My new kitten is peeing and pooping outside the litter box. Help!

Since Squirt is only 4 weeks old, my theory is that he may be urinating and defecating on the bed because he has trouble getting down from it. If it is too high for him (or even if he can get down but it might just be a little scary), he is very likely to just use the bed for his business. If you are going to let him on the bed, I would only allow this for short periods of time until he is a little bit larger. The more times you permit him on the bed now and he continues this behavior, the more likely he may begin to thing it is acceptable. I would limit his bed time to no more than 30 minute intervals under direct supervision. After those periods of time have elapsed, place Squirt back into the area closest to the litter pan and see if things work out as they should. Hope this helps. Let me know if there is anything else I can do.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would confine Shaddow in a room by himself with his litter box. He is very young and may not know where the litter box is. be sure he is fully litter trained before allowing him access to the entire house. Keep the door to your bedroom closed so he can not access the bed. He should be fine once he is using the litter box consistently. I hope this helps and have a great day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Milo! Is Milo's stool normal? or is he having diarrhea? If his stool is normal he needs to be litter box trained. Confine him to a room with a litter box, food and water. He stays in this room until he uses the litter box to defecate at least for 1 week then let him out. But keep the litter box in that room so he knows where it is. Over time gradually move the litter box to where you want it to be. You can also use litter attractants. If Milo is having diarrhea causes can be: intestinal parasites, viral or bacterial infections, food allergy/intolerance, dietary indiscretion, toxin ingestion. I would schedule a Vet appointment for Monday if he has diarrhea to start medications. Bring a stool sample. I hope this helps and I wish Milo the best!

It is possible that the kittens just need a little bit more time to figure out the litter box. Three weeks is still quite young and they may not fully understand what the litter boxes for. I would recommend enclosing both kittens in a small area with one to two litter boxes that are cleaned daily. In most situations kittens will figure this out relatively quickly. There is also a litter additive called Cat Attract that may be helpful in enticing Laila to use the litter box for pooping. I would also ensure that Laila is able to get in and out of the litter box provided with minimal difficulty. Using a litter box with low sides may be beneficial. If this continues to be a problem I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian as she may have an underlying medical condition such as parasites exacerbating this issue.

Use a litter box attractant. You can purchase one from most pet stores. If she defecates under the bed, remove the stool and place it on the litterbox. Block her access to the bed. Use tin foil or a carpet runner flipped upside down (pokey side up) to keep her off the bed.

I had this exact same thing happen to me when my kitten was young. He would get so busy playing that he would "forget" to pee and when he finally couldn't hold it anymore, he would have to run to the litterbox. I found that I would have to take my kitten to the litter box every couple of hours just to "remind" him to use it for a few weeks until he got older. I suspect it is just immaturity, but certainly if it continues to happen as he gets older, have your vet evalate a urine sample to make sure there isn't something medical going on. The other thing would be to make sure that Merlin has a litterbox readily available since upstairs can sometimes be too far for a kitten. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It can sometimes be overwhelming for kittens to go all the way downstairs to find their litter box, especially if the house is fairly large :) I would recommend providing an additional litter box for Jinx upstairs so that there is one available nearby if he has to go to the bathroom while he's up there. Another option would be to confine him to a single room with his food and water bowls and litter box for the next 1-2 weeks to make sure that he is using it every time, then gradually begin to give him more freedom in the house as long as he is not having accidents. Also make sure to thoroughly clean the spots where he has had accidents, ideally using an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle or Urine Off, to make sure that the odor is completely gone - otherwise, it can act as a signpost drawing him back to the same places to use the bathroom in the future.