training a kitten to use litter box

Question
My month old female siamese refuses to use a litter box.  She prefers to go on my kitchen floor.  I've tried several different types of litter but she always tries to eat it.  I've tried training her on a newspaper, but she refuses.  Other than this, she's growing well & is healthy. Can you help?  Thanks.  

Answer
Linda,

What happened to mama? Normally the mama trains the kittens to use the litter box.

What we have done with recalcitrant kittens is to cage them where all they have are litter boxes on the floor of the cage, except for food and water dishes.  Usually, within a couple of weeks they figure out what they are supposed to use it for.

Also, it is not uncommon for month olds to eat clay litter. Because of this, never, never, never, never use clumping litter with kittens this young.  I would start with a plain clay litter with no added crystals of any kind, so, if the kitten does eat it, there is less likelihood of anything causing problems in the digestive tract.

Month old kittens are really not ready for litter box habits yet, but will figure it out by 6-8 weeks. Make sure the litter box is short enough for the kittten to get in (2 inches is a good height) and the litter box(es) need to be emptied frequently. Once the kitten eliminates, put some of the material in the litter box and then put the kitten in so the kitten gets the idea that this is the correct place for elimination.  It takes a little longer for peeing, but they eventually do get the idea.  The advantage of using a cage is to have better control over where the kitten goes, and most kittens figure it out pretty quickly.

A couple of references you might look to get are:  "Kittens for Dummies" by Dusty Rainbolt and "Hand-Raising the Orphaned Kitten" by M.L. Papurt.

Good luck & best regards... Norm.