OKay...sleepy...aka EMBER (daughter's idea) is pretty young >>>Kitteh>>>HELP>>>

[greenbriar]

I was told she was 8 weeks old.

I am not thinking she is.


last night we put her in her box for bedtime. This morning, I woke to find 3 crap spots on the carpet...they were very liquidy and smelled. I am thinking it was too young to be away from momma...

NOW WHAT...

we have been holding her and trying to feed her a mixture of wet and dry food to transition her over to solid food, we can't have her crapping in the house ...hubby will demand her exit

we have two days before he gets home from his conference.



On the bright side, Daughter (who is ANTI-CAT) has pretty much said Ember is her cat...

[Shell Beau]

1. How about bottle feeding her?

[greenbriar]

2. she drank some water and milk from a saucer

she will eat the wet cat food


we just need to get her to hard food.


And I always thought you just had to sit a cat in the litter box and it would know from then on...she used it once...

so she either was too scared or has the trots...


Spooky my bigger cat stayed in my bedroom all night so I know the baby wasn't harrassed

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. You might try kitten formula. Wal*mart has it and teeny baby bottles in the pet aisle where I live.

[LynneSin]

Despite what the movies & Cartoons tell you - Milk is bad for kitties

that's probably the reason for the messes.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I just looked that up and one article said "over 12 wks old" and another said it's always a no-no.

But I agree it might have something to do with the messes.

[greenbriar]

6. Okay...so NO MORE MILK

got it!!!


I never knew.. Spooky LOVES Milk and Vanilla Ice cream

[Dogtown]

10. Concur

Many cats are lactose intolerant.

[Shell Beau]

4. Well I was thinking that maybe she isn't ready for solid food.

PetsMart and other stores like that have formulas you can try.

[LynneSin]

7. I would suggest keeping the cat in a contained area at first

She's just a baby getting use to all these new sites, smells and sounds, so she's probably a bit scared. I would setup a room like an office or spare bathroom as the kitty room. Put her bed & food & litter all in that area. Make it someplace safe so if she craps it's not the end of the world.

Cats know to use the litter box but if the kitty is too far away she may not be able to hold it all in.

[PeaceNikki]

8. I've suggested this as well.

[greenbriar]

9. yes thank you

we have done that.

I am just scared it is sooooo young.


On the bright side, Spooky seems to have calmed down. I had him sleep in my room last night and gave him all kinds of attention to show him we still loved him.



he doesn't even bother the baby in her room.

[yellowdogintexas]

18. yeah she has to be able to remember where the kitty box is.

and it needs to be fairly shallow for a tiny cat. Start out with those aluminum foil throwaway casserole pans, not too deep at first. You can graduate her to the deeper pan when she gets bigger.

And kittens fart..a lot. It is their bodies learning to digest regular food.

Get KITTEN kibble. Many cat food companies make it, it is smaller and designed for their tender little systems, and highly nutritious. Keep cat on kitten kibble at least 6 months.

Don't give kitty cow's milk, but the kitty formula is OK.

closing kitten up in bathroom w/box, food, blankie etc is good. And rub the blanket all over YOU before you put it in there, so she bonds to your scent.

[Chan790]

11. This was advice I was given:

Housetraining Success: Reward for Using the Litter Box

In order to reward your cat for eliminating in her litter box, you must be there at the time she eliminates. You need to have some idea of when your cat urinates and defecates. Most cats, especially kittens, will eliminate shortly after waking; after eating; and after exercise.

To help you predict when your cat will eliminate, feed her at regular times. If the input is on a regular schedule, the output will follow likewise. Before feeding your cat, spend ten to fifteen minutes playing with her. Then put down the food, allow her fifteen minutes to eat and then clear up any leftovers. After your cat has eaten, it is time for another gentle play session. Call her to her litter box from a variety of places around your house, especially areas where she has soiled. When your cat gets to the box, scratch the litter to get her interested. Similarly, throughout the day, whenever your cat has been asleep for over two hours, wake her up and call her to the litter box. Encourage your cat to hop into the litter box, praise her when she does so. Even if she does not eliminate, she is learning that the litter box is a great, CLEAN place to be. This is especially important for cats that are now avoiding the litter box because they assume it is always dirty or because they associate it with being punished. If your cat does eliminate, praise her in a gentle voice. Once she has finished, gently stroke her, give her a treat and take the time to tell her how pleased you are with her behavior.

from perfectpaws.com/litter.html

There is more info there. Also run a google search. There are a lot of resources on the topic. Any kitten should have been box-trained by 3 weeks.

