kitten potty training....

[abudamunky]

i've had many litters of kitten in my life but not in the last...oh say 6 years or so. Right now i have a beautiful litter of five that are almost 8 weeks old. they love to pee on plastic bags, any plastic bag they can find they'll pee on. they tend to 'poo' near the litter box that mommy, daddy and unkie use, but i'm trying the "pick up mid business and stick in litter box' technique but it just isn't working. they kinda smell around and jump out to go play. i've also caught a few wet spots on the blanket on the couch, but the plastic bag thing is driving me nuts! I would like to have them mostly box trained by the time they are ready to go to their new homes(once weaned of course). any suggestions?

[badger]

You might try a different kind of litter (not clumping). Something as simple as that can turn them off. Make sure the litterbox is really easy to get into.

Please get your cat spayed. I'm sure you are a loving owner and do everything you can to give your kittens a good start in life, but there are so many homeless cats out there, reproducing endlessly, dying terrible deaths or euthanized (the lucky ones), there is no earthly excuse to deliberately add more.

[LianneCatherine]

How many litter boxes do you have for the kitties? A litter of 5 can easily share a box, but not with the adult cats. Do you have a separate one for them? Is the box easily accessible? If you use a scented litter, that can sometimes bother kitties. Also, the ones that pick up a lot of dust can bother them too, not to mention disturb their breathing.

The plastic bags/blankets should not be accessible to the kittens. Kittens can get easily suffocated by going inside a plastic bag. Keep the kittens in a small room with the litterbox, food/water, and some toys. Without the distractions of bags or blankets, the kittens should learn to use the box.

If they should choose the floor over the box, put mommy in the room with them so that she can show them how to use it.

Good luck!

[jessi76]

Originally Posted by LianneCatherine

The plastic bags/blankets should not be accessible to the kittens. Kittens can get easily suffocated by going inside a plastic bag.

All excellent advice, but this is particularly important... thanks LianneCatherine for pointing it out. Plastic bags are dangerous. please, keep them out of the kitten's area.