Kitten not going to litter box

Question
Hi :) I bought some days a persian dollface 1 month and 1 week old. The litter sand I bought is the scented one. She pees and poops in other locations outside the box. I will buy another kind of litter sand, but apart from that....I want to know if this is normal in newborn cats...that they take days or even some weeks to learn to go the litter box? thanks.. what else should I do to help her go to the litter box?

Answer
Xavier -

The natural place for the cat to urinate is dirt. Normally cats want a different place where they can do their business and forget about it. If your cat was outside, she would use the bathroom in a different spot each time she had to go. She would go in the dirt, and dirt is not scented.   Therefore the scented litter that we often get for our cat is usually a turn off to them.  Unscented litter is the best litter for them.  

It may take a while for young cats to know where to potty if they do not have an older cat around to show them what to do.  Eventually, your kitty will learn to use the litter box instead of other locations.  

Cats can be especially finicky when it comes to a litter box. Some cats prefer a certain kind of litter - other cats prefer a really clean litter box.  Remember that their sense of smell is much more accurate than ours and a dirty litter box smells awful to us - imagine how it must smell to a cat who has a nose much more sensitive than we do!!!

If your cat is very small and she has to struggle to get into it - you should consider getting a different kind of litter box.  If she is very little and the sides are high, it may not be worth the effort for her to wrestle her way into the litter box.  

If you provide your kitty with a clean litter box with the kind of litter she prefers, your kitty should have not problem learning to properly use the litter box.

You may want to have her evaluated by a veterinarian to determine if she has a bladder infection.  Cats that tend to urinate in inappropriate places may be trying to let you know that they have something wrong.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM