Why isnt my kitten using the litter.

Question

I just brought home a kitten who walked up on me. I thought it was the cutes thing. He is so cute. I brought him in because it was about to be a tornado storm here in Chicago. Well its been over night now and he eats well, drinks plenty of water, but just wont go to the litter. I am kinda scared he may have worms. Whats should I do?

Answer 1

He needs a vet check to see if he has worms. Most kittens do and will need medicine from the vet to get rid of them. It's always best to keep a kitten in a small room at first so they don't get lost or scared in a big house. Put the litter, food, water, and toys in the "nursery". Show the kitten the litter and rake his paws through it. He'll get the idea. It's a good idea to keep him inside always, not just when a storm is coming. Outside kittens frequently come up missing usually eaten or stolen. If you plan to keep him around long, don't leave him outside.

The OTC wormer you buy at WalMart/Petsmart does not work to kill all worms. You need a vet to do a stool test to determine which worms your kitten has and give the correct medicine to kill that type of worm. Flea meds and wormers you buy from the store can make your kitten very sick.

Answer 2

Decide where the litter box is going to be permanently kept, like a basement or a particular room.  Place it's food and water as far away from the litter box in that area as you can, because cats do not like their food & water bowls close to where they go to the bathroom.  Keep the kitten shut in this area for a few days.  By isolating the kitten in the area where the litter box is going to be kept, it should be more likely to understand where it is.  Pick up any clothes lying around in that room and never leave anything like that lying around on the floor of your home.  You want the area to primarily be used as the cat's room if at all possible and kept tidy so the kitten isn't tempted to go to the bathroom on anything inappropriate.  After a few days in this room, the cat should understand this is now where it will be going to the bathroom.  If you like, you can then move only the food & water bowls to another location, but always keep the litter pan in that area.  If you move, do the same process.  This kitten probably just needs to learn where the litter box is.  If you took him in & just let it have free run of your home, it may not have understood where it needed to go to use the litter box.  If your kitten has already gone to the bathroom on carpet or clothing, scrub it as clean as you possibly can so it doesn't go back there.  Sprinkle some baking soda on the carpet if applicable and let it set for a few hours or overnight, then vacuum it up.  Clothes, blankets, towels, etc. should never be left lying around on the floor, as these are tempting areas for a cat or kitten to go to the bathroom, especially one that doesn't have the hang of things yet.

The next thing you should do is take the kitten to your vet & get it checked over.  It most likely does have worms.  This is totally normal for kittens & cats who have been outside.  You should take a stool sample with you when you take the kitten to the vet, so the vet can look at it under a microscope & diagnose what types of worms the kitten has.  The vet will then either give your kitten a pill right there (if you're not sure about pilling the kitten, ask the vet to just do it while you're there) or will send it home with you.  After your kitten has it's first bowel movement about 24 hours after receiving the de-worming medication, you will need to empty the litter box and clean it with a splash of bleach in some water & rinse it thoroughly.  This will kill any worm eggs, etc.  When your cat has a bowel movement after getting de-wormed, you may actually see the worms in the stool.  This is normal & let's you know the medicine worked.  Sometimes it's necessary to treat the cat or kitten one more time for worms to ensure they're all gone, about 3 weeks after the 1st treatment.  You need to have the kitten de-wormed because if you don't, the worms will take all the nutrition from the food you're feeding the kitten & it will not gain weight and will impede it's growth, so please address this as soon as you can.

Good luck with your new kitten.

Answer 3

If your kitten was separated from her mother too soon, she never learned how and where to defecate. Like the others said, you might have to train her. I put mine in a good size (dog) carrier with a small litter box, some water, a little food and something to lay on. She stayed in the crate except to come out for company and play. Cats do not like living and laying in their own p**p! Take a p**p and put it in the box. Try clumping, non-clumping, shredded paper, cedar chips, and the new system called "Breeze" which I love. The litter pellets go in a top tray and don't absorb moisture, and the pee drains down to a shelf with a heavy-duty pad treated so there's no urine smell. Some cats are fanatics about cleanliness, so this might help. I love it, and I have MANY cats with no "cat odor".

Check everything with your vet first, tho. Make sure there's no medical reason.

Answer 4

Housetraining Success: Reward for Using the Litter Box

In order to reward your cat for eliminating in her litter box, you must be there at the time she eliminates. You need to have some idea of when your cat urinates and defecates. Most cats, especially kittens, will eliminate shortly after waking; after eating; and after exercise.

To help you predict when your cat will eliminate, feed her at regular times. If the input is on a regular schedule, the output will follow likewise. Before feeding your cat, spend ten to fifteen minutes playing with her. Then put down the food, allow her fifteen minutes to eat and then clear up any leftovers. After your cat has eaten, it is time for another gentle play session. Call her to her litter box from a variety of places around your house, especially areas where she has soiled. When your cat gets to the box, scratch the litter to get her interested. Similarly, throughout the day, whenever your cat has been asleep for over two hours, wake her up and call her to the litter box. Encourage your cat to hop into the litter box, praise her when she does so. Even if she does not eliminate, she is learning that the litter box is a great, CLEAN place to be. This is especially important for cats that are now avoiding the litter box because they assume it is always dirty or because they associate it with being punished. If your cat does eliminate, praise her in a gentle voice. Once she has finished, gently stroke her, give her a treat and take the time to tell her how pleased you are with her behavior.

Kitten will also nopt use a litter box if it in the wrong place-so say in a very noisy place such as the kitchen or lounge room, if you move it to a quieter place. She may also not know what to do. Try placing her in the litter box after she has food, and gentle hold her paws and teach her to scratch in the litter box!

To teach your kitten to use the litter box, put him in, take one of his front paws and make scratching movements with it in the litter. At first, he will probably just play in the litter box and may have some accidents. He will soon catch on, though. The best teacher for litter pan manners is another cat. A kitten learns best by example, because sometimes, in this area, humans can fail at teaching this. Don't become frustrated if he doesn't cover his waste. Some kittens never do, that is why mom-cats are so important - they teach these manners quickly and easily.

Also at this age, he will really enjoy playtime and will begin to play with his toys more. He can walk and run in short bursts. It is now time to begin weaning as he is ready to eat semi-solid food.

Note i never had a problem with clumping litter-i did change the litter on my two rescue cats to the crystals, both my cats attempted to eat it, i put litter deoderisor to stop them. We sadly no longer have these too, they died soon after adoption in a housefire

Being a kitten, she needs special kitten food

Answer 5

Its a good idea to take the kitten to the vet for a check up, since it was a stray.

Remember that its just a baby, and will need to be 'taught' what to do.

If you cant get to the vets for a while, then get a wormer and give that to your kitten.

Answer 6

Worm it and just sit it in the litter it will get the message get it desexed and have a vet check it over.

Answer 7

if you plan to kepp it

get to the vet and get all his vaccinations done, a vet check and ask for some advice on caring and things to buy for him.

also while you are their get him desexed/sprayed so they're wont be more kittens like him that were not lucky enough to find a home while living on the cold streets. this a a priority .

Answer 8

It probably hasn't learnt how to use it yet. Put the kitten in the litter tray after it has eaten it may go then. If it dosen't then keep trying. Check if he/she has done anything in the house. If he/she is aloud outside he could of gone out there.