Expert: Marcia Owen - 8/21/2009

Question
Hi, we have 3 kittens who were abandoned by their mom at aprox.3 weeks old. They are now 4 weeks and are bottle feed. We have designated areas for them to pee and poo. They were doing pretty good at first but now they are using other areas. We put a layer of clay litter and a layer of crystals and then covered with paper towels-to protect them from getting the litter stuck to them. We let them roam in a small contained space and have 2 little boxes set up-but they are starting to go beside them or on other smooth surfaces like hardwood floor. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Lisa

Answer
Dear Lisa

It may very well be that they do not like the type of litter.  Try to find something very fine and soft.  Something like Worlds Best works well to start them off but you could also consider something like shredded paper.  I have some cats that prefer that.

The kittens are still very young and need constantly being put into the litter tray which I'm sure you are doing.  You need to do this every time they wake up or have fed.  When they make a mess alongside the litter tray, try clearing it up with a tissue and putting it into the litter tray so they associate the smell with the litter tray.  It would be even better if you could squeeze a bit of week into the litter. I would also take the paper towels off the litter once you have found one that will not harm them if they eat it (kittens try everything), such as Worlds Best.   Cats like to scratch in their litter which they won't be able to do with the paper towels on top.

Hope some of the suggestions work.

Marcia.