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Ask the Veterinarian/kitten not using litter box, but sleeps in it

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Expert: - 6/1/2010


Question
Hi. We just got a new kitten. It is 9 weeks old - we still can't tell if it's a boy or girl. Anyway, We have a large cage we put him in right after we brought him home and his litter box is in there. When we came home, he was sleeping in there. It looked like he may have used the litter box a little to go to the bathroom. The next day, we did not see him use the bathroom all day, nor was there anything in his box. Then, this morning, I saw him run behind the couch and pee. I cleaned it up and put him in his box, but a few minutes later, he went to the same spot and pooped. How do I get him to use his litter box? Right now, his food and water dish are near the box. Is that why he is not using it? We figured we would keep everything near one place until he get used to all his things.

Answer

drawing of male and fe
A cat will not use a litter box anywhere near his/her food. You need to put the litter box somewhere he can use it all of the time but that is out of a high traffic area and no where near his bed. food or water. That is why he thought his litter box was a new bed!

Put some plastic or aluminum foil over the are he used on the rug because they don't like the feel of the plastic or foil.

It's easy to tell the sex of a kitten. They you hold up their tail and it looks like they have two dots (rectum on top, tip of penis below) you have a boy. If it looks like an upside down exclamation point( ! but upside down)it's a girl.

Color also can help at times. Calico's are always girls. Orange cats are about 55% of the time boys.

Don't use Purina kitten chow on this baby either. Kitten chow is covered with milk which they are intolerant to. Use Science Diet Kitten Growth to grow a healthy, strong kitten.  

Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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