Kitten started pooping on carpet - any advice?

Dreadhead

Hi,

We picked up our new kitten, Pixie, about ten days ago. She was properly litter trained and except for one minor acident on her first day with us, she used her litter tray happily enough for the first five to six days.

Since then she's become more adventurous and is enjoying exploring the house and spending time with the family.

Unfortunately, over the last three to four days, while she's with us in the evenings in the living room, she has taken to pooing in the corners. We've put pepper down wherever she goes, but rather than return to her litter she picks another corner. She even went in the corner of my office the other day, while I was in it!

We are tempted to put it down to her young age, perhaps she gets cut short and can't make it back in time. But her behaviour doesn't really show this. Yesterday we had been out all afternoon and she was left in the kitchen, with her litter tray readily in view.

When we got back her litter was clean. Within fifteen minutes she was in the living room and went on the carpet!

She doesn't appear to be ill, she was seen by the vet about six days ago and wormed - but no signs of anything nasty so far.

We have started using woodchip pellet litter for the first time, and think she may not like it. Any views on this? Certainly she's fussy about the state of the litter tray and we try to keep it clean for her.

Anyway, I was just looking for some advice from anyone out there who might have had similar experiences.

And most of all, what's the best way to train her to use the litter, and only the litter, without causing negative results?

I'd be extremely grateful for any help. Thanks.

luckat

Pick the poo up from the carpet and put it in the litter tray; cover it with a bit of litter. Wash the carpet with *biological* detergent and rinse it.

In case she's stressed and trying to mark out her territory, it might also be a good idea to get one of those pheremone plugs from the vet - it plugs into the wall and lets off scent (humans can't smell it) that is powerfully calming to a cat - it's the smell of a nursing female, I think. Dear, but well worth it.

You can buy the refills way cheaper online, if you need refills.

aphex™

Did you try a gravel litter tray? It's not clear if you tried that before the wood chip. Wood chip sounds a bit.....sore.

Luckat: have you a link for that stuff? Or even a brand name to google for it with?

Dreadhead

Thanks Luckat,

Tried transferring a bit of the poo to her litter. Problem is I think she likes it pristine before she uses it! The pheremone plug sounds like a good Idea. Thanks

Dreadhead

Hi Aphex,

We tried the woodchip stuff because it's biodegradeable - never used it before. Don't like it much now that we have. Part of the problem (I suspect) is that it's pine scented! We're buying a sack of the traditional gravel later on today.

Doper Than U

I think the traditional kitty litter is best, it is actually scented to make cats want to go there, you might be able to change to the woodchip litter in the future, when her litter tray skills are established.

You could, if you catch her in the act, have a water gun to hand, and squirt her with it if you see her going to the toilet. A firm and snappy "No!" (like you mean it!! they know when you don't) at the same time will reinforce that its a bad thing to do. Then lift her over and put her in the litter tray, and tell her she's great if she goes to the toilet in the tray. Its really important to decide how you will deal with it as soon as possible, and be utterly consistent in your response. You may feel that all you are doing is reprimanding your kitten, but as long as you spend plenty of time doing the nice stuff too, she won't take it so personally. The worst thing you could do is give a half hearted attempt to discipline her, fail, and have her confused about what she's supposed to do. I think thats one of the worst things for an animal to deal with, confusion... I hope that helped.

Nala

Agreed. The best way to teach a cat right from wrong is with the tone of your voice. Never slap a cat-I know it hasn't been suggested in this thread but I've heard of people doing it. Aside from the cat losing trust in you, they also have a highly tuned sense of touch and a low pain threshold which means they'll feel it harder than you think.

Maeve

Hi,

You should stick with whatever litter the kitten has been using up until this.
Otherwiseit will look unfamiliar to her. Keep things as familiar as possible for her.

pickarooney

neev wrote:

Agreed. The best way to teach a cat right from wrong is with the tone of your voice. Never slap a cat-I know it hasn't been suggested in this thread but I've heard of people doing it. Aside from the cat losing trust in you, they also have a highly tuned sense of touch and a low pain threshold which means they'll feel it harder than you think.

Have you ever seen cats fight? Owww!

Maeve

Not over poop .. no ..

????

That was a little off topic?

Doper Than U

I think he/she meant that they couldn't have a very low pain threshold because they fight so viciously...??

Nala

Doper Than U wrote:

I think he/she meant that they couldn't have a very low pain threshold because they fight so viciously...??

In my experience, 99% of disputes between cats don't end in fighting! They usually just glare each other out of it until one backs down.

luckat

The other thing you might do is, if you catch her at it, bring the litter tray over and lift her into it; otherwise, put some fresh litter on top of the poo, so she cops on to what you're at - but then either clean it up or put it in the tray.

When I give a cat a litter tray, I normally clean it out every day, by the way. I put a couple of sheets of newspaper in the bottom, then a bit of litter on that. Next morning I tip the lot into a plastic bag, put it in the bin, replace with fresh newspaper and litter, and wash my hands.

Don't slap the cat or spray her; you'll just make her freaky, and that's not a state of mind that makes for good cat training.

These two books might help you:

Cat Training in 10 Minutes - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0793805309/qid=1096994165/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-1619694-0587806?v=glance&s=books

How to Toilet Train your Cat: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0894808281/ref=pd_sim_books_3/103-1619694-0587806?v=glance&s=books (This is how to train the cat to actually go in the *human* toilet, which I'd find a little ewww, but in America, home of the strange, a lot of people won't let their cats out because they get eaten by coyotes.)

