My kitten was born on April 10, 2011 according to my mom. She has a feral cat she can't catch in her garage and this is her kitten. I got the kitten a week ago so she's about 6.5 weeks and she is very sweet and loving. My eight year old is in love with this kitten but me....not so much. She poops everywhere all the time, she has poop constantly stuck to her but and belly so I wash her twice a day (soft diarrhea poop). She doesn't like the litter box so any fabric, including my couch, or paper, including my telephone book, is her litter box. I need help! I don't want to get rid of her but I don't want the stress of poop and pee everywhere. I don't mind the constant crying(meowing) but the potty issue is driving me nuts. SUGGESTIONS PLEASE !!! :-(
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Need advice with new kitten
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Hi Dawn! Hang tight with us, you'll get some answers throughout the day. What are you feeding the little one? Sounds like whatever she's being fed now might be giving her gastric distress. It's not hard to have that occur with little ones. My big buddy Hermes has to have his butt cleaned frequently, I use either a soft, wet, warm washcloth or baby wipes (very gently). Might be you'll have to gently train her to use the box. May have to try different kitty litters to see which one she prefers. Sometimes one with no scent may be more attractive to a little kitten nose. She is just a baby and doesn't know any better. Bless you for taking on this little angel, when you bond, it will be a very strong one!
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Siobhan, thanks so much for the encouragement. I do love her (how can you not) and I want to get through this. I am feeding her a 1/4 cup of iam's proactive health kitten chow (she doesn't seem to like this) and 1 3 oz can of Wellness, Grain free kitten formula from Petco. I give a half a can in the morning and a half a can at around 5 pm. I also have a larger can of Friskies Prime Fillets with gravy (for cats and kittens), my mom sent this home with me. I give her a tiny bit right before bed so she doesn't meow me awake all night. She seems to want to constantly eat. As for the litter box I, didn't realize they preferred smells, I just thought they liked litter and went. Okay, my cats were always months old and trained before. :-)
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It might be that the variety of food she's getting right now is what's causing her tummy distress. If she's not keen on the Iams, then skip it for now and try again later on when she's a bit bigger. If you can somewhat limit the kind of food she gets, her loose poops might resolve themselves. Little ones can dehydrate quickly, so please keep plenty of water out for her. Maybe more than one bowl in different part of the house.
To help with the nighttime lonelies, you might consider a soft blankie in a box in a corner or under a table (for safety and secure feeling), maybe with a heating pad on LOW, and a small stuffed toy (beanie baby type) that will approximate the warmth and presence of momma and siblings. This often helps keep a baby from crying in the night. Poor lonely wee one!
Let her come to you for pets and love, don't force her to stay, and I bet she'll be seeking you out for neck cuddles very soon. You will become her mommy and the center of her world.
Watch your little one around the kitten, kittens are fragile and children sometimes don't understand what "hold her gently" means. :-) Your child can grow to be very gentle with this kitten and the two will have a special bond that only kittens and kids get :-) Maybe "mommy" should hold the kitten and let the child pet her gently until kitty gets older.
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Until the kitten is using the litter box consistently I would limit her to one small room with litter box, water bowl (and food bowl as far away from the litter box as possible), toys, soft bedding, etc... (And, of course, frequent visits.) A bathroom or laundry room is usually ideal because they are easy to clean. Once she is using the litter box, you could let her out for supervised visits in the living area...but I would leave her in her room when you are not able to supervise until you are sure she has the litter box thing figured out. Good luck...and welcome to TDK.
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Her name is Isabella she is a gray and black striped little purrball. She loves the neck love the ear and chin nips and I am her personal favorite floor toy. Her best trick so far is her Halloween cat side leaps for my fleeing fingers :-). Kiana (my daughter) has minimal time with her right now and she has to keep her door closed at night so she doesn't squish Ms Bella in her sleep. Catster? I will check it out after work. Thanks again I'll try your advice and keep it simple with the food, change litters and lots of water. She has the stuffed teddy but blankets become her litter box, she prefers my corner under my table to sleep. She has good attack capabilities from there....LOL. Take Care!
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@Ecbrown, I did try the bathroom but she meowed so loudly for so long I couldn't handle it. I live in an apartment with thin walls, so I was worried. I even have a large pet carrier for her but she was so meowy and sad I couldn't leave her in it while I was away. Is there any other way instead of confinement? This really is my only issue with her, Potty training never has been my strong suite. :-) Thanks!
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If she isn't too keene on the bathroom, try keeping her in your bedroom then. Make sure she has her stuffed animal and play things. (a paper bag, a rubber ball, and rolled up socks is good for now). If she is using a blanket and paper as a litter box, I think you should put newspaper in the litter box because she obviously prefers that. Later on you could add litter little by little. Put any stray poop and soaked up pee in the litter box too. She'll start to form an association between it and and elimination. Also, make sure you are cleaning her accidents with enzyme cleaner so she won't smell her old accidents and think she needs to go back there again. Try putting her in the litter box after meals and using her to paw to make a digging motion. And of course don't let her stray to far from the litter box(es)!
Don't get discouraged, 6.5 weeks old is young to be completely litter trained, but by 8 or 9 weeks she should be trained.
Also, make sure the litter box isn't too high or too close to food and a lot of traffic. A disposable cooking pan works well.
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Try offering her more than one box for a while. Maybe three boxes, 1 open try with regular sides, 1 open tray with lower sides and 1 tray with a top. Also use a different litter in each one to see which she prefers.
Get a product called Cat Attract. It's quite expensive if you fill up the entire box with it, but you don't have to do that. Most people find that just a sprinkling of the Cat Attract litter as the top layer works just fine.
When ever possible, dump her accidents into the litter box. When she can smell her previous 'offerings' in the box, she's more likely to go where you want her to go.
Pictures?
Posted 1 year ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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Is the litter box small enough that she can get in and out easily? They sell kitten-sized pans, or you can use a disposable foil pan. Young kittens shouldn't have clumping litter since they eat the litten and it can clump inside them causing fatal obstructions. As she is feral-born, you could try a pan of dirt or sand. If she likes paper, you could try newspaper.
We got Catkin at 10 weeks and he often had stool stuck in his fur (medium-hair) requiring wiping with a baby wipe whenever we noticed the not-quite-fresh-kitten-smell. We were debating taking him to the vet to have his butt shaved, but he grew up and learned how to toilet neatly. So they do seem to get neater with age.
Posted 1 year ago by Kiplings_cat #
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