New kitten won't use tray

[Killzone3]

Hi. I got a kitten from an acquaintance a week ago... Female and assured she was litter trained. Came home and purposely bought same litter etc... Kitten won't use it.... For 3 days she's pooed and wee,'d on my new carpets. So I bought a different litter... One for kittens that supposedly attracts them.... No joy. Even asked the lady I got her from if she was sure she was using the tray... She's adamant she was. I have no other pets and just one 9 Yr old girl. I have tried confinement while I go to work....the tray stays clean. I let her have a little roam around the house and as soon as I'm not watching she goes for a corner and doesn't her business. I've tried putting the poo in the tray and showing her etc... I've tried putting the tray where she's done the business... I repeatedly put her in the tray she just gets out then does it somewhere else! She came from a home with 3 cats a dog and 3 kids. She. Otherwise seems settled... Is playing and eating no problem... Even sleeping with me. Now she's starting to run from me because she knows I'm going to put her in the tray..... At my wits end! Had a kitten before and never had this trouble.... Help! I don't want to give her up but I can't have a toilet for a house it's disgusting!

Have you tried wiping up some of her wee with a tissue and wiping the tray with it, so it will smell like the right place to go?

Have you made sure her litter tray is nowhere near where she eats?

My girl took a while to get used to the tray, she kept going to the corner of the living room to do it, I got another tray and put it in her preferred spot.
Then she started going behind the TV instead of either of the litter trays!! Little bugger.
Everytime she went there and started scratching or looking like she was about to go I lifted her into the first tray in the utility room.
Took quite a few times but she got the hang of it. She uses it fine now and mostly goes outside.
Mine was supposed to be house trained too.
Keep lifting her like you would with a baby and a potty.

Would it help if you got the tray from the person you got her from and see if she'll use that.

Few things to try

Litter trays in separate room to food and water - some are really fussy about going anywhere near where they eat or drink

Two trays per cat plus one extra - they don’t like to share usually, and some cats won’t wee in the same tray they poo in

What litter have you tried? You can get wood pellet, clumping clay, nonclumping granules, and silica. Try a sample of each type and see if one is preferred over the other. My current cat refuses everything that isn’t clumping Clay litter. Also worth trying scented and non scented - scented litters put some cats off.

Some cats will only go in perfectly clean litter trays, one wee or poo left behind unscooped and all bets are off for those cats.

If all else fails, puppy pads lining the tray and see if she will use it then. You can introduce a proper litter slowly afterwards.

Also forgot - check the litter tray isn’t too high sided, kittens get overwhelmed by a big tray sometimes, but also make sure it is long and wide enough for her to be able to dig and turn.

You could try a covered tray as well in case the kitten prefers privacy, going to the toilet is a pretty vulnerable position to be caught in for an animal in the wild and these instincts remain in our domestic pets

Thanks all. She doesn't seem to have a preferred spot as I've tried moving her tray to the place she's done stuff and she just does it somewhere else. So today she was. Confined to the bathroom while I went out. Bed food and litter all in it. Got back bought all her stuff back downstairs and literally a minute later I put her in the tray. She got out. I went to the kitchen to make a drink and come back to catch her weeing. Clean that up and go back to the kitchen to finish my drink making to hear my daughter shout that the kitten is now pooing.... In a different spot! Other than getting the original tray from the prev owner I'm doing everything everyone say.... Including putting some poo in her tray for a while... Hoping she will cotton on but nothing!

They often won't use a litter tray if its in the same room as their food or bed. Its like with puppies, they want to move away from the den to defecate.

Oh dear, some cats prefer two trays, one for wee and one for poo and don't like them near their beds or food bowls.

Hopefully your mate will also get her cats neutered.

• misses point of thread but remembers the numerous kittens dumped due to toileting issues.

Litter tray is in different room to her bed and her food she also only had one tray at prev house. It seems I am trying and doing everything that is being suggested 🤔. Co. Comments about neutering and kittens being dumped really not necessary.... I'm asking for a bit of help not negativity..... Thanks

I would take the kitten to the litter box and show her how to scratch the litter with her paws. I wouldn't move the box about as that is confusing. I kept mine in the bathroom with the food in the kitchen but you have to be persistent in showing her how to scratch and taking her to it frequently until she gets the hang of it. Her mother might have been taking her to the litter tray before. Just keep picking her up and putting her in it and scratching with her paws.