Kitten Q

[Gamom3]

We have a new kitten, that we got from the pound on Saturday.

I have been keeping her in the laundry room at night..where her litter box is at and letting her out during the day.

I thought she had figured out where to go,but this morning she peed in the floor..she was downstairs and the laundry room is around the corner.

 

How long do I need to keep an eye on her?

Should we keep her out for 30mins then put her up for a bit?

[Pamela H in Texas]

That is actually pretty weird. Most kittens wouldn't take 5 days to get it assuming she's old enough.

 

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you. I do know that cats will have accidents if they have a UTI or something. And I had one I couldn't remediate (he'd potty in the laundry!) but then another family took him and he was just fine so there HAS to be a way.

[KS_]

When my cats were kittens, I kept them confined to a smaller area of the house for quite awhile - I think they can get confused when they don't know the house very well and may not remember exactly where the box is. And especially during a busy holiday time, I'd probably just keep her in the laundry room unless you are actually watching/playing with her. It's not going to hurt her to keep her in a smaller area, and then she won't develop bad habits of peeing where she isn't supposed to.

 

Now if she has accidents while confined to the laundry room, then I'd have her checked for a medical issue.

[2cents]

We have spent the last 2 weeks dealing with urine crystals and infection in one of our kitties. He ended up in the emergency animal hospital late one night and it was scary. He is doing very well now but is on meds and we are syringe feeding him a special diet for now.

 

The behavior your kitty is exhibiting sounds a lot like urinary issue behavior. If your kitty looks like she is straining to urinate, it takes a long time, the output is reduced or if she is licking down there a lot, you need to get her to a vet ASAP. An obstructed kitty can become critically ill within 36 hours. If she is still passing urine that is good and she isn't obstructed yet, but an infection or urine crystals can lead to obstruction. Fortunately, female cats obstruct less than males.

[Gamom3]

putting her up about every 30mins after her doing this, this morning.

She has been out for about an hour now and she just ran into the laundry to her litter box and used it!

I don't get it. I will call the pound tomorrow..I have 10 day to have her seen by that vet for free..to see if they can check her.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We were pretty careful about keeping kitty near the litter box for the first couple of weeks. Only when he was 100% consistent with the litter box did I let him roam a bit farther. But even then I watched him like a hawk. If he started scratching at the floor we rushed him to his potty!

[plimsoll]

I have had many cats and have never had to confine them anywhere.

 

You just take them home, drop them in the litter box, and from then on, that's where they go.

 

I would recommend seeing the vet and ruling out any urinary problems.

 

Some cats are frightened by various noises and/or large vibrating machines, so please see if the box is too close to the washer or dryer. If you have room, you might consider a spot not so close to the machines.

 

If this is the problem and she peed around the corner from the litter box, she may have been trying to pee as near to the box as she comfortably could -- perhaps you can put the box around the corner instead of in the laundry room?