My 5-week-old kitten won't use the litter box. What litter works?

He may not like the type of litter you are using. In all the studies done on cats they have found that most prefer plain old sand as opposed to any type of cat litter. My suggestion would be to put a few boxes out in various locations in the house and put a different type/style of litter in each one to see which one he likes best. Remember that most cats don't like to use the box if it is in a noisy, high-traffic area so put at least one box somewhere quiet. Being that he is so young/small still the sides of the box may be too high for him to comfortably get in/out of the box so try to find some with lower sides or make one with lower sides yourself. You can use shallow foil baking pans, tupperware containers, etc. Finally, you can make one box covered. Some cats preferred a covered box. Cats are usually very easy to litter train so if none of the above works then you should get him to your vet for an exam. He may have a urinary tract infection or some other issue that is making him not want to use the box. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

You could try a corn or wheat based litter like World's Best Cat Litter or Swheat Scoop, or a wood litter like Okocat if you want to avoid clay litter. You could also try a clay based low dust litter like Dr. Elsey's. Even though she is used to pellets the transition to a clay litter could be fine - I'd start by putting out a litter box with the new litter while still keeping the old one and if she starts using the new one take the old one away.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This sounds behavioral and will likely go away over time. However, in the meantime while the behavior is occurring, I would recommend switching the type of litter or even consider spraying bitter apple onto the litter itself. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Provide a litterbox or two for them. Use litterbox attractants to get them to investigate the box. If they go elsewhere, you can use a tissue to soak up the urine or pick up the stool and place them in the litterbox. Monitor the kittens for cues they are going to go. This can include circling, pacing, lifting the tail or sniffing about. Place them in the box immediately. Be patient and be consistent. Use an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle to thoroughly clean soiled areas.

Fortunately, most kittens figure out how to use a litter box consistently pretty early in life with minimal training. Since kittens typically prefer to eliminate on loose substrates, including litter, they are often quite happy to head straight to the litter box. When first introducing the litter box, begin by confining your kitten to a small room or to a large crate with a litter box when you are not interacting with them. After meals or playtime, place your kitten in the litter box, as they are likely to go at these times. Be sure that your litter box is fairly shallow, as tiny kittens may struggle to physically get into a litter box with high sides. Small treats can also be given as a reward each time a kitten successfully uses the litter box.

I love that you have already switched to the unscented litter as that can be a big problem for many cats. Putting the litter box in the shower is a great idea. I would also make sure to clean up the spots he went outside the litterbox using an enzymatic pet stain cleaner to ensure he does not keep smelling urine/feces there and think that it is akin to a litterbox. Other things, like cleaning the litter box often, having multiple litterboxes which are different types of boxes, and trying different types of litter (such as fine-grain litter) may also help you figure out what type of litter Mittens likes. While it certainly sounds like Mittens is having trouble getting used to his new litterbox, it is important to remember that internal diseases (like organ, hormonal, or orthopedic diseases, among other possible causes) can cause Mittens to have a hard time making it into the litterbox so it is important to take Mittens to your vet for evaluation to make sure we are not missing something else that is making it hard for Mittens to make it to the litterbox. I have attached a link to an article with more great suggestions below. Good luck! https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-train-your-cat-to-use-a-litter-box/

I would be interested to know whether or not Sophia is even going near the box at all, or just eliminating anywhere she feels like it. It sounds like you may need to try and isolate her from the other cat for a while and set up a litter box trial. My advise would be to keep Sophia in a bathroom or a small room for a couple of days. Set up two to three litter boxes in there. Each litter box should have some different qualities (different types of litter, cover vs uncovered, different amounts of litter etcetc). If you choose to use a bathroom, I would also remove anything in there that is soft or squishy that your kitty might feel like is a good place to eliminate. Two or three days will be sufficient in terms of time to see how she reacts to this. In terms of litter, there is a company called Catattract who gives a 100% guarantee or your money back concerning the effectiveness of their litter. This is something you may want to try eventually. The stuff isn't cheap but I have had some great luck with it so far. If you need a more detailed or in depth behavioral consultation, let me know and I'd love to help you out.