cat people

Eris13021

okay. My 8 week old siamese will not use the litter box 100% of the time. He is doing his business in the living room, i cant put a litter box here in teh living room as im afraid my 9 month old will get into it. We have 4 litter boxes total. SO its not like he doesnt have any choices about where he can go. NOW I have to drag out the dresser the tv is on and scrub the floor. He pees where ever he wants also. Its come down to me shutting him in the bathroom at night and when we are not home.

any suggestions?

I keep telling him..i know im talking to a cat...that its a shame when 5 week old kittens have figured out how to use a litter box and they use it a heck of alot more often than he does.

I think he is too lazy to walk from point A to point B

Elana55

One person here put a litter box in a dog crate (open wire kind) to keep the dogs out of the litter box. Maybe that is worth trying since you can set up the cage so the cat can get in but the kid cannot.

Clean the spots where the cat has "missed" with an enzyme cleaner such as natures miracle. Cats can smell things better than dogs (hard to believe I know) and will go back and use the same area 'again.'

Also, make sure the cat boxes are cleaned daily, and if the litter gets to smelling even after the box is cleaned, then it is time to dump the litter, scrub out the box and put all new litter in. You may be doing all these things but it is worth printing here for others.

And yes.. kittens.. like puppies and kids.. sometimes rather play than take time out to properly use the right Bathroom!

Eris13021

I scoop daily dump as needed. I use vinegar to clean thoroughly when needed. I use a variety of litter with 4 litter boxes. I hate teh smell of cat poop...blah...

Elana55

I figured you did.. but worth posting for those who do not.

Maybe the caged cat litter will work for your kitty. Siamese are awesome cats.

Eris13021

im still upset that i lost two to a dog and another from birth defect. And Kobi is the only survivor out of them

Willowy

Sometimes little kitties "forget" to use the litter. I like to keep them confined when unsupervised until they're about 12 weeks old. A large dog crate, a small bathroom, or a cat condo should all work. You just have to program his little kitty instincts.

Eris13021

i got a small litter box and put it in the livingroom. He has been using it all day.

Willowy

Well, that's good! I guess he just couldn't hold it long enough to go into the other room. Just like little kids .

Eris13021

now i have 4 litter boxes on the lower level and my bf is co mplaining that the house smells like cats. I dont smell it but he does...

TuckerBoo

After a week or so, I'd remove at least one of the litter boxes. It's tough, but your kitty needs to learn the ONE place, or maybe the TWO places where they can go. And it looks like right smack in your living room is one of them! We used to have a huge litter that we were giving away and we had 3 boxes... they'd use one to play, another to "go" and another to sleep in. We figured out they just needed one.

But again, take your time with it. Yankee candle has these GREAT wall plugins and they've completely covered up the litter box odor in the room we have ours in... give it a try! Best of luck!

canteloupe

I was going to say, try putting one in each room. When they're little they need one within sight/smell at all times.

I don't know if that's best. I think you should wait until the kitten is easily running from room to room and all over the place on his own. Or until you can tell that he's ready. You really don't want to jump the gun and end up with life-long litter issues because he learned early that it was okay to go on the floor.

Eris13021

i have one in the down stairs bathroom, one in the livingroom one on the stair area going upstairs and one upstairs. I have 6 kitties in side so i figure 4 boxes are a good thing.

Willowy

Well, the recommended number of boxes is one per cat plus one extra....but if you keep them extra clean maybe your cats won't read the memo......

dZilla

My suggestion is, (don't know if you've done this)... is grab the cat, bring it to the litter box you want it to use, and "dig its paws" (as in pretend to dig with the cat) into the litter, (your cat will probably want nothing to do with it, and try to run away, at least mine did lol)... just repeat that a few times every day for a few days....

I've got two cats, one litter box, and never had an issue.

Willowy

That can really backfire, and cause some serious litterbox avoidance issues......I'd be very reluctant to use such a method with a cat. Anything that makes the litterbox "scary" to the cat can cause avoidance issues.

dZilla

I'm not saying hold the cat there until it goes to the bathroom... just so it gets the idea...
I've done it to my cats.. you bring the cat over, paw the litter two or three times, and then let the cat go.... some reason both my cats got the idea after that....

sillylilykitty

So true, so true

Sounds like my house, I dont smell it, the parents do though Im glad it sounds like he decided to use the litter box now.

grab

We've always added extra cat boxes around the house when we've had kittens running about. They seem to lose track of themselves while they're playing and, being babies, sometimes can't hold it to go across the house. I've never had to keep the extra boxes out longer than a month or so.