Any suggestions for litter box training?

17 years ago

Several weeks ago, my daughter adopted another 6-week- old kitten from the Animal Shelter...unlike the other adopted kittens, this lastest one refused to use the litter box.

This is what I've tried so far:

I gave him his private litter box, I tried different brands of litter...I even tried dirt...I drove nearly 40 miles to a Pet Smart store to buy litter that was advertised on the Internet, invented by a Vet, who guaranteed that any cat could be trained to use it...(I don't know if you can name the brands in a post)...followed the instructions...the kitten jumped out of the box as fast as I sit him in it.

I put a large pet carrier in a room, stuck a litter-filled shoe box lid in the back of it...added food and a small bowl of water, put the kitten inside and locked the door...I turned a TV on in the room for him, and shut the door and waited...several hours...then, checked on him...he had turned the bowl of water over...and his paws were covered in sticky cat litter...(I had to give him a bath to remove it)...But, he had used the litter box! I was so happy...until, I saw he ignored it outside the cage and kept using the bathroom floor for his deposits...after cleaning,I sprayed some vinegar on the tile floor where he had used it, hoping he'd hate the smell and go elsewhere...and the clean litter box was on the opposite side...then, he started leaping into the bathtub to leave his deposits...so I put the small box of litter inside the bath tub...he will urinate in it, but doesn't even try to cover it up...and makes his bowel deposits on/in the tub...and scratches the tile as if that would cover it...

We've had many cats...and he's our first "messy" one.

I love him anyway.

Our Vet said that she didn't know why he acted like that...and all she could suggest was that we keep him alone in the bathroom for several hours with the litter box...

(I had already tried that)

We live near a very busy road...the traffic has already injured several and killed one of our beloved cats...so I'm afraid to let him out.

Anyone know any "Miracle" litter- box training techniques?

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Comments (5)

Elly_NJ
17 years ago
Certainly contain him in the batroom overnight and perhaps place his poops in the litterbox to give him the idea.

There are wire loops that go on carrier doors that hold bowls for water if you go that route. (for overnight)

Put out more large uncovered litterboxes throughout the house where he likes to go, and save poops for those boxes.

