cat litterbox

Question
We have 2 grown spayed/neutered cats (indoor and outdoor), who know how to use the litterbox but mostly go outside.  Now we also have a kitten (about 7 months old) which belongs to my son and will be here for 3 or 4 months.  Because he will eventually be living in a city house, our son does not want the cat to go outside.  The kitten, Toby, refuses to use a litterbox, even when we set him into it and show him how to cover his poop with litter.  (After picking up the poop off the floor and putting it in the box.)  He poops and pees beside the box.  I've tried different kinds of litter and tried giving him his own box--without success.  Do you have any tried and true ideas?  We will be taking him to the vet for neutering within the next 2 weeks.  I thought it would probably solve the problem, but friends have said that neutering may not help.  Thanks a lot for any help you can give us!

Answer
Hi Nancy,
  Give the baby alittle bit more time. After all he is like a newborn (smile). Sounds like your on the right track with trying to teach him to use it, but his new buddies (the other cats) need to show him aswell. It is recommend that you have a little box for each cat plus one. And your friends are right, neutering may not help right now with your litter box woes, but he does need to be neutered for health benefits. Oh... another little thing make sure when you clean up his messes you DO NOT use a cleaner that has amonia in it, because that smells like urine to the cat. Well..hope I have helped at least a little. Take care and good luck.