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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Kitten not using litter tray- confinement training not going well either- Please help :-(

53 replies

CattyCatCat · 30/10/2014 12:54

We got two new kittens a week and a half ago. They are both male, 16 weeks old (not neutered yet as they are indoor cats) , lovely little things and we adore them.

For the first week they both appeared to be using the litter tray well (we use World Best clumping litter in a hooded tray). Last weekend one of them did a wee on the hard floor and then a separate pile of poo. Later he scratched and did a pee on the carpet (all cleaned up with specialist cat products to remove odour). I went out and bought two more litter trays (another hooded and one open) and filled both with paper litter. All was well for a day. Then the same cat returned to weeing on the carpet started,numerous times. He weed on hard floor too. Sometime he even went to the litter tray, sniffed it then walked away to wee elsewhere.

Following advice online we decided to try to use confinement training to re-litter train the one kitten. He has now been in the bathroom for 3 days with a bed, food bowls, toys and litter tray. The first two days, he used the tray well. This morning, he did a wee on the bathroom floor. I don't know what to do next. I am going to neuter him but this seems to be a wee problem rather than spraying (he squats to wee on the floor and the puddles are large).

Has anyone got any advice at all, please? I am desperate! We keep the litter trays very clean though he had done a poo in the tray this morning before he weed on the floor (it was 7am just as I got up). Problem is with two cats, even with multiple trays it is possible that one will poo in both so you can't guarantee a poo free tray overnight and when you are out, iykwim.

What next for the confinement training, do we just continue and hope it improves? Online advice suggests two weeks confinement for re-training. We mss him and although we are spending lots of time visiting him in the bathroom I feel horrible that he is in a room on his own.

Thank you for reading.

OP posts:
Original poster
CattyCatCat · 12/11/2014 13:48

The strange thing is, the wee kitten and the older cat play a lot, follow each other around (on too of kitchen worktops etc) but I can tell there is an undercurrent with the kitten considering itself equal to the pre existing cat.

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Original poster
CattyCatCat · 12/11/2014 22:04

Well, I now have two new hooded litter trays. I've out one downstairs and one upstairs so we now have four in total. I've let the cats out now so let's hope the naughty kitten does not go on a wee bender around my house :-0

I bought a UV torch today so can see if cat has had a wee anywhere on floor. It is brilliant. All clean tonight but I shall be inspecting carpets again tomorrow. I feel like Gorden Ramsey on that Hotel Nightmare show he does Grin

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cozietoesie · 12/11/2014 22:25

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

cozietoesie · 13/11/2014 15:51

How did they get on?

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 13/11/2014 18:27

Thanks for asking, Cozie. So far so good. They are using three of the four trays (one is yet to be christened!). The UV torch has not revealed wee anywhere (and it does work because I looked at the toilet bowl!). They were very well behaved last night and slept outside our bedroom door quietly in a heap. I think they are definitely enjoying the extra space. If they stay good for another couple of days I might let them in the bedrooms too.

One question though, if anyone can help. I used a 'spot on' flea treatment from the vet last Sunday (one if the kittens had fleas). How long should I wait before declaring him a flea free zone and allowing him on beds? I can 't see any in his fur but I couldn't anyway, it was the vets nurse who mentioned she had found some on him. We also Indorexed the downstairs areas he had been in on Sunday too.

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chockbic · 13/11/2014 18:33

Do you have a flea comb?

cozietoesie · 13/11/2014 18:37

That's good - persevere with the extra trays I think and don't worry too much if there's the odd relapse. (As long as it's not wholesale.)

What was the spot on you gave them? Frontline, for example, is now of dubious efficacy in many areas. The fleas, presumably, have become immune to it.

(Indorex is excellent by the way - and I think it lasts for about 12 months.)

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 13/11/2014 18:37

No, just an ordinary cat grooming comb. Will buying and using one pull any live ones out?

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Original poster
CattyCatCat · 13/11/2014 18:38

I've probably got a metal nit comb somewhere.....

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chockbic · 13/11/2014 18:39

Yes I found one in kitty's tail!

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 13/11/2014 18:41

The spot on was Effipro. I am glad you think the odd relapse might be ok, Cozie. I need that hope as I love the little kitten and am willing to persevere.

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Original poster
CattyCatCat · 13/11/2014 18:41

Ok, Choc. I'll get a comb and try that. Thank you.

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chockbic · 13/11/2014 18:44

They are useful in catching the sly little buggers.

A nit comb might be OK, if the teeth are close enough together.

