12 week old shelter kitten not using litter box

Question
QUESTION: Hi there. I just brought home a 12 week old shelter kitten. He is not litter
trained although I've discovered he will use newspaper. I've put the litter box
next to a box with newspaper and have put a little of his poop in the litter for
him to smell but he seems to be afraid of the litter or at least doesn't like the
feel of it. He jumps out immediately and doesn't even consider sniffing
around or scambling. How do I get my kitten to transition from newspaper to
litter especially if it seems he's had traumatic litter experiences??!?!?

Additional info that might help: he's a siamese mix (I think) and has NO fear
of anything. Purrs all the time but plays pretty rough. I'm trying to teach him
to play softer with me. Seems like the previous owners raised him without
rules. Since I don't know why he was surrendered, I can only guess.

Thanks!
laurie

ANSWER: Laurie,

Many shelters use newspaper as litter because it is plentiful and cheap. It may be that the shelter wasn't using actual sheets of newsprint but a litter called Yesterday's News. Yesterday's News is a kitty litter that is made from ground up newspapers and shaped into pellets. If your kitty has never used anything but a newspaper based litter he may not understand what the foreign litter box filler is. I am not sure how long your kitten was in the shelter, but there is a chance that the kitten hasn't known any other home. The whole adjustment to a human that cares, has time to pay attention and play is likely foreign not to mention food and litter changes and needing to burn off energy due to spending a good portion of each day in a fairly small cage. You may want to try the Yesterday's News and see if the litter fear changes. There are also kitty attractants that can be put into the litter box to encourage cats to go to the toilet there. You can buy kitty attractants at most pet stores and Yesterday's News is also fairly widely available (at least in Canada and the US). Since you mention that this kitty is a bit on the tightly wound side I would suggest that you try using a homeopathic remedy called Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a blend of flower essences that helps to calm and reassure. I am not sure how much history is known about your new kitten, but there are so many possibilities and reasons that cats and kittens end up in shelter systems. You may have a little bit of work to polish your new little friend's manners, but it is worth it in the end. Having another kitten may help in terms of sorting out the rough play, but if you decide to get another kitten try to get one that is the same age and size or even slightly older. Gender won't really matter in terms of a companion for your kitten so long as the kittens are both spayed and neutered. If you opt not to get another kitten you can try using specific toys to help your kitty learn how to play nicely. Toys like kitten mittens, kitty teases, little mice made with rabbit fur all work well to help a kitten choose a constructive outlet for his/her prey drive. Kittens are more work than they often appear to train properly, I usually recommend that you reward good behavior and use discipline to correct behavior that you would rather not see any longer. Spray bottles (like the kind used for misting tropical plants, never use a used one, they are available at home and garden centers), a product called Sticky Paws (which is medical grade double sided tape that can be used to help train your kitten not to use the furniture for a scratch post), toys, and scratch posts are all useful items to have handy so that if your kitty does something that you do not want you can use the spray bottle or sticky paws to deter him and you can substitute scratch posts and toys for more aggressive play. One thing to remember about scratch posts is that if they are unstable and they happen to fall on the kitten while she is playing the kitten will associate the scratch post with being afraid and possibly getting hurt which can make training more difficult and impossible in some cases. I am sure that you are likely to have many more questions and concerns over the coming weeks and months. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again. If you are interested you can certainly send me a photo of your new family member, I am always interested in seeing the cats and kittens that I have an opportunity to help....

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your advice! I finally realized I could put shredded newspaper on
top of the litter and was hoping to work him down to the litter by slowly
giving him less and less newspaper to cover it. I purchased Yesterdays News
and I already had World's Best Litter but it seems he might prefer to have the
World's Best under there...Yesterday's News seems kind of pebbly and hard
on his feet. Anyway, he seemed to be discovering the litter without much
concern and was using the litter just fine.

Then yesterday morning and last night he got back into his original hidey hole
and used the space under our shelves as a toilet again. He's fine making #1
in the litter but when it comes to #2, we think he needs extreme privacy.

So I was thinking. Maybe a hooded litter pan will suit him. He'll feel safe  in
there. We also think we need a larger litter pan as he tends to pull the liner
off each time he gets in...he's so small but he's got LONG arms!

I'll update again once we take this next step. I'll also try out the homeopathic
method you mentioned after we try this one. Thanks again for your advice!
Oh and if you want me to send a photo of Cesky, I's love to...but how?

