Feb
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Hi, my kitten is 10 weeks old and hasn’t figured out how to cover his waste in the litter box…?
Hi, my kitten is 10 weeks old and hasn’t figured out how to cover his waste in the litter box…He goes and then walks out or walks around flicking litter randomly instead of over his waste…any suggestions?
It’s a problem because sometimes he steps in it and then gets it around my apartment
Team J probably has it right as far as the reason for your cat not covering his waste. Marking is very common in cats, and they do it in more ways than one: scratching is like a visual “private property” sign practically. Cats scratch to pull off the husks of their nails and also to mark territory. Urinating and defecating in strange spots is a sign of many things, including UTIs as mentioned by others here. However, it is uncommon for a cat to start defecating outside their box because of a UTI. Your cat may never cover his waste in the litter. But remember: your cat isn’t a cat- he’s a kitten! He’ll probably start to cover his waste in a few months. You see, kittens instinctually are wired to be cleaned after by their mothers. The evidence for this is that many reflexes kittens posses stay with them their entire lives, unlike humans who, for some reason, have a swimming instinct at birth that disappears forever, requiring learning of this skill “from square one” as a child. *takes big breath* SO, kittens are less self-conscience than adult cats since they have habits and reflexes that play to the need of being groomed. Know how your cat puts his butt up when you pet him? This is a reflex left over from kittenhood that allowed the mother cat to effectively clean her baby’s hiney. And when they gently paw back and forth between their front feet? That’s another reflex- kittens do that to their mother to help produce more milk. AND THE CLINCHER- adult cats do not communicate with each other vocally as a general rule. They use body language. So adult cats that live with people ACTUALLY think that their human is their mother. They meow at you, right?
Okay, so off my soapbox. If your kitten grows out of this, perfect. If not, he may be stressed for some reason. Crazy as it sounds, vets now prescribe Prozac to cats to combat anxiety, which is frequently displayed as poor bathroom manners in cats. There may be an outside cat that’s driving him nuts, maybe you just moved, maybe you just switched lovers, maybe you have another cat that’s pissing him off, whatever. All these things can easily freak out a cat, even a mellow cat.
What else to do about a stressed cat besides meds? Make sure he has plenty of high areas to perch on. Being able to look down on the landscape really gives cats a sense of security. Make sure he has plenty of stuff to scratch. Make sure he has plenty of toys, and rotate them! Make sure his food is NOT near his litter- cats hate that.Changing his water daily- or better yet, getting a fountain- will make him very happy. Cats love fresh, running water. Don’t change his food up- cats get finicky when their food constantly changes. But definitely make sure he gets healthy treats a few times a week.
Good luck!
Definitely collect a sample of urine from the cat (refrigerate it, and get the container from your vet) to rule out a UTI. They are very serious in cats and, honestly, can really kill.
No UTI? Wait 6 months. See if he grows out of it.
In the meantime: asses his stress.
EDIT: so many nice cat friends here! not to contradict, but cats don’t “learn” to cover their waste; it is an instinct. My cat had kittens, and once I put the litter box where they were eliminating, they automatically covered it. Covering excretions is generally to mask a cat’s presence so that they can hunt more efficiently.
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