We have had our kitten for about a month, he is now 14weeks old, and he has no problem with going to the litter tray to do his business. It's after doing his business where the problems start.

He doesnt seem to cover up his poo properly, instead he just scratches randomly at the litter, most of the time leaving it exposed. Also he seems to spend a lot of time scratching the walls of the litter tray and walking around stepping in his business.

This gets very annoying as we have to clean him up as he gets it all over his paws, and we dont want him spreading it throughout the house. The first time it happened we confined him to the kitchen to see if he would clean himself up, and I must say he did make an attempt but still had it between his fingers etc... Also after business time his bum is still messy and doesnt seem to want/care about cleaning it up.

What can i do to help him? Is it just part of the learning curve? Am I being too pernickety? How can i stop him stepping in it?

His litter tray is the 2 in 1 igloo carrier/litter tray. He has no problems going in and out of it. We have tried it without the lid, without the door, with the door, with the door and door cover.

We went from using chunky pellet litter to catsan as we thought the catsan would cover the poo more effectively. We have only changed to catsan in the last 2 days, but the problem still persists.

We don't get angry with him, just a bit annoyed and concerned that's all.

If you would like to see pics of the handsome little chap you can check threads started by me. This is only my 2nd thread since joining recently.

Ok someone more experienced should be along shortly but..,

Sounds just like my little man! We were using the clay litter and he would never bury it however since getting a bigger tray and using cats best litter it improved vastly! To the point that if Spartacus goes and doesn't bury, Herules will bury for her!!!

The whole bum thing we found he grew out of. Hercules wasn't the best at bathing but he's gotten better. Give him a GENTLE wipe if needs be (the more experienced guys should be able to tell you more about that) and I would suggest a litter mat which grabs litter of his paws (we have a P@H littermat and a coir doormat... Just in case!

For a few weeks we would wipe his paws after his business and eventually he got the hang of it.

Some things to try... Put a couple of trays out with different litters in case he prefers one. Try a sandy texture and a grainy texture. He'll let you know which he prefers! It will mean having multiple trays but better now than messy paws!

I say this as it might be he doesn't like the rough textures of the grainy litters.

Also a really big suggestion... Even if his paws improve, keep messing with them and getting the claws out. It will be so much easier to clip claws when needed! A quick wipe of the nails is always beneficial!

Good look!

__________________


My babies are my furries. This does NOT make me a crazy cat lady. Honest

Are you putting enough litter into the tray so that he has enough to bury his business... And scratching at the walls, floor or anything remotely near the tray is normal... We recently decorated as I got fed up of our cats strippiing the walls and adding the wallpaper in the tray so we put up wooden panelling to stop that. After 8 months its worked well and they don't even scratch at it to sharpen their claws

Thanks for your advice both. He has had a good day today, 3 poos and nothing on his paws. Maybe the catsan stuff is working better for him.

We do put an ample amount into his litter tray. Its just sometimes he seems to scratch a lot, but in the complete wrong direction, leaving it exposed for him to tread on.

The litter mat sounds like a good idea as he does leave a light sprinkle of litter around the doorflap.

I have already started clipping his claws and couple weeks ago as his sharp kitty claws were tearing our arms and legs to shreds. Clipping his claws has been a big BIG relief for both of us!

3 poos in one day seems an awful lot, is that normal for him? It may be that his food is upsetting his tummy and making him slightly loose. What are you currently feeding? Most people find that when they feed a better food, poop production is less frequent and more solid in consistency which makes much less mess.
Have a look at the A-Z of foods, any changes should be made gradually though to avoid worsening the problem. You could try feeding him cooled, boiled chicken only for a day or two and see if that 'produces' something better!

__________________

Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

Yeah Hercules was shocking at burying it and would step into it loads, he got that used to having his paws washed that he will now happily play in the bath with an inch of water... Loves the stuff.

If he's anything like my two were, he'll start becoming more...aware of himself and will get better at washing and litter tray etc. Both of mine were awful until around 4-5 months, then their fur changed texture (went really glossy) and now they both bathe loads.

He'll get the hang of it eventually.

Oh and with the claws - keep doing it!!! We didn't do Spartacus paws for around 3 months (they weren't growing very fast after the vet cut them and she would loosen the sheaths on her post) and now were having to retrain her, which with a wriggly 4kg cat ain't fun!!!!

While their young the claws are like needles, do the edges once a week (literally nip then) and once every two weeks cut properly. That way your practicing paw holding and you can monitor sheaths coming off too.

By the way, 3 poos!!! What's he being fed? Curious more than anything as both of mine poop once a day (at the same time, 8.35pm!!!)

__________________


My babies are my furries. This does NOT make me a crazy cat lady. Honest

Pierre's on Whiskas kitten wet pouches accompanied by Whiskas kitten biscuits. I was reading through the A-Z yesterday night and it has definitely made me think twice about which cat food to get him.

On average Pierre does 2 a day. One in the morning just before feed, he goes downstairs and empties out before we feed him. The second one he does in the night just before bedtime. I guess he empties as he knows he will be in bed with us for the night. We give him a tiny bit of food before sleeping too.

We feed him 2.5 times a day. Once before work in the morning, once when we get back about half6-7 and then a smidgen before we go to sleep about 11. This amounts to about 1.5 pouches a day plus a handful of dry bics.

Pierre was on Whiskas at the place we picked him up from so we just carried that on. There have been a couple instances where he has had a bit of blood in his poo, and both instances he also had diarrhoea. We took him to the vet and they said that the food might be too rich so just give him some boiled chicken for a few days. This worked, his poo became plump and solid with no traces of blood.

He absolutely loved the boiled chicken, so much that I was contemplating giving it to him more often, but was unsure if he would get all his vitamins from that. After browsing the A-Z in the health and nutrition section I think we will start to phase in the high meat content brands. Would I be right in thinking that you can't go wrong with Animonda Carny, Bozita, Grau, Mac's, Nature's Harvest/Menu, Petnatur, Pfotenliebe and Tigercat.

I am very interested in the high quality German products and shall take a look at the links provided in the A-Z soon after the New Year

We are both willing to do whatever it takes to give Pierre a healthy upbringing... after all he is our lickle baby! As long as it doesnt break the kitty bank! Anyhow, reading the A-Z it seems that the more moderately priced food is better than the expensive stuff!

thanks for your help
Kong & Alice

edit: We will definitely 100% keep on cutting his claws. Pain is something that we dont like to endure as soon as we step through the front door

bump from pierre

Hello and welcome to the pf!

You have made some great wet food choices! Considering how much he enjoyed the cooked chicken I am wondering whether you would consider also feeding some raw food?

Check out Darlings Raw food company for some great commercially prepared raw minces for cats: Real, Raw, Organic Cat Food Supplier - Darling's Cats. This meat is from locally sourced free-range farms, so costs a tiny bit more (still less than £1 a day) but it contains the meat, bones and offal in roughly the right ratios.

I personally think that this is a great easy way into raw feeding and it will give you the time to read up on this way of feeding with a view of perhaps making your own food some time. Alternatively, there are certain supplements that you can get which make supermarket/butcher meat complete.

Alternatively, you can feed up to 20% of the weekly meals as raw/cooked food without having to worry that the food is balanced.

Just a thought!


PS: cats poop infrequently on raw food. My cats' average is about once every three days. It is also small in volume and not at all smelly. An added bonus!