Litter Box Accidents

[Amanda Morgan]

Hello!

I have a question about our little guy who is now around 10 weeks old. I've created an area in our home that is all his and have slowly been introducing him to other rooms in the house. As his space has gotten larger I expected a few accidents. His first was in the corner of our dining room, so I placed a litter box there for him which is the exact same as the box inside his pen, which he uses with no problems. When it comes to the box in the dining room area, he will literally do his business RIGHT next to his box. He'll pee in this box but has slowly been doing more outside the box than in. How can I help this pattern from continuing? Any advice would be great, thanks!

 

[WitchyWoman]

You'll need to thoroughly clean where he peed with a good enzyme cleaner such as Anti Icky Poo. Try using Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter in the pan in the dining room and reward him with a treat when you see him in the litter box whether or not he's using it to pee or poo.

A few things that may be motivating his behavior -- he's still very young and might be intimidated by learning his way around the house; a change in his daily schedule -- try to let him out into the rest of the house at the same times and for the same duration each day. Let him roam the house for short periods of time, no more than 15 minutes until the inappropriate peeing stops. And let him out into the rest of the house directly after you see him use his litter box; fear -- his world might just seem too big for him at this point in time -- perhaps putting up baby gates that limit his access to rooms might help. Let him be in the kitchen for a few days then maybe let him in 2 other rooms and keep expanding the space he's allowed in for the next few weeks.

Any distractions that upset or confuse him -- kids, other pets, outside noises, inside noises that he's not used to, a lot of activity in the house -- can contribute to the issue so the key is to be sensitive to what's happening in the environment when he's out and try to imagine what it's like to be as short as he is and see his world from his point of view. This could yield some clues into this behavior.

 

[Glamouresque]

I would put him back in his little area for a couple of more days, even a week. And try again later.
Stress can be a reason for this behaviour.
Don't correct him or put his nose in it, or yell, you cannot train a cat like a dog (just in case you don't already know).

 

[Cathouse1]

Make sure the litter isn't the problem. Is he declawed?

 

[Patti]

Are you saying that he is in the box but most of the pee is going outside of the box, or that sometimes he goes in and other times he does not? If it is just a matter of missing the box you need a larger box. If he his choosing to go outside of the box I would try Cat Attract.

 

[Amanda Morgan]

Thanks so much everyone for all the advice! I love this place!

In the last couple of days I have made sure he only has access to his area where he has been very comfortable and has had no accidents in his little pen. When we are away from the house and at night, thats where he is, and he has done very well, no accidents! When we are here at the house, we allow him to hang out with us, and every time he's used his litter box we have given him a treat directly after the business is done. The litter box, in the dining room, where all the accidents were happening, is next to a window where theres often foot traffic right outside, so he might just be a little uneasy in that area and thats why he goes in the corner? He hasn't used that one since we've made his space smaller and I also sprayed Organics No Mark a few days ago, but he still peed right next to the box. I dont believe its the actual litter because he goes just fine in his pen and he's not declawed ( I would never!! ) I'm thinking the space we allowed him to be in when we were gone, was just a little too big for him, and when he wasn't near his pen he just goes where he knows, which is in the corner of the dining room.

If we stick to the small space, I'm sure progress with continue, we have a smart little boy!! Thanks so much for all the help!!

 

[Patti]

Glad to hear you are making progress with him! I highly doubt Organics No Mark is going to adequately clean the area he has already marked. I would strongly recommend a good enzyme cleaner such as Anti Icky Poo or Unique Distributors.

 

[Per Lausund]

Also, remember large open spaces (100 sq feet is big for a kitten!) are scary, so plenty of hideouts (we use cardboard boxes and the kittens hide under couches so we sometimes have the modern kind of furniture called hissing couch) and maybe add a litter box or two?

 

[John Popp]

When we were introducing our kittens to new rooms, the first thing we did was drop him in the new litter box in that area. We had plenty of small ones, probably a half dozen so he wouldn't have an accident simply by being too excited.

I would also exchange the box that he is using with the one he isn't. Just lending some familiarity to the situation and a box that's already scented.

 

[Michaela]

Hi
Help SVF2B 4 mo old
Litter box problem for 3 days
Had Romeo for 2 weeks as of Sunday when he started to poop all over the cat bed , bath tub and floor.
He had lose stools and now more diarrhea .
We were gone for 3 days and dad take care of him and my Bengal ... Not introduced them yet.
My dad messed up his diet by adding and mixing the dry food from the Bengal
instead of the other way as instructed.
Took the stool to the vet for test.
Not sure if he is upset with me or he has a GI problem or both.
He is still in an office room with a bath room . Has 2 litter boxes in there.
I let him out in the house with direct supervision for short plays.
Romeo is on a raw meat diet and Iams dry food as per the breeder .
Might have to put him back in the small bath room again

Any advice
Help
Will this go away



He is very lovable

and happy otherwise