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Should a kitten always pee/poop in its box? My 10 week old one has had a lot of mistakes (not accidents) because they were intentional. His favorite spot is the bathtub! I plan to try to toilet train him as soon as my training stuff arrives this week. Not sure if it will work but want to try. I hate litter boxes! I'm also not getting any sleep. He wants to play all night but esp at 5-7am. If I lock him out of the room he cries and/or I feel guilty.
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Male Pet's Age: <1 Name of Cat: Finnegan Already Tried: moved litter box to a couple diff places. current spot is next to toilet. I clean it 1-2x per day. Locking him out at night but I always get up to use rest room so sometimes let him back in around 5/6am. Sometimes he sleeps but most times he just goes nuts on my hands/feet/etc til I toss him out again and then he starts crying. My little dog and I are tired! Not sure this is going to work... I know another cat wld help but my place isn't that big...
Hi,
First off, getting another kitten may just add to your issues rather than solve them so don't feel bad that you don't have room for one.
It is very important to get a kitten using its litter box all the time because otherwise you are likely to have problems its whole life. I would confine the kitten to one room with its litter box until it is using it all the time. When it has been doing this with no mishaps then it can have a little more freedom, but only when you can supervise. Also, I would recommend having two litter boxes rather than just one. This way he won't have to go as far to get to one. Kittens aren't able to hold it as long as adult cats, and when they get to playing they may just go where they are.
As for wanting to play in the night, make sure he gets plenty of exercise and playing in the evening before bedtime. Then just ignore him in the night if he is crying. I know its difficult, and you feel bad for him, but in the long run you will be glad you did because this, too, could be a life long habit for him if it continues.
If you have further questions let me know.
Best wishes,
Lynn
Hi so I have to have 2 litter boxes? My place isn't that big. The bathroom is right in the middle of it and he has to walk past his litter box to get to the bathtub where he seems to like to go... Not sure it is a location/distance issue. What about putting the box in the bathtub? I think his mistakes were mostly when I first got him a couple weeks ago. Damage is sortof done now isn't it? Since his mistakes in the bedroom, kitchen, plant he chooses either the tub or litter box.
Also what can I use to really get that smell out of my hard wood so he isn't tempted in future. May be too late anyway...
Relist: Other.Two litter boxes in a small house is not a good solution and also the litter box is in the bathroom already so not sure how confining him to that room will help since his recent non-box favorite spot is the bathtub. Maybe I should just move it to the tub?
Two litter boxes would be best if you can find a place for another one. A general rule of thumb is one more box than the number of cats you have. If you can't find a spot for a 2nd one make sure the one you do have is scooped out every day. You could also add a product to it called Cat Attract which encourages cats to use the litter box rather than going other places:
http://www.preciouscat.com/product/cat-attract/
You could try putting the box in the bathtub for awhile, if that works then try moving it right next to the bathtub after a few days. Very gradually move it to where you would like it to be, just by a few inches a day. If he starts going where you don't want him to, move it back again.
The odor can be difficult to get rid of. You can try an enzyme cleaner as they usually work better than regular cleaners. Nature's Miracle is a good brand.
You can also try some Feliway spray on the places where he has gone that you don't want him to go again. Here is a link to their page:
http://www.feliway.com/us
Good luck!
Ok thanks but as I said, I'm really hoping to potty train him so I think 2 boxes would be counterproductive. What about leaving the box in the bathtub until I potty train him or permanently if that doesn't work?
Sure, if it isn't a problem for you to have the litter box in the bathtub then that would definitely be a possible solution.
Experience: worked at a vet clinic for 18 yrs, BA in biology, experience with cats for 20+ years