Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know, I ask a lot of questions. But as I've said before, never had a kitten before.
My original plans were to keep him in a box untill he was going on his own and, most of the time, could remember the litter. Well, he's in the tallest box I could find (inbetween 2 and 3 feet) but has grown a bit faster than normal. (23 oz at 4 weeks)Though he can't get his paws up all the way yet, he is teaching himself how to leap (straight up). He is only a few inches from the top when he jumps now. He still doesn't go on his own.
Is it going to be wiser to scrap my original plan and just let him out so he doesn't hurt himself? I sould probably mention I rent this house and it is fully carpeted. (He'd still be living in the bathroom.)
Any opinions or help is thanked!

going on his own

When you say "going on his own," you surely don't mean that you are still wiping his bum to make him go, do you? By 4 weeks of age kittens can go on their own without help, and most kittens should be using the litter box most of the time. Some kittens take a bit longer or have accidents, but the litter box is usually preferred by kittens' instincts. Do you feed him on a schedule or does he have food available 24/7? If you feed him on a schedule, you can let him finish eating and then put him in the litter box right away since most kitten need to go after eating. Other times when you visit him in the bathroom put him in the litter box. And of course every time you see him begin to squat, put him in the box. He should soon get the idea. without a mother cat or siblings, he can't observe the behavior so it might take a bit longer. As far as the box, if he's in the bathroom, he could be allowed to roam freely in there (unless the bathroom is also carpeted). Good luck.
and as far
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The Wiscats: Every life should have (at least) 9 cats!
Monsieur Gervais le Blanc Wiscat
Beau Wiscat
Simba Wiscat
Minette Wiscat-CCarlini
Henri le Chanceux Wiscat
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The Excellent Lady Sophie-Marie Wiscat-StLouie
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~~and varying numbers of foster kitties coming and going, including right now: Stevie and Cocoa, plus mom cat Cassy with her 4 babies: Tops, Pookie, T.J. and Frankie; plus orphan baby Flossie, orphan baby Emily, and orfan baby Esther~~

Yes, I still have to wipe him. Once I get him to start going he usually finishes. He is on a schedual. I do put him in every time I see him squatting as well as after eating but so far he hasn't gotten the idea. I had considered it might be because he's not with other cats. I have an older cat who could help but untill the kitten is tested for comunicable diseases they can't be with each other.
And, unfortunately, yes, the bathroom is carpeted.

I have also been considering changing the litter, though. (Yes, I'm responding to my own message. I do things like that!)
He does tend to go up to the box when he has to go and he'll chew on the edge, but he won't put more than a paw in there. And when I put him in he gets out ASAP. I was using that pine stuff cause it was suggested somewhere, but I think I'll go to a scoopable clay.
Who knows, maybe he's smart enough not to go outside of a box but to stuborn to use that litter.

Perhaps he doesn't like the litter. Picky little thing at 4 weeks. Sounds like he has it made actually. Have you tried just putting him in the box without any stimulation right after he eats and see if the little guy just decides that he is grown up now and can go on his own.
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PHWildCat/Tessa and 17 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
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A house without cats is like a garden without flowers

My aunt had that problem to the kittens didn't like the feline pine. I went to walmart and bought the cheap kitty litter. I didn't get the scoopable because if a kitten eats it, it can really clog up their systems and make them sick.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Ment to put the former reply to the other message. sorry.
But I found out last night that scoopable and clumpable ment the same thing. Thought there was a bit of a difference. But he seems to like this one better (got the cat attract) but still won't try it on his own. I'll be getting a plain tonight, so I don't risk him eating it.

the kittens didn't like the feline pine

I use Feline Pine for my own cats and all my fosters. No one has refused to go in it yet..... The thing I love about it is that there is NEVER any urine odor!
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The Wiscats: Every life should have (at least) 9 cats!
Monsieur Gervais le Blanc Wiscat
Beau Wiscat
Simba Wiscat
Minette Wiscat-CCarlini
Henri le Chanceux Wiscat
Andre-Guillaume Wiscat
Annie-Claire Rexford-CCarlini
The Excellent Lady Sophie-Marie Wiscat-StLouie
Poucette-Noelle CCarlini-Rexford
Sylvie-Chantal la Joie Wiscat de Spanky Ranch
~~and varying numbers of foster kitties coming and going, including right now: Stevie and Cocoa, plus mom cat Cassy with her 4 babies: Tops, Pookie, T.J. and Frankie; plus orphan baby Flossie, orphan baby Emily, and orfan baby Esther~~

I usually wait a few minutes befor helping. But I went to the vet last night to get him wormed (he had none! Yeah!) and asked about it, and was told some kittens will wait quite awhile and not to worry. On of the receptionists said her 3 month old just started going. I really don't want to wait that long though.

Well, he finally figured it out by yesterday afternoon. So that big box was just not a big toy!
As for my original question, I'll probably wait till the weekend so I can block off behind the bath and just risk potential "accidents" on the carpet. I think it will be safer than him trying to jump out and snagging a leg or falling on him head on the other side.

That sounds like a good plan. And if he figured out the box then he shouldn't be going on the floor. Have you tried the cat attract litter. I have never used it but have heard good things about it.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

The cat attract is what I got first after the pine. Unfortunately I found after the first use that scoopable and clumpable mean the same thing. So I got plain clay just in case.
He still won't go poo by himself though, not even for the box. Oh well. Soon enough.

Cat attract only comes in scoopable? Now that is silly if you want to use it with kittens. Maybe we should write to the company.