would rather keep them from running all over the house just yet (we also have 3 young children)

I am expecting them to be able to go off to their new homes at around 8 weeks as per advice but was wondering what I can do to help these kittens get into eating food & going to the litter tray.

Mum cat doesnt feed them much anymore so i am a bit worried they may not be consuming enough of her milk 9feeding them 4 or 5 times a day for a few minutes)

thanks!

Answer 1

start putting them in the kitty litter at regular intervals from now and put them in there whenever they have an accident to reinforce where they need to do it. you just need to be persistent like potty training a toddler!

Answer 2

Agreed with Liam. And since these kittens are so tiny, you might even want to start with something about the size of a painter's tray so they can get in more easily. I do have one hint: Put them in the tray once so they will know what it is.

Good luck!

Answer 3

The kittens will instinctively go to a litter tray but is best to place them in the tray immediately after they eat. When they are slightly older you may have to gently take their front legs and assist with a digging motion to get them started.

The mother will stop feedng them if they are getting nourishment from milk formula or solids and the kittens stop suckling. Mash the kitten food with a little water because the move from liquid to solids is sometimes difficult for them. 5-6 weeks is normal to start on solids but make sure it is kitten formula.

Generally best to keep with the mother cat until 12 weeks so they are fully weaned. 8 weeks is still too young.

Answer 4

Put the tray down and they will use it when they feel like it as cats like to hide their dirt.  

Answer 5

After they eat place them in the litter tray. You will have to be patient.