SpaceJunkie

Cats are intellegent and exceptionally clean animals as a general rule. They rarely require "training" as such. By nature, cats will attempt to bury their work. It is an instinct they begin with at birth and normally gets reinforced by their mother. What they do need is time to become familiar with the location of the tray and feel safe going in that area. Several things can affect how a cat will react to a litter tray. 1.) How safe they feel in that area of the house. 2.) What the area smells like. 3.) The ease at which she can access the tray. 4.) The type of litter being used. 5.) The cleanliness of the litter.

If she was, in fact, potty trained (which suggests that someone else had seen her use trays regularly before) then I would say there is something wrong that makes the cat leary. How tall are the sides of the litter tray? If a cat has difficulty getting into the tray on her own without jumping, they often look for more convenient locations. For young kittens, trays should have a lowered side where entry into the tray can be accomplished easily or should be only 3-4 inches high. After they get older and larger, that will no longer be a factor. The litter should be cleaned at least twice a day and replaced at least once a week. The litter should be of a type that makes "covering" a natural action. I prefer the clay "clumping" litter or the granular sandy type litter. There are several other types available but they each have their particular drawbacks among them being that the cat won't use it.

If she has been with you for only a short period, she may be stressed a bit. Cats need to be familiar with their environment for instinctive reasons. They are very territorial and are curious about any new thing brought into their domain. She may still be in her adjustment phase. During this time, they can be unpredicatable in many common situations. Patience and understanding will serve you well in this case. Once they settle in, they will begin to behave in a more predictable manner. Are there any other animals in the house or perhaps a dog just outside? This also causes stress as the new cat learns her place within the family and within a new environement.

The carrot and stick approach to training rarely works well with cats. They are very independant and react as many humans would to such methods. Yes, they can become defiant. Moreover, they will never be able to "bond" with people they consider to be a threat. Since your cat is young, now is the time to teach her what kind of person you will be when she is around. And she will definately remember punishment. For young kittens, I recommend a controlled environment such as an unused bedroom (if you have the free space) where you can make it her whole world. Feed her there, place her tray there and cover the floor with papers in case of accidents. When she is outside her room, watch her carefully, play with her, talk to her and be prepared to take her to her tray when the situation warrents. When you cannot monitor her closely, put her back in her room. If she has food, water, her tray, things to play with and climb around on and a place where she feels comfortable to sleep on, she will easily survive the few weeks of training. When you see her use her box, congratualte her and give her attention.

Cats are very tactile animals which means they love being touched (but only at their conveniance). Rather then punish a cat for doing wrong, it is far more effective to reward them with contact and attention when they do right. After a few weeks, she'll be right on track.

Water Guns? Although, water spray often accomplishes your goal in the short term, it also has long term side effects. It is far more humane then striking the animal, but iit still should only be used for the most emergant situations. For example, some cats develop an unhealthy interest in fan or TV electrical cords. I have personally seen the result of a cat chewing through a live electrical cord. Although the cat survived the incident, his teeth and gums were permanantly disfigured. Here is a situation which requires immediate and decisive action on your part. These are the only times I would recommend squirting water at the cat as a training method.
Besides, although it is rare, there are some cats who will not be affected by water at all. Those cats just look at you funny.

Nala

Excellent advice SpaceJunkie!

SpaceJunkie

Thx, neev.

When I registered for this Board yesterday, I could easily have selected "CatJunkie" as my user name because I have raised cats all my life. I love cats and for very particular reasons. And I have made them my personal Science Project trying to learn as much about them as I can. For instance, many do not know that all domestic cats evolved from the Desert Cat first domesticated by the Egyptians long ago. We still do not know how they did it. As a direct result of those events long ago, the domestic cat of today retain their ability to concentrate and store their urine (a sort of mini recycling center) in order to conserve water when water is scarce. Although this ability is rarely needed today, it still exposes them to a major drawback to this capability. A certain percentage of males develop an infection in their urinary tract which, if left unchecked, will completely block their urination and will lead to a bladder rupture and internal poisoning. This is fatal within minutes. I currently have a male who had this problem and only surgery relieved the condition. It is still unknown what mechanism forms the crystals in the cat's urine that leads to this blockage. Some vets think it is organic material in their food and others think it is something in their body chemistry.

My background with cats include raising such Exotic Cats as the South American Ocelot. I helped my dad raise two. These are not pets by any stretch of the imagination but, in fact, are wild animals. Playing with one is quite an experiance and in some cases, moderately dangerous. : )

Dogs are pack animals which means they hunt in packs and follow a "respected" leader. This makes dogs very good pets because they look up to their human as their leader and wish to remain an accepted member of the family pack. Not true with cats. Cats, except for the African Lion, hunt alone and consider other cats in their area as competitors. They have no need to "impress" their owners and mostly just tolerate our existance. That is why, when my cats jump up in my lap, look at me, lay down and start purring, I know he/she truely wants to be there. I've known lots of people. Some do things for me or with me to win my favor and others just respect me and want to share my friendship with no strings attached. Dogs & Cats!

Another cat fact: The fastest known land animal on Earth is a cat. The African Cheetah can reach speeds in excess of 60 mph while chasing down its primary food source, the Impala!

I posted a picture of my cats in the pictures thread. Take a look. I currently have 5 and had 7 at one point. It should be on page 5 of that thread.

Cats now outnumber dogs as pets in the U.S.! I sure never thought that would happen....LOL.

Our man in Havana

try using orange oil in the spots the cat uses - they hate the smell & should stop using that corner - is her litter tray in a corner? if not try a covered cat litter tray - cats are very private & like to be alone when they do their poops. If she pics a specific corner place her litter tray here & praise her when she uses it.