Female Cat

Question
Hi Norman,

I live in South Africa and I got a kitten from our local Animal Anti-Cruelty League. She is seven months old as far I can ascertain. I got her when she was about two months old. I have another male cat who is older. The kitten I got pooped all over the place. In the begining I thought it was because she was small. She still poops in my bedroon even though she sometimes uses the sand box. She goes outside all the time with the older cat. I don't understand what the problem is. She is well fed and looked after and my 14 year old son plays with them all the time.

Please help!

Thanks

Helen


Answer
Helen,

If she is not spayed, I would get that done.  I assume, also, you have had her checked out by a veterinarian for any possible medical problems.

It sounds to me as if she was never socialized or litter trained to begin with.  Also, did you use the same brand and type of litter they did in the shelter?  I suspect all the changes she went through have caused some of this behavior.

It is possible the older cat is keeping her out of the litter pan, so a second litter pan placed some distance away may solve the problem.

When we have this kind of problem, we try putting the kitten in a crate with litter pans everywhere but where she eats and drinks.  This usually works pretty quickly, since there is no other option but to go in the litter pan(s).

You also need to clean up her mistakes with an enzyme based cleaner specifically for pet stains and pet odors.  If you cannot find such a cleaner in pet supermarkets or farm stores, you can usually find it online.

Further suggestions can be found in a series of articles linked to by:

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/pointe/9352/litterboxhelp.html

Best regards... Norm.