this kitten is driving us crazy!!?

Question

ok so i need some help with litterbox training me and my 2 other roomate's kitten. she goes #2 EVERYWHERE and it's making our apartment smell horrible! She goes in the litterbox when she feels like it but mostly everywhere else. we've tried rubbing her nose in it, spanking her and nothing is working! does anyone have any ideas? we all work so we're not around all the time and catch her in the act...

and for all you people with the smartass comments, you're just making yourself look retarded seeing as you have nothing better to do than come online to insult people and make retarded jokes that only you probably think are funny. but have a nice day anyway :)

Answer 1

Pen her up when you can't watch her. Leave her in the bathroom with her litterbox, a water dish and toys.

When you're home to watch her, use a loud noise when you catch her in the act ONLY.
Punishment after the fact is pointless. They don't remember their mis-deeds 3 seconds after they've finished.

Put the poop in the litter box, bring her over and put her in the box. Use her paw to scratch around and cover it up.
BE GENTLE!!
Never let her think the litter box is anything bad.

NOTE:
Box training doesn't "kick in" until the kitten is 8-10 weeks old. Give youngsters a break, for most cats litter box habits are almost instinctive.

Answer 2

I found this on WikiHow, maybe it can help.

Make sure the litter box is cleaned daily. Your cat will start using other places if the litter box is too dirty.
If you have recently changed brands of litter, try changing back. Cats can be picky.
If your cat has just been declawed, their paws may hurt when they dig in the litter. Try adding some shredded shiny newspaper on top of their regular litter. The shiny newspaper cushions their paws and will not stick to their sensitive paws.
Put the litter box and your cat in a small room, like a bathroom. Make sure he has plenty of food and water. Check on your cat once an hour. If the cat has eliminated correctly in the box, praise the cat and let them out for some supervised playtime, or give them a treat. Then put them back in the room. Repeat two or three times until it seems that your cat has "gotten it".
If the cat misses the box, place the feces in the litterbox and do not pay further attention to the cat. Leave the room and check again in an hour.
If your cat is still avoiding the litterbox, take him to the vet to make sure there is no underlying medical reason for this behavior. Urinary infections, kidney problems or parasites (worms) can be reasons the cat is not using the litterbox.
Also think of any reasons that there may be some behavioral issues that may cause the cat to 'act up' such as adding another animal or person in the house, changing routines, moving the box to a new location, noise or light changes.. all can be signals that your cat is stressed. A checkup and a discussion with your vet will be helpful to you and your cat!



[edit] TipsWhen you move, it's a good idea to confine your cat to a small area of the new house at first. This will ensure that he feels safe and knows where his litter box is, and reduce house soiling.
Never punish your cat for soiling in the house by rubbing their nose in it. They'll just learn to soil in a place where you can't see them doing it.
If your cat is a boy, or it might be helpful,to get a litter box a lid.
Never close the door to the room where the cat has it's food, water and litter box

Answer 3

Cats are usually very quick to be potty trained. Sounds like there is something else awry here. Was this kitten previously mistreated, or did you get it from another home? All the things you've tried should have worked. If they don't ,,, you may have a cat that cannot be trained. Then you will have to make a decision whether to keep it or not. This has happened to me before with a kitten. I gave it 6 months, and I had to give it away. Trust me. It is rare, MOST kittens adapt readily to the litterbox. If you have a vet, ask for some advice.

Answer 4

Maybe you could try using a small spray bottle (empty, bought from the store, of course) and spraying her with water whenever you catch her in the act, so that that way it may teach her that whenever she wants to attempt it elsewhere besides the litterbox, she'll be hesitant to, thinking she'll get sprtized with water. It would help if one of you were home more, but I realize that can't be. Maybe another thing you could try is acquiring some actuall smell from cat urine (how this is possible I don't know lol) and spraying it on the litterbox and using something like baking soda on the whole carpet or floor or both and making sure the odor is neutralized since cats and dogs do their business by scent. Make sure the scent is rather heavy enough for the cat to smell in the litterbox, but not so strong that you and your roommate smell it and are overcome by it. If this doesn't help, I suggest you call your local vet (or vets, depending on if you're in a large enough city) and ask their advice. It's worked with me, though, the spritzing of both ways (water on the cat/urine in the litterbox) and my cat was doing fine within a couple weeks. It shouldn't pose too big of a problem, though, if you don't get it right altogether; sometimes cats grow out of these things since they prefer more privacy than dogs.

Answer 5

you are making the situation worse by rubbing her nose in it
you are making her fearful and angry
however she doesn't understand your form of punishment

cats see punishment as abuse, so the best way to train them is to use positive reinforcement (ie treats and play)

try doing a full out cleaning of the apartment with something so strong that she can not smell her past urinations/bowel movements
if she smells it then she will continue to go where she smells it

bleach is a good way to make sure the smell is all gone
especially since she has a better sense of smell than we humans do

then make sure the litter box is always clean;
scoop at least twice a day and change the litter out every week or two depending on what type you use

now start over with her training: confine her to one small room or cage with the litterbox, food, and toys
let her out only when you can monitor her
when you see her attempting to squat then nicely pick her up and move her to the litterbox
after (at most) a few weeks she should fully litter box trained

Answer 6

Okay, I had a kitten with the same problem. Leave her in the bathroom for a few days. Keep some food and water in a dish in there and a few toys. Make sure you go in there to visit her everynow and then so she doesn't get lonely and when you are in there keep putting her in the litter box even if she doesn't go. Make sure you keep the box clean and when you do see her going to the bathroom in the litter box, praise her with a treat or by petting her. If you take her out of the bathroom for a little bit to roam the house, someone NEEDS to keep an eye on her and as soon as they see her starting to squat pick her up and bring her in the bathroom and close the door behind you and put her in the litter box over and over until she goes in there, and then praise. Keep doing this, but keep her in the bathroom for a few days until you can see she is doing it by herself without people putting her in there. Good luck. I know this worked for me, so hopefully it will work for you.

Answer 7

We had a cat once that would not use the litter box. Not sure why but we had to let that cat be an outside cat. We tried everything. Once they mark something, they tend to keep going back there. Try that enzyme urine cleaner to get the smell out. Follow the directions. Now my old cat will not share a litterbox with my young cat. Picky...

Answer 8

OK, kittens love to play, soon they will start to get sick of it. So enjoy it while you can, a kittens life is like a baby's. Take care of it so it will grow up healthy. Once the cat grows up, it will want to sleep with you, but wont wake up all the time. So I'm telling you, once that cat gets old, your going to miss throwing toy mice every where, and watching the kitten go crazy and chase after it. xP Don't yell at it too much, it will grow up really smart, but mean.

Answer 9

When you can, put her in the litter box, yourselves, ALL the time, like every 1/2 hour. And when you go out, if you can. Lock kitty in a room with a litter box in there. She'll eventually get the hint. But it's going to be you putting her in the litter box constantly is what is going to do it.

Especially after she eats be sure to put her in there every 15 minutes if you can. If you lock her in a small room with litter box she'll be forced to use it and will get that it's much better to go in there.

Once they poop all over it's tough to get them to use a litter box, but I've turned some of our kittens around doing this. Be sure to clean the areas where she's pooped very good and put something like Carpet Fresh over the spot once it's dried. That way, hopefully, you'll eventually get the spots she's pooped. I used to use black pepper on the spots my kitty would poo that worked well too. But if she's smelling up the place then Carpet Fresh would probably works better, and just let it sit on the spots until you vacuum next.

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Answer 10

Have you taken her paws and moved them around in the litter to show her that's where she goes? You might try confining her to a room with newspapers on the floor, a littler box, food and water until she learns. I had a problem of that nature with a kitten years ago. I believe she just grew out of it, although I'm pretty sure it was because she was weened too soon. That causes strange behavior in animals, when they are taken from their moms too soon. Just be patient with her if at all possible. Spanking cats helps nothing either, by the way.