topic Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question) in Community Chat

We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Shorty2U — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:16:20 GMT

This may be kind of a long kitten story, sorry but I know there are a lot of pet owners on here so thought someone may have suggestions.

We got a new tuxedo kitten late today. The kitten is so adorable and loves to cuddle and play with our cat toys. (Our 1 cat just passed away weeks ago and we have 2 others, and I had said no more, but when i heard this kittens story well we had to take in this kitten).

We havent decided on a name yet b/c it is sometimes hard to tell the sex this young BUT we are 95% sure its a girl. (My DH had a cat once and thought it was a girl and the vet said it was a boy..lol.. so we thought to be sure we will wait till it sees the vet) .

Anyway the kitten is approximately 4 weeks old. Why do we have her at 4 weeks? A friend of the family found 3 kittens in her alley after that big NE snow storm 4 weeks ago. 2 of them had passed away (during the storm is the assumption), and the mother was gone and never came back. So sad!

She had her husband bury the 2 kittens and she took in this newborn kitten who was all alone, but she couldnt keep the kitten long term due to her other animals.

She bottle fed the kitten and said she was litter trained. The kitten is in excellent condition. We are still giving her formula and also kitten wet food (but only a little at first to make sure and again until we ask our vet being shes so young).

Now here is the issue. At first she went in the box but later tonight she had 2 accidents on our flooring. We had put her in the box off and on to show her and as I said, the person that had her said she was fully trained.

But I just read online that the mother cats help train the kittens to go in the box and kittens dont use the box properly until 4 weeks (her age). So online it says if the kitten is an orphaned kitten to keep training the kitten yourself with the right kind of litter (which we have) and keep the kitten in 1 small room. So now (When I am not holding her/playing with her) I put her in our one bathroom with a warm blanket on the floor and the litter box is in there.

I never knew the mother trains young kittens to use litter boxes, (of course if the mother was still around and was outside she couldnt litter house train the kitten anyway). I wonder is the kitten just confused from being with this person that found her? Or did the person just say she was trained?

At any rate does anyone have suggestions to make sure she gets fully triained to go in the box other than what I typed, because every time we got kittens in the past they were fully trained bc they were older than this cat. Of course the vet will also shed light on this too and we are calling the vet in the morning to set up an appt.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Hoovermom — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:25:30 GMT

A pregnant cat was dropped off at our shop, and she gave birth to 4 precious kitties. These kitties did not use the litter box until @ 6-8 weeks or so......the mother took care of their excretions. Since they were nursed @ 8 weeks or so they did'n't have normal BM's. This is just my experience. The mother cat did train them to clean themselves and also use the litter box. I was concerned because I did not see enough waste in the litter box for that many kittens. So, to Google I went and found this out. I am sure your Vet will help you with any questions you have. Blessings to you with your new furbaby.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Ane1Care — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:34:17 GMT

When you can tell it's time to go, or they start to go wherever, quickly put them in the litter box. Other times, I'd put them in the litter box, and scratch the litter with my index and middle finger. They got the idea. Then a, "good job", and treat after.

I never kept mine suclued. Just kept an eye on them. Accidents happened, as with potty training a human, but I just cleaned it up without fuss. TMI, but, I would put dried poop on top of the litter, put one kitten in the box, and their nose and nature would want to bury it. Haha! It helped to click the light bulb for them.

Do you plan to house break it later? Or in doors only?

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Catty2 — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:30:55 GMT

I think it's a good idea to keep her in a room with her own litter box until she learns what to do. Since she's so small, maybe even an 8 x 8 disposable aluminum cake pan would work. I would try putting her in the box and then scratch the litter with your fingers so she can that it moves around. After she learns I would suggest you have one litter box per cat, even though they can use all of them. Make sure to keep them clean and scooped out. Good luck with your new kitty! She's so lucky to find a good home.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

sandraskates — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:34:10 GMT

I don't have much advice but I wanted to say congratulations on your new little friend! Hubby came with a tuxedo cat.

I seem to recall taking a kitten, placing him in the litter box and then moving him back and forth so his little paws felt the litter; I think this simulates what they do in the dirt.

You'll get some other suggestions and your vet should be helpful. Give you new kitty some time.

And a photo would be good. :-)

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

beach-mom — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:43:07 GMT

I asked DH and he said what you're doing is fine. Just don't keep her by herself in the room with the door closed. If you're concerned about her safety from the other cats at night, keep her with you - not by herself. Meanwhile keep her box in the bathroom with the blanket (and an open door) and eventually she'll get the idea! Try not to let anything frighten her while she's using the box. That might cause problems with her using it in the future. Congratulations on the newest member of your family!

