If your housemate allows, put a litter box WHERE the kitten is pooping. I'm betting the room he's pooping in is off the beaten track. Kitties usually don't like going in a public area. The potty in the housemate's room needs only to be temporary. Foot by foot move it, as long as he's using it. It takes TIME for kittens to "get it right", they usually will. They want privacy too!

 

That's a good call out that cats don't like to poop in public area... because when he poops in housemate's room he does it under the bed which is more private.

 

Once, I didn't allow my cat to play with my socks when she was a kitten. She pooped on my bed the same day. I think this meant something 😆

 

Next time you'll know better!

 

I think the best way to handle this is not to put a litter box in your room mate's room, because that runs a risk of teaching the kitten that that room is a good place for potty, even if you move it gradually to another place. Might work better just to keep the door to that room closed all the time.

It won't have to be closed all the time forever. Only for a few weeks, maybe three months at most, while the kitty learns a solid habit to use the litter box.

I do agree that moving the litter box out of the living room to a more private location might be a good idea. Cats do like their privacy. Or, if you have no place but the living room to put it, try putting it in a corner underneath a small table and covering the table with a cloth so that gives the cat some privacy while using the box. Make sure the cat knows where it is, and if you see the cat using it, give the cat a treat afterward and tell him what a great little cat he is.

 

I think the best way to handle this is not to put a litter box in your room mate's room, because that runs a risk of teaching the kitten that that room is a good place for potty, even if you move it gradually to another place. Might work better just to keep the door to that room closed all the time.

It won't have to be closed all the time forever. Only for a few weeks, maybe three months at most, while the kitty learns a solid habit to use the litter box.

I do agree that moving the litter box out of the living room to a more private location might be a good idea. Cats do like their privacy. Or, if you have no place but the living room to put it, try putting it in a corner underneath a small table and covering the table with a cloth so that gives the cat some privacy while using the box. Make sure the cat knows where it is, and if you see the cat using it, give the cat a treat afterward and tell him what a great little cat he is.

I think this might be the way, keep the room shut, cover the current litter box under something... Thanks a lot!

 

Is your roomie mean to your cat?
Did you change litter?
Is your litter box open or enclosed?
How often do you scoop?

(If we don’t scoop the litter box one of our cats goes elsewhere. )




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1. Nope!
2. Nope!
3. Tried both
4. Twice daily, morning and night

 

Cats smell sense is extreme. So if that has not been eliminated in the roommates room, then that is part of the problem. If its carpet, use hydrogen peroxide (test a small spot first as it can fade some fabric, though not common). HP kills the bacteria. Avoid heavy soaps and the "enzyme" cleaners, they do nothing and actually coat the fibers of carpet. If not carpet, then use pine sol, murphies oil, or lysol - these kill bacteria, others are not that great at that. Kittens should have a litter box in multiple places, their bladders are small and they are just learning (especially if you do not adopt at age 14 weeks and up). So, opt for either putting another box in the roommates room for a few days (best option) or putting it just outside the room and keeping door shut. Have a box in your room as well so he can come in and sleep with you. Cats that do not have older cats to learn from (why adopting older kittens is smart), must learn on their own. So, deal with the smell, give him options. Never punish him for poddying somewhere else either. He will not understand and you risk him becoming skittish. To train, catch them in the act, pick them up and put them into the box and say loving things and positive things. Good kitty!

 

I have found that with cats, and some of the time with dogs as well, simply making it impossible for the animal to do the thing that you do not want (like potty in the wrong place, get in the garbage, etc) is far easier than to go to great lengths trying to retrain the animal. In many cases this can be done, although of course in others it cannot.

In this case, just making the room mate's room inaccessible is the best thing to do in my opinion. The thing I have observed over the years is that the majority of the time if you make something inaccessible for a period of time, such as a month or several months, the animal will get out of the habit of doing whatever it is and won't start up the habit again even if the thing becomes accessible again.

Now, this doesn't work if there is still a smell, such as the garbage can, and in that case it has to stay out of reach.

In my experience the high quality enzymatic cleaners are the only thing that works to remove smell for animals. a lot of things are sold as "enzymatic cleaners" that absolutely do not work because they are not strong enough, which is why you need to buy the really good stuff and pay the higher price for it. The really good ones work.

You can cover up the smell with things like pine sol or lysol, but the animal can still smell through that. The good enzymatic cleaners, rather than coating the fiber, actually break down the bacteria that causes the odor. At least, that is my understanding and experience. I have used other things like the above and they have not worked. I think that perhaps what works or doesn't also might depend on the type and material of the carpeting - I don't know.