At Wit's End With Pissing Kitten!!

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

She is probably 3 months old and simply has horrible litter box habits and always did (something the person who gave her to me neglected to tell me). I clean the boxes, she poops/pees next to them. She’s got three and a choice of litters. It’s like she’s brain damaged; if she has to potty, she’s just pick a corner and go unless I catch her and scoot her over to the litterbox. We have a glass door to the upstairs where she resides with two other very nice cats during the day (we have two groups that need to be separated due to fighting) and she will pee on the carpet in front of the door. For no reason. I put a litterbox there and she didn’t pee there until I moved the litterbox further away, then she started up again.

Sigh. I wanted to keep her as a house cat, but it seems she may be an outdoor/barn cat. She won’t be alone, and will sleep in the garage at night, but I can’t have this peeing/pooping all over the house and on the carpet.

Just to clarify, I’ve had many, many, many cats over the years, and yet to run into a kitten that’s this bad in her litterbox habits. We do have a stray that lives outside that used the box, but insisted on spraying, too (female), and their life is good, but I waited for years to get a calico and now while I love her I am very frustrated.

Any suggestions or support? I really don’t want to cage her, but that is an option, too, to see if I can retrain her.

Thanks! Just venting; she’ll not leave, just not sleep in my bed at night

[BuddyRoo]

Well, the obvious first choice would be to get her tested…do a U/A and make sure that she doesn’t have some kind of UTI or crystal issue.

Behaviorally…many kitties have clear preferences of litter and placement. We (at the clinic) usually tell people to have at least one box per cat if not one more and to make sure those are being cleaned DAILY which most folks can’t or won’t do. There’s also a change in litter. The sandy clumbable litter seems to be most loved by kitties.

Further, having boxes in areas that are safe and quiet counts too.

Dunno what your sitch is, but if you haven’t ruled out the physical, I’d start there.

[GraceLikeRain]

I’d rule out physical stuff. After that I would treat her like a puppy. Make the bathroom her home and she stays in there unless being 100% supervised. Take up any rugs to discourage urinating. Carry treats with you and reward her any time you catch her around or in her litter box.

It could be that an older cat is picking on her or she had a negative experience with a litter box and now has an anxiety about it. Make using the litter box a safe and enjoyable experience.

[BLBGP]

a.) Vet check for physical problems
b.) What types of litter have you tried?
c. ) What types of boxes do you use? Sometimes covered boxes are discouraging, sometimes they prefer them.
d.) Is she declawed?

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

Thanks all…
Have not had a vet check. Urine is normal yellow and clear (ask me how I know). Clay litters, and since I adopted a four-paw declawed cat, I also use sawdust (horse bedding) for the declaw for softness. Clean daily. Both open (huge) litterboxes and a covered just in case. Not declawed; I don’t believe in it. The other cats are not picking on her; they were instant buddies (which I had seen only once before). They play very well together. Can’t make the bathroom her home as that is where two of the litterboxes are for the other two cats. It just seems like she’s mentally slow in that department. I do know she was from a litter of outside cats, which I think is not helping as I’m sure she just went wherever. She does use the covered and the open. It’s just that she will not make the trip to the box if she’s playing or begging to join us from upstairs.

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

I guess I should add that a person at work says it’s a good thing she ended up with me as she would have been dumped at a shelter or worse with average people!

[BuddyRoo]

She really might need a different substrate…I know it’s odd, but some kitties just need a different feel. Can you do a litterbox with the sandy clump type litter for her? Just to try?

[clint]

Cats most definitely do have litter preferences. A few years ago a kitten I fostered was adopted, and the person who adopted her used corn based litter. She wouldn’t use it, and peed on the floor outside of the box, which was the first time she had ever had a litter box problem. I suggested she switch to unscented sand clumping litter, and she has been good about her litter box since.

[Laurierace]

I would crate her until she is using the box reliably. It may take as long as two weeks.

