Kitty Litter Box!! (And other "poopy" questions)

I went shopping today and bought somethings for my babies, a litter box, food and litter. I bought Arm & Hammer Super Scoop. I thought I remembered reading somewhere that it's one of the best kinds of litter. But I wasn't sure. Does anyone have any good reccomendations for kitty litter?

And here's the big question:
How do I teach the kitties to use it? They've been pooping and peeing all over my room lately! Should I show Peanut where it is and hope that the kittes will learn to use it by watching their mother? Or is there something else I should do?!

Also.... my kittens poop has been really dry and rough. Is this how their poop is supposed to be? Is there something I should be giving them? Or do they just not drink enough water?

 

lol...funny topic...made me laugh....

I have to admit that with 4 cats and 3 litter boxes I buy whatever clumping litter is the least expensive. I am lucky enough to have a room off the basement so I don't have to worry too much about smell and tracking. I just checked and I have a box of Arm and Hammer Super Scoop, 2 boxes of Ever Clean, and a big plastic container with Tidy Cats. I just kinda mix and match...might not be the best idea but my cats don't seem to care. I never have a problem with odor, just tracking, so I keep a vacuum nearby to clean up every couple of days.

I have never litter trained a kitten before but here are my suggestions...

Start off with the litter box in your room and slowly move it to the place where it will ultimately be. Put the kitten in the litter box shortly after they eat or as often as possible. Praise them when they use it properly.

I also have heard people talk about not using clumping litter with kittens....that if they injest it it could be harmful. I used clumping litter with my kitten (after she was 10 weeks old) but I first watched her carefully to be sure she wasn't playing in it or having any stuck in her paws after she got out.

As for the poop being dry and rough....all I can say is I always remember my kittens poops being soft...hopefully someone else can give you info on this.

Vene....do you have any links

 

Maybe placing some of the poop (that they leave in your room) into the litterbox will help them get the idea.

 

http://www.kittencare.com/askKC_Tummy_Troubles.html

http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/orphans.shtml

http://www.geocities.com/pvis1960/KittenCare.html

http://www.kittenrescue.org/handbook.htm#Young

 

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!

They pooped in the litter box!!

Last night, Bruce pooped right in front of her daddy!!

And when I woke up this morning, Donut marched right over to the litter pan and pooped for me! I was so proud, I took a picture of their first poops!! Gross, I know, but it was something I've been waiting for them to do for so long!

 

clumping kitty litter can be dangerous for little kittens as when they clean it off their paws it can possibly build up in their little tummies and intestines causing a lump they can't pass. You are better off with a plain ole clay litter till they get older.

And what good little babies starting to use their box

 

clay litter? I've never heard of it. I thought I heard that clumping litter was bad for them. where can I get clay litter? how much is it?

 

Clumping litter is not good for kittens...thats the kind that is also known as scoopable (the kitties urinate in it and the litter gets hard around the urine and then you scoop it).


For kittens, Clay litter is better (comes in a bag) looks like gravel or something like that.
It is usually cheaper than clumping but needs to be cleaned and emptied more often.

Hehe...what a funny thread though...and these are the "Poops" of our lives LOL LOL!!!

 

Fresh Step is a popular clay litter

 

=P~ fresh step is good. i used that with otis...

chessmind uses johnny cat...he likes it...i have used it, and its fine...

tidy cats...is another.

clay is better for little ones.

i have absolutely no clue about hard poo...as i dealt with diarrhea for many months. max's stool is still soft. :-& and he stepped in it the other night. took me right back to the early days where that was a daily occurance. poor max...had to have a bath...he was p_____d!! :m3:

 

the kittens I have fostered usually have softer stools...what are you feeding?

 

watered down meow mix. i'm thinking of getting them on canned food, tho.

 

the need canned kitten food - Friskies canned kitten food is good an relatively inexpensive - although Meow Mix is cheap cereal food. Not a good choice although most cats do like it. Read the ingredients on the box and you'll probably see a list of grains there. Royal Canin makes a great dry kitten food call BabyKat. Yes it's a bit more costly but better in the long run and since it is a quality food it fills the kitten's up better and they don't eat as much. I was fostering 5 kittens and I had the Royal Canin bag of food for a month. But you should also offer them canned food

 

I wanted to mention I know fosters for siamese rescue who have actually had small kittens choke to death on dry food - and Meow Mix is sized for adult cats.

 

After working almost 8 hours straight at the Humane Society today bagging food and such, I suggest you go to your local one and ask for some canned food.

People just came in and asked for it, and they gave it to them. It was pretty cool, other than the fact that now I smell like dog and cat food and my own cats won't leave me alone, Aoisha keeps licking my pants.....off to the shower I go.

 

Well, I have no worry about them choking on the Meow Mix, I water it down until it's mushy.

But I went out today and bought them some "Whiskahs" they had a big deal on them at the local store. Hopefully this will make their poopies soft!

 

you would still be better off buying a kitten food since the nutrients are geared for kittens and their little growing bodies. I realize money is tight for you...but for healthier bodies you should try to feed a better quality of food. See if you can do some research online about the quality in various cat foods on the market - you'd be surprised at the nasty stuff in some of thse foods. I don't buy high end cats foods myself espeically cause I have nowhere around here to buy it - but I don't buy the cheapest either. Again - it's that thing of you are going to get what you pay for. With adult soft cheap foods you're probably going to end up with some kitten with belly aches and possibly horrendously loose stools

 

for the record i had to put Raz on straight dry IAMS for kittens coz the watered down stuff gave him bad bad runs. He was 6 weeks old when he started eating the dry stuff with no problems

 

About two minutes ago I noticed something...

Donut was digging in the litter box, I figured she was just playing, and then she did it... she went poo-poo. She covered it up and everything! What a smart smart smart 5wker I've got! Anyway, I examined her poop and it was soft! Maybe it's the canned food? Maybe it's the extra water I leave out for them... who knows?

Does anyone know when I can start bathing them? And don't say "right away" because I want a guesstimate.

And, since the kittens have been keeping me up all night, I've been keeping them in a kennel when me and Patrick are asleep, otherwise they climb on us and claw at us. I don't like doing this but nothing else seems to work! Is this cruel? The only other option I can think of would be to not let them sleep during the day. What should I do? I don't want to spray them because I don't want them to fear water so..... :?

 

So, I did some research on Kitten Food and I came up with the following link:

http://cats.about.com/cs/kittencare/tp/ ... ryfood.htm

does everyone think this is good info?

It also said on that site that canned food is better than dry food, and dry food should only be a treat.

And I know it's not on the list, but they have free samples of "Science Diet" and the pet store, is this okay to give them? They have the Kitten kind...