rescued less than week old now healthy 14 weeks. Weened from bottle to food no problem. But poops and pee on carpet then does instinctive scratching to tidy up but refuses litter box. Bought small, then large, then covered box(because she appeared to look for hidden dark places in the house to go) bought scented, unscented, flushable and organic litter. Put the boxes by places she was familiar with, scratched in the box and she will follow the lead and play in the box but still goes to potty on the carpet. Also tried catching her in the act and quickly place her in box she jumps out. Love her dearly and cute as can be but this untidy habit is taking its toll. Looking forward to any suggestions, thanks in advance.
Answers:
spay her as soon as possible.
put her in an enclosed area with the box.
put her in the box and scratch her feet in it. Let her know that is a good thing in the box. Make sure she realizes that it is a bad thing anywhere else.
Narrow the area she has. I have crates readily available and I will crate them with all the necessities. Once she does it a few times she will get the hang of it a prefer it.
when you pick up the poo, put it in the litterbox.. heve her watch you do this and talk to her, say this is where the poop goes... when you clean any urine, put the dirty paper towel in the litterbox, say this is where you pee...keep doing it. stick with one litter, one spot. ..it will take a little while but should work. ... and yes, i talk to my animals like this, and it works because we are closely bonded and they listen when i speak to them...
Kittens learn litter training from their mothers and because your kitten was orphaned she has not had the opportunity to learn.
You could try penning her in a pen with just enough room for her blanket with food and water on one side and litter tray on the other. This will give her a chance to start using the litter tray as she will have no where else to go. She should start to form a mental attachment to the tray and then you can increase the size of the pen or put her in a bathroom for a few days before letting her have free access again. If you buiild up this way hopefully she will continue using the tray and finally make the necessary connection.
Offer her encouragement when she gets it right and do not punish her if she gets it wrong, but just clean up as thoroughly as possible, preferably with a specialist product designed for the job.
In my experience cats toilet train themselves.
Perhaps she hasnt appreciated your attempts to train her. Cats are very independant by nature and like to think that what they are doing is THEIR idea.
If I was in this situation I would be attempting to make her "litterbox" not look like a litterbox. Maybe put in a piece of carpet that she has already peed on so that to her it smells like some place that she wants to go potty.
Your experience shows that she wants to pee/poop in places where she can hide it--it is natural instinctive cat behavior.
I would be trying a pile of rags or old clothes which will allow her to actually bury it and then after some time add a little cat litter gradually increasing amount of litter and decreasing amount of rags.
And fanatically clean the rest of the house where she has already soiled. There are products to eliminate the smell.
My kittens have all gone to the litterbox without any coaxing or interferance at all. They dont "train" like dogs do.
Not every tactic works and mine may not either but it is what I would be trying.
Best of luck with your little friend.
The best way to potty train is to put her in a room with food, water, and a litter box. When she uses the litter box correctly, give her praise, attention, and treats. After a while she'll get used to going in the litter box and like the positive attention she gets.
I really liked the persons idea to pick up the poop in front of the cat and place it in the litter box. I would say put her in the litter box after she has eaten but she will probably just jump out as you mentioned. Because she is so young and was orphaned the toilet training is going to be more difficult as she does not know what is expected of her at this stage. Wash the areas where she currently "goes" with Vinegar and hopefully the scent will discourage her. I don't really like to confine kittens unnecessarily but you can maybe try for a day or 2 and see if she starts using the litter box while confined. When she does use it be sure to praise her and maybe give her a treat if possible.
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