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Carmie — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 05:53:38 GMT

Cats and Kittys, too will go where there is a smell of urine. I suggest that when you clean up her mess from your floor that you place a piece of paper towel with her urine on it in the litter box. You can place feces in there too. Your kitty will be drawn to the litter box by the smell.

Also, be sure to clean up very well when there is urine on the floor. Use a product made to remove all odors or your kitty will keep going to that spot to do her business.

Best wishes to you and your new little one.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

tedEbear — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 04:48:36 GMT

@Shorty2U-Congrats on the new kitten. When we had a kitten just so young and being bottled fed, we rubbed it's tummy from the neck on down to get potty going, then set them in litter box. Once we went on vacation and took a tiny one, I had a shoe box in front by my feet for the litter. Just do the tummy rub for a bit and then put in the box. Have fun!!!!----tedEbear

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Rae-07 — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 05:01:57 GMT

I have had kittens and cats for many years but I don't claim to be anexpert. Please don't expect your new little four week old kitty to litter train himself at that age. He will do just fine when he reaches eight to ten weeks old.

show him the box and he will know what to do.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Deb1010yetagain — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 05:36:54 GMT

Shorty, you have a big loving heart. It was soo good of you to take the baby cat in. It'll all work out in a couple of weeks. You did good.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

shoekitty — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 23:42:43 GMT

@Shorty2U

Sometimes you have to take a cloth with warm water squeezed out, and massage kitty's butt.. for them to poo. This simulates the Mom licking them. That is, if she is not pooing by herself. Maybe she is older than 4 weeks? I remembner my first litter boxes for the tiny ones were those aluminum pie plates.! Wow! I can't even remember my Sushi that small! His poo is as big as a pie plate now, LOL!

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Shorty2U — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 06:03:55 GMT

Thank you for the wonderful advice and I will try it all and ask the vet too. I was thinking as yous said, the kitten is pretty young to know to go in the box. I might add its runny when the kitten goes due to the formula. Well this will sure keep me busy which is a good thing since i am home all day. Whats not to love about taking care of a kitten? :-) Thank you all again and I will check back again and call our vet to make the appt. 1st thing tomorrow.

PS I forgot to answer the above. Yes we will keep her indoors. We never let our cats out. (I had a cat when i was a kid and the cat would go out and he got hit by a car) So, I wouldnt trust letting any cats out doors.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

nrm — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 06:11:35 GMT

Hi Shorty, so happy to hear that you adopted the little baby! You're a dear. My son adopted a kitten two years ago and he was too tiny to get into the litter box by himself so my son would pick him up and help him in. It didn't take long for him to go to the box by himself. The first thing we always did with our cats was take them to our vet for a check up and shots if needed. The other posters gave you great advice.

Have fun with the new baby and keep us posted. 😄

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Desertdi — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 07:13:09 GMT

Congratulations on your new "baby" !!!!!!

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

mstyrion 1 — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 07:47:35 GMT

congratulations, Shorty. I have a Tuxedo cat too and they are wonderful.

You've received a lot of good advice. I agree with the posters whosaid the mama cat stimulates young babies to go before 6 weeks old.

I also remember when I was training my two for the litterbox, I used an aluminum cookie sheet instead of a regular litter box because they were too tiny to crawl over a high edge. They were born outside and when I decided to make them all house cats, I brought them in at about4 weeks old.

I confined mine to a bathroom with the door cracked open so mama could get in and nurse them. I didn't want them having the run of the house when they were that small. When they were old enough to figure out how to get out of the bathroom, I figured they were old enough to be out and about in the house. It was also a quiet place for mama to nurse and take care of them.

There were a few accidents along the way, but they quickly figured out the litterbox.

Good luck!

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

hckynutjohn — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 08:55:09 GMT

@Shorty2U

Always love hearing about people like yourself and your husband bringing in a kitten, especially one that all alone in our big world. A BIG thank you to both of you for your kindness to this little kitten.

Cruiser is our Tuxedo guy. He was born outside our home with 7 litter mates. We made sure the mother was fed well as she also was born outside our home with 5 litter mates.

I was in the process of humanely trapping all 6 of them, but! Cruiser's mama was too smart for her own good. We had trapped the other 5, taken them to our vet and had them "fixed". By the time we finally got her trapped and took her to our vet? She was already going to become a mama.

She gad the 8 kittens outside our home, 1 of which was Cruiser, and we brought in mama and our Tux, Cruiser. We adopted out all of the other kittens with the help of our vet.

I really can't anything to what the other posters have suggested about litter box training. What I will express is this. Since you already have 2 cats, make sure your vet runs a Feline Leukemia Test on the tuxedo.