Someone once told me that cats can be litter-picky. I had a kitten who would only poop on the newspaper. Nowhere else. So...he got a litter box full of shredded newspaper. It worked.

[erinlough]

12. I've raised many underage farm cats and

I alway gave them a piece of soft bread soaked in warm water with a small amount of milk. I would tear off the crusts and break up the bread. Then I would nudge this kittens mouth in the mixture enough to get it's mouth wet and they will lick it off, find out it's good and start to eat it.

Remember that for the first few weeks the mother cleans the poop orally and that is probably why the kittens don't know what to do when they have to go. I kept the littlest kittens close to me, I mean in my pocket to simulate what the mom does with them. Every so often I take them to a short small box filled with litter and make their front paws go in a scratching motion like cats do. I let them play in the box etc.

I have never had trouble with them not learning, it just takes a while. Reading over this, I guess I just tried to act like a kitty mom. Worked for me.

Good Luck

[applegrove]

20. Yup the mother will stimulate the kitten with her tongue to make them

go to the bathroom. So take your kitten to the littre box and wet a kleenex and rup her anal parts so she will go. Hope that works.

Very young kittens need lots of love and quiet. So have Ember sleep on you or your daughter for long periods. I did with a 6 week old I got and he was very loving.

[dropkickpa]

13. If the kitten isn't from a reputable breeder

and hasn't been properly vetted, there's also a VERY good chance that she's wormy as all get out. Many "my cat got knocked up, wanna kitty?" spawn are barely a step up from alleycats, and they tend to have a pretty high worm burden. A good worming, several days for her digestion to adjust, and she should be fine. I recommend taking her to the vet and also starting her immunizations and get her first check-up.

[bicentennial_baby]

14. Worms were my first thought

[greenbriar]

15. uggggggggggg

sounds horrible

[bicentennial_baby]

17. You may want to call a vet

Also, look for worms in the feces. Sometimes you'll see them. A quick dose of wormer clears it up in no time. Our kitty had them when we got him, he was also 8 weeks.

[bertha katzenengel]

16. three bits of advice here:

1. Watch kitteh as closely as possible. If you see her sniffing around or if she squats, pick her up and put her into the litter box. Gently get her to stay there. It will also help if you get a warm wet cotton ball and gently rub her little excretion parts when you do this. Mama kitty licks babies' behinds to stimulate their processes.

2. If you can't watch kitteh all the time, that's okay. Pick her up every now and then and put her in the box, and take one little front paw and scratch the litter with it, the way she would herself if she were covering something up. She'll resist, but you don't have to do it for long. Just maybe give her little pea brain something to go back to.

3. You can buy "cat-attracting" litter. I don't know if it works but it might be worth a try.

Good luck!

[Beaverhausen]

19. two things from me

first- please get her to a vet as soon as possible. You don't want her giving anything to your other kittehs, and she should have some shots and a good exam. The vet can help with expert advice about food as well.

second- she is probably a bit traumatized about her new home, which can cause an upset tummy in anyone. I'm sure she will be fine. I agree on no milk though. My cats don't tolerate it well either, and yes, they love it.

[eppur_se_muova]

21. Remember, animals rely on scent more than humans ...

she will not trust her litterbox if it does not smell like 'her' litterbox. After she's used it a few times, that problem will start to take care of itself, but ... when you change the litter, tranfer a couple of small scoops of the used litter into the new batch, so it carries her personal smell. When she gets older, this will not be necessary, but it's a good idea if you move to use the same trick to get her used to the litter box at the new digs.