4 week old kitten?

Question

I just got a 4 week old kitten. He's eating by himself but i cant get him to goto the bathroom. Everytime i put him in his litter box he eats the litter. I try to stimulate what the mother would do to try to get him to go but its not working. Help!

understand that the kitten should still be with its mother but its not and it cant be so i need advice. I dont need everyone telling me about the kitten mother relationship.

Answer 1

that don't sound very good. I think that maybe you should get it to a vet or better yet, just give them a call they can help you a little better with you question. Good luck. and I wish the kitty well.

Answer 2

It is quite obvious that 4 weeks is too young to take the kitten away from it's mother, but that doesn't solve your problem. as some have mentioned, there may be a medical problem and that should be checked by a vet. With kittens this young, minor problems could easily grow into a life-threatening ones. If there is no medical problem, I would advise you get a small plastic container (big enough for the kitten of course) with relatively low sides. Line it with an absorbent sheet. As soon as the kitty goes somewhere, rub it on the sheet. Put the box next to where he sleeps. You may have to put him in the box a few times, but he will learn where his potty is. At 4 weeks, he's too tiny for ordinary kitty sand. Wait until he's about three months to switch him to the adult variety. Switching can be done by simply putting the kitty sheet in the big litter box until he goes there, Once his smell is on it, you can remove the sheet. Of course, praise him at every opportunity.

Answer 3

For some reason unweaned kittens will often try to eat granular litters; this could cause a fatal impaction, especially if it's a clumping litter. Try switching to a large pelleted litter (like Yesterdays News of Feline Pine) to discourage him from eating it.

He may need to be bottle fed still; most kittens don't start to wean until 6 weeks and will still nurse on occasion (mom willing) until 10 weeks. If he's been eating 'solid' food (even canned) it doesn't have enough moisture for him; baby kittens have a higher daily fluid requirement and less ability to prevent fluid loss than adults. Among other things, feeding solid food too early will cause hard stools which are difficult for him to pass.

Most kittens can go on their own by about three weeks of age. If he hasn't pooped in more than 24 hours he could be in trouble and needs a vet.

Otherwise, if you haven't seen poop in a while and he's not showing any symptoms of discomfort, he may be pooping behind the sofa or in some other out of the way place when you're not looking. Yes, really.

Answer 4

You may want to try to use shredded paper in the litter box. The kitten might be eating the food but at such a young age not digesting it properly yet. I would stick to bottle feeding if the mother is not nursing him anymore. I raised a 1 week old kitten up on bottle feeding and he grew up very healthy.

Answer 5

first of all - you never should've taken a 4 week old kitten away from it's mother. He's wayyyyy to young. It should've been 8 or 10 weeks so that he could be properly weaned.

You will need a lot of patience with him as he is a little young to litter box train. I would bring him to the vet as there could be something wrong with him that he is not going to the bathroom. Or he could also be suffering seperation anxiety because he was taken away from his mother to young. He could be sad and that's why he's not going to the bathroom.

Answer 6

Well that is why they should still be with the mother and littermates. 4 weeks is way too young to be seperated from them. Even without a mom, the littermates provide a lot of social and mental learning. Kittens taken away really early like that have a much higher chance of having litterbox problems and other behavior issues later in life.

Answer 7

I agree with Heather Michelle and Torbay
4 weeks is way too young to litter train or feed
the starting time is when the Momma cat stops nursing and that should Only be between 6-8 weeks old

Take it to the vet to see if bottle feeding should be tried ...

Answer 8

Call a vet. I had a kitten that was only about 9 days old, dropped off by someone who didn't want kittens around. He wouldn't go unless I rubbed him with a wet rag, but after a day or so, he went on his own, and he knew what to do with the litter instinctively.

He's 8 years old now, and doing fine.

It sounds like your little fellow is hungry. Or is he like a watched pot? Maybe you haven't given him enough time to digest his food and want to go.

Good luck.

Answer 9

When you find the kittens poop, put it into the litter box, and then put the cat in there. The cat will smell his own waste, and eventually go to that same spot ( litter box) to relieve himself.

Answer 10

my brother got a 4 week old kitten also. he just stuck his cat in the litter box after she ate and drank. it really worked.

Answer 11

You must train kitty to go to the potty.Keep putting your cat in there...Holdup a 4 week old kitten should still be with its moma till 6 weeks...