How to encourage better litter box habits with kitten?

[williecat]

I have a 3.5 month old kitten who needs some help with her litter box habits and grooming. She was with her mom until 12 weeks but she has not learned to cover her poop in the box. She kicks the litter around and digs but it doesn't seem like she's trying to cover, more like she's just playing. That isn't too bad, but she also does not lick herself clean at all. She's had a bit of loose stools due to coccidiosis, then switching foods and it's getting better but I still have to wipe her to prevent having poop all over. Sometimes she will step in it and then we have poopy paw prints all over. Is this something she will instinctively learn to clean as she gets older or is there something I should do to teach her?

 

[stephanietx]

Give her some time.  At that age, be thankful she's using the box!  She'll get the hang of it the older she gets and the more coordinated she gets.

 

[williecat]

So she's now 18 weeks and not getting any better. I have to wash my sheets a few times a week, often get woken in the middle of the night by her poopy smell and need to change my shirt or blankets. My older male cat even licks her bottom now, I think he might be annoyed by her stink too. :lol3: any advice for me or her? I love her to death, but my husband now calls her Princess Poopy Pants. I had her stool rechecked last week and it's all clear. I'm using half an envelope of FortiFlora probiotics on her food daily to try to firm it up a little but not improvement yet.

 

[otto]

What are you feeding her? It's the soft stool that is the problem, not her habits. My Queen Eva was like that too, when she was having the soft stool problems as a kitten. She got poop everywhere.

I use ProViable probiotic, I find it much more effective than Forti Flora. One capsule a day mixed in a small meal. She is on a grain and fruit/veggie free canned diet, with partial raw. She cannot eat any food with carrageenan in it.

I recommend you get your kitten on a good canned diet that does not contain any grains, fruits, vegetables or carrageenan, and try ProViable instead of Forti Flora.

 

[williecat]

She's on Fancy Feast now. I was trying to introduce better canned food but she won't eat it. She will take a few bites of Weruva chick and liver or just chicken but won't eat much. She won't touch Wellness Core at all and I've tried all the flavors. There's not much selection in my small town and I haven't found a website where I can buy just a few cans. I made the mistake of ordering a case of Weruva after she ate it for a week, then she stopped. It's taken me 6 weeks to get thru the 24 cans and much has been thrown out. My other cat doesn't care for it either.

 

[williecat]

Oh and I will check out the other antibiotic. Is it formulated for animals and does it have a good taste? She LOVES the FortiFlora and it's pretty much the only way to entice her to try new foods. She does ok until I get to the 50/50 mix of old and new and then she won't touch it. The FortiFlora smells like beef to me and she will at least eat some food w it mixed in.

 

[otto]

The probiotic I use and recommend is ProViable DC

http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/vet/products/Proviable-dc.aspx

You could always continue to use the forti flora, just a tiny bit as a flavor enhancer as you try to get her on other foods. Weruva is a good brand, if you can get her to eat it even if only once or twice a week, it would help.

Stay away from fishy foods.

The Fancy Feast Classics, which are all pate, are grain free and do not contain carrageenan or fruits and veggies, so if that is all she will eat, at least it is canned. The other Fancy Feast formulas all have wheat gluten, so stay away from them.

http://www.fancyfeast.com/wet-cat-food/classic/

By the way, it's also possible she has worms or some sort. A fecal test is recommended, but a fecal float will not show every parasite. Your vet can prescribe a broad spectrum de-wormer appropriate for her age and weight. Don't use OTC products.