17 week old kitten getting confused where to wee!

[Nowmum43]

Hi, we got our gorgeous girl at 12 weeks and she wasn't litter trained. It took a week of being on her and moving her to her litter tray when she needed to go. She has 2 trays, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. We ideally want to get rid of the living room one but this past week she's been trying to wee in our bedroom and has gone next to her litter tray in the living room,
Every time she starts digging at the carpet I move her but can't be sure she hasn't wee'd where she trying. I've ordered some cat odour remover to spray where she possibly might have been.
But other than that I'm not really sure what to do to get her to just go in the litter tray!

Essential kitten being cute picture

What litter are you using? I find it quite odd that she wasn't litter trained when you got her - as long as there is some kind of litter tray available, kittens tend to know what to do, training as such isn't needed..

I'd take her to vet personally - toileting issues in cats are often born out of illness or stress. Where did you get her from?

I got her from someone I work with and use Aldi litter, I've used the more expensive Tesco stuff but she's seemed to prefer this. I'm worried that if she has had a wee somewhere she's drawn to it by the smell? Or should they normally still go for the litter tray?

There are lots of things that could be causing this, but first things first, has she been to the vet to check her over for a UTI? One of the first signs is urinating outside of the litter box. I would also speak to them about getting her spayed ASAP. My female marked on the carpet when she was in season before we got her spayed.

If that's all clear (and she's not marking) I would put money on it being stress cystitis, which is really common in cats, so some things to think about are:

• Is the litter tray in the living room in a place that gives her peace, quiet and privacy? Many cats don't like going out in "public" or where people can see them - it's a safety thing.
• Don't get rid of the second tray. The "rule" for indoor cats is one tray per cat, plus one extra, so she needs a choice of two. Some cats will wee in one, and poo in another.
• Are they trays cleaned out regularly for clumps? One of my boys is REALLY fussy and if the tray is dirty/has clumps he will pee on the floor in protest, lol.
• She may not like the litter - at seventeen weeks she's very young, so maybe a soft, "kitten" litter would be better. Try ZooPlus - they have a really good selection and sell trial packs too.
• Clean her accidents with a proper pet enzyme spray - Simple Solution is really good for cats who go on soft furnishings. You need to soak the area completely and let it dry before allowing her access to that space again.
• Close off her access to the bedroom until you have her vet checked and using her trays more reliably. The easiest way to stop her is to prevent access :)

Sorry it's so long! One of my boys has stress cystitis (fairly newly diagnosed) so I've done a ton of reading on it recently, lol.

Long-term you may want to look at supplements like Cystease or D-Mannose, both of which support long-term bladder health but you need to rule out infection first.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

There are lots of things that could be causing this, but first things first, has she been to the vet to check her over for a UTI? One of the first signs is urinating outside of the litter box. I would also speak to them about getting her spayed ASAP. My female marked on the carpet when she was in season before we got her spayed.

If that's all clear (and she's not marking) I would put money on it being stress cystitis, which is really common in cats, so some things to think about are:

• Is the litter tray in the living room in a place that gives her peace, quiet and privacy? Many cats don't like going out in "public" or where people can see them - it's a safety thing.
• Don't get rid of the second tray. The "rule" for indoor cats is one tray per cat, plus one extra, so she needs a choice of two. Some cats will wee in one, and poo in another.
• Are they trays cleaned out regularly for clumps? One of my boys is REALLY fussy and if the tray is dirty/has clumps he will pee on the floor in protest, lol.
• She may not like the litter - at seventeen weeks she's very young, so maybe a soft, "kitten" litter would be better. Try ZooPlus - they have a really good selection and sell trial packs too.
• Clean her accidents with a proper pet enzyme spray - Simple Solution is really good for cats who go on soft furnishings. You need to soak the area completely and let it dry before allowing her access to that space again.
• Close off her access to the bedroom until you have her vet checked and using her trays more reliably. The easiest way to stop her is to prevent access :)

Sorry it's so long! One of my boys has stress cystitis (fairly newly diagnosed) so I've done a ton of reading on it recently, lol.

Long-term you may want to look at supplements like Cystease or D-Mannose, both of which support long-term bladder health but you need to rule out infection first.

Thank you for your reply. I hope not stress cystitis but we do have quite a loud house and have been at home all Christmas 😞 my girls like to pick her up a lot which we are working on! The spray you have mentioned is the one I have ordered and the litter is soft paper stuff which is why I thought it was good. We'll move her second litter tray and do clean regularly but will do more so. I'll keep an eye on her for a couple of days and if not will get her to the vets. I thought she'd be too young to get spayed? The plan is to as soon as we can. She's a very happy little bonkers and cuddly kitten so hopefully she's ok 🤞🏼

They can get spayed from 4 months
I also find it odd they weren't litter trained as mine were when we got them at 8 weeks. Maybe they don't like the feel of the litter so you could experiment with a different one.

No, she's not too young - kittens can get spayed from 12-14 weeks and they can go into season as young as 4 months old, so it's best to get her done ASAP. You really don't want a kitten in season - they turn into very noisy escape artists

I have to clean my boys' tray every single time he goes in it - remove the clumps and bin, and obviously scoop poo as well. If the trays are too clumpy, he's in/out constantly and then decides he wants to wee on the floor instead, lol.

I would get her to the vets sooner rather than later, as if it's an infection you don't want to leave it to get worse - they can get nasty though will clear up pretty quickly with antibiotics in my experience :)

Even if it is stress cystitis it's not necessarily your fault! Cats are sensitive souls - but yes, it's always worth making sure she's not pestered too much and has plenty of places to escape to - cat trees etc, so your DC can't get to her.

Good luck! :)

I'll definitely look into getting her spayed. I'd just rather do it when we know we can be at home with her for a few days. She seems so small for an operation 😞

My vet said not until 6 months but i found a different one who would do it at 4 months which is the age its advised to do it

I'm wondering actually, I've been in the process of changing her dry food brand and maybe this is something to do with it 🤔

My vet went by weight as soon as the boys weighed enough off they came

Put the litter tray on the spot where you think she messed

She is only tiny so I'll speak to the vets about what weight would be best

I've looked at the weight guide and it's 2 pounds, when she had her vaccine less than 2 weeks ago she was 1.6 so probably not big enough yet

2lbs or 2 months - I did TNR in the ME for years, you'll be surprised at how tiny they can be to get neutered. It tends to work well - less medicating needed, tiny incision, really quick healing etc.