Expert: Ali - 7/28/2010

Question
Hello, my husband and I have a cat that had kittens 6 weeks ago. My question is can they be given away at this age and what food can I send with their new owners? I know it may be too soon for the kittens to leave their mom, but I have a baby girl that is 8 months and she is getting exposed to the mess the kittens are making. They havent been wanting to use the litter box, I've seen them watching their mom so I'm pretty sure they know about it. I just cant afford to keep shampooing my carpet because they pee and poop all over, my baby's doctor said get rid of them ASAP, but I dont want the kittens to get sick either. I know my baby is more important, but the cats dont deserve to get sick either. Your help is greatly appreciated! thanks, kayla

Answer
Kayla,

It's really not in the best interests of the kittens to be taken from mom this early - they aren't completely weaned at this point and mom hasn't taught them everything they need to know about being well mannered cats who aren't likely to have behavioural problems that might cost them their lives later on plus they aren't finished reaping the benefits of mom's milk as far as their immune systems are concerned. I also share your concern for your baby since it's not hygienic for her to be crawling around in kitten waste. I think that you should know that when it comes to kittens and litter box training they aren't any different from children - it takes time, patience and consistency to get them going in a litter pan. My recommendation to you would be to confine the kittens and their mother in a small easy to clean room, say a bathroom or powder room (don't forget to remove the bath mats or any other soft surface that might get peed or pooped on). The kittens should have low sided litter boxes filled with unscented kitty litter (at this age clumping litter can be eaten and may clog up the kittens' plumbing so giving them something that's not so easy to swallow is probably best) and the litter pans can be quite simple and inexpensive (disposable low sided cake pans work wonders in this situation). I know that caring for a young baby you're busy, but if at all possible try to either get your husband involved or take some time out of your day to put the kittens into the litter boxes, gently move their paws as if they're digging/burying and put any waste you find outside of the litter pans into the litter pans. If you find pee puddles simply use a small amount of toilet paper to soak them up and place the urine soaked toilet paper into the litter pans. Kittens will soon learn to go where they smell waste. To clean up waste so that the kittens aren't making the same mistakes over and over again based on being able to smell their previous accidents you'll want to use an enzymatic cleaner (which contains good bacteria which digest the odors caused by urine, feces, vomit, etc) such as Petzyme. You can find Petzyme at any Petsmart, but I recommend buying it from the dog section because it's available in larger quantities for lower prices and it's identical to the Petzyme available in the cat section of the store which is more expensive. By keeping the kittens in a bathroom or powder room you won't have to deal with having your little one crawling around in kitten waste & clean up is much easier in a room full of hard surfaces. The more times you put the kittens into the litter box the more quickly they will get the message that that's where they're supposed to go - just like a baby they're more likely to need to eliminate after naps, meals & before, during or after playtime. I'd recommend that you clean the carpets that the kittens have soiled with Petzyme if you're going to steam clean them again so that your baby will be completely safe from the kittens' potty accidents. The kittens will be ready to go to new homes at 12 weeks or so (in a pinch they can go at 10 weeks, but 12 weeks is better for them overall), but it would definitely be best if you were able to teach them how to use the litter box (just as with kids potty training is an acquired skill) because their chances of having a lasting adoption if they don't use a litter pan aren't very good and they may end up being euthanized simply because they didn't know any better.

If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me again - I'll be more than happy to help you out if I can.