We have a female that showed up at our door as a kitten, probably 7 weeks old. As soon as we thought she was old enough, we took her to our vet to be spayed. At that time we already had 10 indoor only felines.

During a less than 6 week period, we lost our 3 oldest ones. We decided to bring her inside with our 7 remaining furry ones. So we took her again to our vet to have the Feline Leukemia Test done. She unfortunately tested Positive for that Leukemia, so we could not risk bringing her in to join us. She stays close to home and we take good care of her.

Just wanted to pass that info along since you have 2 other indoor furry ones. It is a very important test for the safety of your 2 other cats.

Thank you again for taking in this homeless little baby.

hckynut(john)

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

60sgirl — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 11:55:23 GMT

as others have said, mama cat takes care of all their meeses when they are that young, in the shelters when mamas give birth they stay in the cage with babies and only mom goes in the litter box. You clean the cages and wonder where is all the baby poo? Well, now you know. When they begin walking around the cage they go and sit in the litter and play in it and sometimes try to eat it, they eventually see mama use it properly and then they do too.

This young without the mama around, that has to be you. Put baby in the box throughout the day and stimulate the bottom with a wet wipe until he goes. Over time, baby will understand.

I could tell you how to sex it, but not here! just google how to sex a kitten and there are tons of youtube videos on that.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

jaxs mom — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 14:08:40 GMT

I've never had an orphan kitten that young, I have taken in a mom with kittens and those kittens took readily to the box. My only suggestion is make sure you are using non clumping littler, because clumping litter is dangerous for kittens if they ingest it. Even more so if the kitten is long haired as clumping litter sticks to longer fur more easily.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

Burnsite — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 14:32:54 GMT

Shorty, A big thanks for taking on that tiny kitten. As you know, she will pay you back a thousand-fold with affection and entertainment. Kitten-watching is more fun than TV!

If she is still using paper in her box, this might not be a practical suggestion, but there is an (expensive) litter that I use to attract Claire (who when stressed goes out of the box) to the cat-litter area. It is called "Cat Attract." I sprinkle it over their "World's Best." The texture of the Cat Attract is not as granular and hard. Claire had a hard time when I was sick around 7-8 years ago--and I started using Cat Attract then. No incidents since then.

Often my cats poop just after their morning feeding. After she has her formula, massage her bottom gently and she may pass her stool. You can do this while in the cat box area.

Tuxedos, every one I've known, anyway, have very genial, sweet personalities.

Re: We got a new kitten!! (I have a question)

KingstonsMom — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 14:57:57 GMT

@hckynutjohn wrote:

@Shorty2U

Always love hearing about people like yourself and your husband bringing in a kitten, especially one that all alone in our big world. A BIG thank you to both of you for your kindness to this little kitten.

Cruiser is our Tuxedo guy. He was born outside our home with 7 litter mates. We made sure the mother was fed well as she also was born outside our home with 5 litter mates.

I was in the process of humanely trapping all 6 of them, but! Cruiser's mama was too smart for her own good. We had trapped the other 5, taken them to our vet and had them "fixed". By the time we finally got her trapped and took her to our vet? She was already going to become a mama.

She gad the 8 kittens outside our home, 1 of which was Cruiser, and we brought in mama and our Tux, Cruiser. We adopted out all of the other kittens with the help of our vet.

I really can't anything to what the other posters have suggested about litter box training. What I will express is this. Since you already have 2 cats, make sure your vet runs a Feline Leukemia Test on the tuxedo.

We have a female that showed up at our door as a kitten, probably 7 weeks old. As soon as we thought she was old enough, we took her to our vet to be spayed. At that time we already had 10 indoor only felines.

During a less than 6 week period, we lost our 3 oldest ones. We decided to bring her inside with our 7 remaining furry ones. So we took her again to our vet to have the Feline Leukemia Test done. She unfortunately tested Positive for that Leukemia, so we could not risk bringing her in to join us. She stays close to home and we take good care of her.

Just wanted to pass that info along since you have 2 other indoor furry ones. It is a very important test for the safety of your 2 other cats.

Thank you again for taking in this homeless little baby.

hckynut(john)

@hckynutjohn

Good point, John!

My DD takes care of a feral colony at her home and over time has brought 8 abandoned kittens into the home, but if it's not during vet office hours, she keeps any newcomer isolated until a feline leukemia test can be one, to protect the other cats.

Unfortunately, it can be very prevalent in feral colonies, since it spreads so easily.

She has had to humanely euthanize quite a few of the outdoor ferals over the years, when their health deteriorated so badly that they were suffering, crying her heart out for each one.