Here is a page from a good cat web site called Tallyville about litterbox problems. I hope it has more information for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Page from Tallyville
jannie
17 years ago
There's a cat litter called Cat Attract that has a scent only cats can smell and encourages them to use the box. It may be hard to find,I'm told it works. I haven't personally tried it. I "googled" it and found it available at about twenty dollars for ten pounds.
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We have a litter box called Litter Robot. Best automatic litter box I have ever seen. We also used to have a Litter Maid, the kind with the rake. In theory that is a good idea, but the rake would get all gunked up, the depository that it raked into wasn't big enough so it would get full too quickly and be a huge mess, and the little containers it deposited into were expensive. It finally broke, thank goodness. The Litter Robot is wicked expensive. But it works great. The depository is big and you can use regular small trash bags in it (like 4 or 8 gal that you buy a roll of 100 for $4 from walmart) or you can use plastic bags from grocery store that you carry groceries home in. The litter is always clean. To 'clean' the box, you just pull out the bag of refuse, tie it off and throw it out. We only have one cat so it takes a while to fill up. You have to use a high quality clumping litter, some litters do not clump hard and stay mushy, these would not work as well in it as they could leave wet residue stuck on the inside. They have a 90-day money back guarantee, an excellent warranty and will cover the warranty even if you are not the original owner (if you buy a used one). They do sometimes have refurbished units and also you can sometimes find them on Craigslist or eBay. You have to plug it into an electrical outlet. It is kind of large and looks like the Death Star. For our new house, we will have it in a pre-planned area in the laundry room. For now, we have it in a spare bathroom. I don't think you would need multiple boxes with the LR, as it is always clean. Not sure though ? Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.litter-robot.com/
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You guys are wonderful, thank you so very much for all the wisdom and advice! DH would kill me if I brought home two kittens. We do have a 1 year old German Shepherd, and I think the best is to wait and see how the two get along together before adding to the mix. We're picking the kitten up today; I will post pictures and an update later. I'm holding off on buying the 'furniture' litter box but would love to see pictures of any of your 'hidden' set-ups. We usually keep the basement door closed, and are not down there daily, but that might be the best option. Anglophilia - it sounded like your cabinet combined the food and litter box? Mizlizzie - would you be willing to post a picture? Everyone - thank you again! I have been reading and re-reading this post.
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I've had 2 toy breeds that at some point in their lives were unable to go outside, both successfully trained to use pee pads. If you decide to try the litter box, please do not use cat litter. As my vet explained to me, dogs are curious, and will stick their noses into lots of things, including cat litter, where the litter sticks on the nose, the dog licks it, and the litter is swallowed. This can lead to the litter swelling in the intestinal tract and can lead to blockage, which if left untreated might kill a dog. I'm not familiar with dog specific litter, so I can't speak about it. My vet is pretty strict, and advised me to keep all cat litter boxes at a height, away from my dog's access. I've a feeling some have dogs, and cats with litter boxes, and perhaps the dogs swallowed a bit of litter without harmful side affects, but I'd not take the risk. Annegriet, some dogs need a defined space (this could just be a box with pee pads in it, or a small tray around pee pads. Some dogs simply go on a pad with no boundaries. I've tried the paper pads, which I far prefer for convenience, but for a while I tried these washable 'human' incontinence pads. I was washing and drying pads daily with no time for much else so I stopped - and it was actually more costly. A friend has a large older lab who suffers from mild dementia, and her dog now uses a space with 4 large pee pads - although she sometimes 'forgets' where to 'go' due to the sun-downers. ETA: I second maifleur01 comment: often one sees changes in dog feces better when it's on a pad, which can lead to early detection/diagnosis of health issues. However, I wouldn't recommend pads only for a healthy active dog... going outside is natural, and the exercise is good for them :-)
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As some of the links mentioned, avoid scented litter and bring in some of the soil from outside and place it on top of the litter. Also bring in some of his poop. Where is the litter box located? If he can't see it he's not going to seek it out. Place it in an easily noticeable and accessible location and once he's using it you can slowly move it elsewhere. I would set up 2 boxes......just in case. My outdoor cats easily switched to Fresh Step Unscented Litter. Also, use an open box, not an enclosed one. If he has to live in the garage, check out panel heaters (in addition to a heated pad).....they're much safer than the forced air heaters. I've used several brands of heated pads and this is the best one I've found. It comes with a nice fleece cover and I always buy the medium size since I have large cats. Checked around for best price.
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munkos
17 years ago
I think putting the poop in the litterbox is a good idea. Also, this is going to sound somewhat...mean, but it might work. Have you tried placing the cat in a closet small enough that a normal sized litter box, food and a bed are all that can fit?? (maybe find a way to divide it in half, so the cat cant get past the divider?) Since cats generally hate to eat where they poop, he will try to poop furthest away from his food, and they dont like to poop where they sleep, either. Try placing him in the closet with food and water a few times a day (whenever he needs to eat) and he should have to do his business not long after he eats. Slowly after a few days, try giving him a little more space each time, until everything is normal, and hopefully the cat will have learned where to potty and it'll stick with him. And if he does poop out of the litter box, place it in the litter box and show him, and cover it up.

I had to do something simmilar with a litter of kittens. The mother was a great cat, but she just stopped cleaning up after them one day, and they were hopeless with the litter box. I kind of had to show them the ropes myself and only give them so much space so they'd use the box. Eventually they got the hang of it and stopped going outside the box.
ashli
Original Author
17 years ago
Jannie, it was Cat Attract that I bought at Pet Smart...and the kitten refused to use it...He pooped in the bath tub last night, but today, the little one followed one of our other cats and watched for a few seconds as he used his litter box, then quickly turned and ran to the bathroom...jumped in the tub, got in his box and poopedI had even tried cleaning the floor, then laying down foil, thought maybe that would deter him, but he pee'd on the foil...at least, now he does his business in the bathtub...it could be worse...and later, I'll try moving his litter box to another place...(Glad we have two bathrooms)Thanks for responding.
kesh_k
17 years ago
hi Ashli,
you can try spraying the odour removers on the spots that he has messed up so that it could deter him from going back to the spot.thats what i did for my kitten .
however it could only be a temp solution.
You could try training him on you own. It helps in long term. Check this out & hope you find it useful. http://keshk.a1s2d3.hop.clickbank.net/

Any suggestions for litter box training?

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Elly_NJ

jannie

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Any suggestions for litter box training?

Comments (5)

Elly_NJ

jannie

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ashliOriginal Author

kesh_k

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ashli
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