Expert: Kate Tilmouth - 10/29/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello!

Frankie, our 5 month old Ragdoll kitten, is absolutely perfect. Only one problem- every time he uses the litter box, he comes out with feces all over his paws & bottom of tail, and tracks it (smears) on the floors and carpets.  Eventually, he'll sit and clean it himself, but the damage has already been done.

First, my husband and I thought maybe the litter box wasn't clean enough, so we've made it a point to clean it twice a day. However, just after cleaning the litter box, he went, and the same thing- feces all over the place!

We've decided to buy a larger litter box, thinking that the kidney-shaped one we previously purchased wasn't giving enough room, but it still hasn't solved anything.

Help! What do we do?

ANSWER: hi
sounds to me like your kitten may have been taken away from his mum before he was able to learn from her how to use a litter box. this is not uncommon.

the only thing i can recommend is to try different litters which may encourage him to cover over. some cats don;t like the texture of some litters and want to spend as little time as possible on them.

as you know there are many different types of litter. i have a page about some of the alternatives here for your information
http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-litter.html

best wishes
kate
http://www.our-happy-cat.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: You mentioned he might have been taken away too early? I got him from a breeder at 12 weeks of age? Is there any chance of that being too early?

Answer
Hi
No 12 weeks should have been fine.

There are good and bad breeders and some allow kittens to develop naturally and some interfere too much which i think can cause problems later on. this is just my personal opinion.

Your cat may just be  a slow learner and will need some more time to adjust. I have a page about litter training that may be of interest http://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-litter-box.html

best wishes Kate