Thanks!!!!!
Laurie

ANSWER: Laurie,

If you change Cesky's litter box to a hooded model please make sure that it will be easy for him to get in and out of. You may also want to consider having 2 litter boxes as I generally recommend one litter pan per cat plus one on every level of your home. Cats are very much like people in that they appreciate going to the toilet in a private area that isn't noisy or high traffic. As for the litter box liners my experience is that most cats will pull them apart no matter how large of a litter box you are using or what types of litter are in it. You could try using kitty attractants sold in pet stores to attract your kitty to the litter box to do his business. It is perfectly fine to place shredded newspaper in with regular litter so that Cesky can get used to regular litter slowly, many shelters use either shredded newspaper only for kitty litter or they use a combination of litter and newspaper so this is likely what Cesky is used to. The times that I have seen newspaper used in conjunction with litter the newspaper is generally acting as an absorbent lining to cut down on the time spent cleaning litter boxes throughout each day as well as reducing the amount of kitty litter needed for each cat. You should find that with regular use of Rescue Remedy for a few days/weeks (depending on the severity of any sort of anxiety provoking situations that Cesky has found himself in)that he will become more confident so long as you don't nurture the fearful behaviors like hiding. I do recommend that any place that Cesky goes to the washroom outside of the litter pan is cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner. You can generally find enzymatic cleaners in pet or janitorial supply stores (I recommend janitorial supply stores that sell to the public as the products come in bulk and are not as expensive). An enzymatic cleaner works by using beneficial bacteria to eat the bacteria that cause organic waste (urine, feces, vomit) to smell bad so Cesky won't continue to make the same mistake repeatedly because he is relying on his nose to tell him where the toilet is. To my knowledge sending a photo is an option that is off to the side of the questioner's window in blue and you just need to click on it and follow the instructions. Hopefully this information helps. By the way, another useful tip for kittens is to try playing with them for a couple of hours before you want to go to sleep. This tends to make them less likely to pounce on you if you move during the night, remember Cesky came with a set of razor sharp claws and teeth. You may also want to start getting your little one accustomed to using a scratch post early on as well as trimming his nails so that he will learn to be less destructive when it comes to his humans and their furniture. I can send off some photos that illustrate how to trim kitty nails. I do think that you should be aware as a pet owner that declawing is equivalent to cutting a human being's finger off at the first knuckle so if it is at all possible to avoid this painful and somewhat unnecessary procedure I recommend it. Cats can be taught to use their claws appropriately and that will save money in terms of your furniture and save Cesky the pain of having that operation. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Okay, I've purchased Cat Attract Litter and Cesky seems to be confident using
it in the bathroom but once he's out in the rest of the house...he only wants
to use this one corner of the living room. I've used Nature's Way odor and
stain remover to clean of the area...once a day for three days now and he
STILL wants to use the corner for his toilet. I tried picking him up and putting
him in his litter, he uses it but makes the same mistake later...I tried telling
him NO and then putting him in the litter pan, he uses it and then makes the
same mistake AGAIN! I put his bed in the corner and he tried to pee in his
bed! Then I put down tinfoil and he just walked all over it and tried to use the
foil! Now I've got a spray bottle and sprayed him when he went back to the
same corner...then I went and picked him up, put him in his litter and he
used it. I'm really at the end of my ideas here...anymore help?

He's really an amazing kitten other than this one HUGE issue. I would hate to
have to find him a new home but we've got to set a deadline. I'm frustrated,
can you tell?  

L.

Answer
Laurie,

I fully understand that you are frustrated. I have a few other suggestions for you. You can try putting a small litter box (this may be partially related to Cesky's age and a possible slight weakness in the ability to control his bladder, he may simply find that area convenient to use when he is in the middle of playing, think human toddler) in that corner since he seems to have a preference for using the toilet there. You can also put a bowl of food (cats do not like to eat and eliminate in the same place) there once it has been thoroughly cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner, steam cleaned, treated again with an enzymatic cleaner and allowed to dry. Once the area is completely dry I would strongly suggest that you try using a carpet protectant like Scotch Guard to protect the carpet and underlay, don't be shy, several light coats will cause the urine to bead up and be easily wiped away with a paper towel and treated with an enzymatic cleaner. You could also try a product called Sticky Paws which is a medical grade, double sided, clear tape which is non toxic and will not hurt your kitty. As you know cats are extremely clean animals and really don't like to have anything sticking to their paws or their fur. There are also commercially available indoor repellents (be careful with these as some are more offensive than you might think to humans) which should help to keep the kitten away from the area failing the above suggestions. There are also commercially available pheromone sprays, wall plug ins, etc which are useful because a cat is not likely to urinate where pheromones are already present. You can also use things like citrus peels, very hot peppers, (either freshly minced or dried habenero flakes work nicely and do not have to be replaced as often as the fresh ones do) I would not recommend that you put the peppers or citrus peels directly on  your carpet, but I would certainly give them a try (especially the habernero flakes). Cats are generally not big fans of anything citrus or spicy. If you find that Cesky is willing to eat  habernero flakes I would see if the vet can find any pain as hot peppers have natural pain killing abilities. I would also suggest that you speak with your vet, see if a urine test that screens for the presence of crystals, infection and other issues (like blood in the urine). I use Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor remover, but there are plenty of effective and reasonably priced products at your local janitorial supply store as well. I am fairly sure that this can be figured out and stopped. It will take a bit of time and patience. Hopefully this information is helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.