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 13/11/2014 18:47

Search is underway for the nit comb.....last seen 1 year ago.....

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Original poster
CattyCatCat · 14/11/2014 19:40

Kitten still behaving, all wee in the trays. Am so pleased! Still early days but feeling very hopeful it will work out.

I found a live flea on the kitchen floor (that has been Indorexed) earlier. The Internet says this can happen for 14 days after spraying as new eggs hatch. Found my nit comb and plan to check cats later. After using Effipro spot on on Sunday does anyone know how long after you might expect to find live fleas on cat, please?

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cozietoesie · 14/11/2014 23:54

So glad that things have improved a bit - that's a good first step.

Remind me, did you spot-on all of them?

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 15/11/2014 18:15

Carpets are all still clean today Smile.

Yes, I used Effipro spot on on each cat so they have all been treated.

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cozietoesie · 16/11/2014 07:05

Well that's better news. I would have thought that over a few days, proper use of a clean tray will also become a good habit for them so your chances of an accident will be going down. (You might still get the odd one but don't despair if so - clean up properly and persevere.)

Do they seem any more relaxed about using their trays? (I think you had said they were watching the other cats or something.)

I'm afraid that I have no personal experience of Effipro although another poster might have and could comment. If I recall, it's much the same ingredients as Frontline, so probably best to keep a weather eye on things. (The fact that you found a 'live' flea after such a short time, though, doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't workng. That insect could have fallen off because it was sick or dying.)

Just hoover like a Stepford Wife and watch for scratching or flea dirt/crawlers etc.

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 16/11/2014 12:22

You remembered correctly, Cosie. The cats were watching each other using the trays and would walk over and have a look to see what was going on. I guess this was probably a harassment or territorial issue when we had only two trays in the same room. Now we have two more trays, one of which is upstairs, they have stopped doing this. Letting them out to more areas of the house means a cat can use a tray in a quiet room with no other feline company so that's a great improvement. All trays are now being used equally so that is good too.

As for the fleas, I can't find any live ones on the cats and the one I did find on the floor did look to be floundering a bit so hopefully you are onto something and it was dying anyway.

I'll keep checking the cats and if all is well in a couple more days I think I'll let them back in my bedroom to see if the 'appropriate' litter tray use continues with more space. Thanks for all your help, it is much appreciated.

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cozietoesie · 16/11/2014 12:50

Keep up with the game playing for them and the best of luck then.

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 28/11/2014 20:03

Well, all had been going perfectly. Then just now, the 'wee' kitten has done a wee on the carpet. Gah. I shouted 'no', ran over, picked him up and placed him in the litter tray and moved his paws to dig. It was too late though! I had just been playing with him a minute or two earlier. There are two litter trays in the room we are in and nothing has changed.
He has been ace lately and they now have access again to the whole house including bedrooms. I hope this was a one off. I really can't think why he did it :-(

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Original poster
CattyCatCat · 28/11/2014 20:04

The wee was at the room edge again, in a corner, by the patio door.

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cozietoesie · 28/11/2014 20:08

Excitement followed by a moment's inattention, possibly? He's still young.

What happened immediately prior to the accident? Had you stopped the play session for example?

Keep persevering. You might have been lulled by how well he was doing so clean up thoroughly and carry on.

Original poster
CattyCatCat · 28/11/2014 20:21

Thanks for the encouragement, Cozie. I definitely will carry on. He is the best little chap, bar the wee.
I've just checked the two litter trays in this room and to be fair, both were a bit dirty. Two wees in one and two wees and a poo in the other (trays last cleaned at 2pm). The other two trays in house are entirely clean though. I guess he perhaps had peeped at the ones in this room earlier and did not fancy them. I'll try harder to keep them cleaner (though there will be days when we are out).

Immediately prior, we had been cuddling and he jumped down and ran off. It was a couple if minutes later at most that I heard him scratch, I looked up and he was squatting down!

The area is now plastered in a specialist deterrent citrus cleaner.

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cozietoesie · 28/11/2014 20:38

That might be it right enough. I know that Seniorboy, in his old age, has become inordinately fussy about his trays - to the point where he now comes to announce if he's used one so that I can go clean it.

I am now trained to clean trays every time I notice one has been used. (Just as well I work from home.) My side of the deal I guess.

More frequent cleaning is worth a try on your part anyway. Do you use a litter which permits extraction of the soiled bit and leaves the rest? I would be demented if I had to do as some people do and dump the lot every time.

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