hey everyone

[MacyMay]

:wave: hey, i'm jessica i have a new kitty, her name is Macy and she's five weeks old. her mother abandoned her and left her with another cat whose kittens were older and were weaned before she were ready, so i took her and she's doing fine now but that not about what i was going to ask. i'm trying to litter box train her and she'll have no part in it. i've never had a cat before but i always heard you don't really have to train them to use one but she won't use it, how can i get her to?

[jana]

Welcome to HT and congrats on your new kitty! How long have you had her? What do you mean by "she's not using her litter box?" Does she go somewhere else? Does she just not use it when you think she should (maybe she doesn't have to go then?)?

Here are my suggestions:

- Until you get the litter thing sorted out, keep her confined to one room (bathrooms are great). Put her food, water, bed, and litter box in that room, but make sure the litter isn't close to the others (animals don't like to go potty where they eat and sleep).
- Put her in the litter box and get a washcloth, dampen it with warm water, and gently wipe her rectum with it. Mama cats lick their young to get them to go.
- If she's going somewhere else, pick up the results and put them in the litter box. Put her in there, too, and gently scratch the litter with her paw. This should give her the idea that THIS is where that stuff belongs!
- Another thought...since she's so young and lived outdoors, she might be used to going in places that are sandy. If your litter is the bigger clay pellets, she might not be ready for that yet. Some finer-grain litter might help.

I hope this helps! Oh, and we'd love to see pictures! :D

[MacyMay]

thank you for the help...i meant that she wasn't using it at all she would go on her blanket that she also slept on....but i left her in the bathroom today w/her bed and her litterbox and i guess she just decided that she'd rather not use "it" where she sleeps cause when i came home she had use the litterbox...she didn't dig and burry it though...but i'm just glad she's not going on her blanket, lol.