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

Thanks! I am going to move the crate in now; my two older cats always slept on the bed with us and haven’t been able because they had to get locked up at night. Had to just give Dog a bath because he rolled in something smelly. Now for kitten fixin’!

[vxf111]

Some cats, females especially want no part of a multi cat household. Not only do you have several but you have ones that don’t get along and outsude cats too. This may all just be too much stress for your cat. The peeing may be territorial-- even if she gets along with her pals she may not like smelling/ seeing the other separated cats.

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

If she was doing it during the day, I’d understand, but it’s at night. Again, I really think her bulb is not that lit, and she’s just not going to the litterbox when she needs to. Trust me, I know territorial peeing, too

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

And the main reason I have them separated is my four-paw declaw Siamese tries to fight with the others and I’m afraid she’ll get hurt. She’s also 12 years old.

[vxf111]

So wait- you verify her using the box during the day but not at night?! Or you have only caught her peeing period at night. Could be pain/ discomfort and she’s holding it as long as she can.

I’ve had a lot of cats in my life too and never had one not “understand” what the litterbox was for. Even ferals and hand raised kittens. Most of the time IME peeing outside the box is pain/discomfort or behavioral due to stress over other animals. Could someone be ambushing her in the box?!

[vxf111]

If you line the box w a piece of carpet, will she then use the box?!

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

She does use the box. I just put her in the crate with a box, and she went right in it and used it. And when I first brought her home, I showed her the litterboxes, and she used them. What I mean by not during the day is that she uses the boxes during the day, but at night if I leave her down (not confined to the upstairs) to sleep with us, she will not make the effort to go use the box. She’ll go behind the TV, under the cedar chest, behind the couch, at the bottom of the stairs, in our bed, but not go all the way up. To be fair, she’s getting better, but not consistently. I gotta say that when I put her in her crate tonight, and she saw it, she started to try to get away from me before we were even in the room. I know she was crated at the person who gave her to me home (she got her from someone else and gave up on her in a two weeks).

I feel bad, but it’s right in front of a window and she can watch what’s going on outside, plus she has toys, etc. Life here outside is not bad; they get to hunt, play in the barn during the day, sleep in a heated garage with beds at night, but I really had hopes for her to be a house cat. If not, she’ll still live the life of a princess

[VaqueroToro]

Is she by herself entirely at night or is at least one of your other cats with her?

If she’s only doing the inappropriate elimination at night, it seems like its separation anxiety. Three months old is a baby really. If she really has to be alone at night, a big crate with comfy bedding and her own box would be best.

[cowboymom]

I think this is situational and not b/c of any fault really with the cat. Maybe you have too many cat things going on or she needs fewer cats, more humans… probably she would do best in another home if you can resist the urge to bill her as a “bad with the litterbox” cat b/c I really think she’s only bad in your house, sometimes…

I would put her in a pen or a room if I wasn’t there to monitor and since you have so many cat dynamics going on I think I would understand where she’s coming from instead of calling her stupid and try to solve the problem.

I know you think you’re a Cat Pro but calling her stupid disqualifies you.

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

Not by herself at night, with the other two. Spent the night in the crate, and she obviously has been crate trained; no crying, greeted me this am. Unfortunately I cannot trust what the person who gave her to me says, so I can’t ask if this is why she got rid of her to me other than “the kitten is driving me crazy” comment.

Wow, cowboymom - who made you the troll for this thread? Do you really think all animals are mentally the same? For all I know she was injured as a kitten and does have some mental issues. She has absolutely no fear of anything, even my large dog, who she ran up to and rubbed against first meeting…not normal cat behavior when introduced to a strange dog. So yes, that is really stupid behavior for a kitten, it could have gotten her killed.

Edit to add: If I felt I was a pro, I would not have asked here for ideas. I certainly would not be telling others how much they don’t know.

Thanks all for the advice, all - I feel better about trying one more time before blending her with my two outside girls. I’ll keep you posted.

[LauraKY]

Crate her in a large dog crate until she gets it.