tao wont wee in litter tray

[jenny]

im havin problems with tao and his litter tray. he poos in it fine and even goes to find it to do so, which i praise him for. But he just wont wee in it. He would rather wee on the blanket next to it, meaning he ends up lying in it. or he goes and wees on the couch or bed.
last night i had to keep him in his crate all night cos the last 2 nights hes just peed on the bed, and during the day he wees on the couch.
I can tell when he needs to go and promptly put him in the tray, but he just jumps straight back out, then 10 mins later he's weed on the couch or somewhere. He just refuses to go for a wee there. hes used it maybe twice for a wee, which i praised him for, but thats it.
im at a loss

[Kazz]

If it was me, I would cut the blanket up into squares and then put one of the squares in the litter tray (for a day or so) Maybe he is weeing on the blanket because he is going back to the smell.

Remove the wee blanket clean the area and then give him another one (wee free) and hopefully he will get the hang of weeing in the tray, by going to the smell/scent.

Can I ask are you using the same cat litter as his breeder did I think I would stick to the same litter till he is used to eveything. May feel different under his feet although he is using it.

Sorry I can't help more I have been kittenless for years - maybe someone with more experience can help you.

But he is still very much a baby and seems to know what to do but is maybe getting confused.

Karen

[jenny]

i put a new blanket in with him last night and he still weed on it. will try cutting it up and see if it helps.

i am using different litter to the breeder, altho she has used this litter with them i believe. maybe thats wot it is. altho she did say the kittens weed on her furniture and the blankets when she had them... so maybe thats where he thinks he shud go?

[Kazz]

Originally Posted by jenny

i put a new blanket in with him last night and he still weed on it. will try cutting it up and see if it helps.

i am using different litter to the breeder, altho she has used this litter with them i believe. maybe thats wot it is. altho she did say the kittens weed on her furniture and the blankets when she had them... so maybe thats where he thinks he shud go?

That maybe it Jen, he thinks he should have a wee on the blanket maybe the way is to cut the blanket up and move that to the litter tray - maybe he associates the feel of blanket under his feet with having a wee? can you get another litter tray and put pieces of the blanket in one and litter in the other then gradually introduce cat litter to the blanket/wee box? Cats/kittens are such clever and clean animals that he will soon getthe hang of it. Don't worry he is a baby.Gently does it.

[dinahsmum]

Happy Birthday Jenny!

here's a link to Nae's query when she was having the same problem.
http://www.catpages.co.uk/talkcats/showthread.php?t=2353&highlight=wee+litter+tissue+ paws

I think Kazz is on the right track - get the wee smell in the litter tray and make absolutely sure you eradicate it from everywhere else. use bio washing powder, rather than something with a strong perfume, as that could serve to confuse him even more.

Be patient, you'll get there, he is only a baby.

[carternm31]

Failing that it could be the type of cat litter? Jaffa is extremely fussy about the quality of her cat litter

[Julie84]

Good ideas above.

When Thomas was a little kitten he briefly got into the habit of having a wee in one corner of the study. I think the first time he was up there he couldn't work out how to get down the stairs again and went in a corner. Despite thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting it (and using one of those horrible, useless sprays from the pet shop ) he went to the exact same spot and did a wee. I found putting a bowl of dry biscuits in that exact spot stopped it immediately. After about a week I stopped feeding them up there (but left an ampty bowl for a while longer) and have never had any problems. Cats are (generally) very clean animals and won't want to urinate near their food. I'm not sure how practical it would be for you to do this though - it sounds like he is weeing in any soft furnishing rather than specific spots? I would be tempted to shut him out of these rooms while he is still having 'accidents' though, especially during the times you are not able to supervise him. I would also be mean and not give him any more blankets as he seems to have formed a bad habit with them. A cardboard box or plastic bed would do the same job but hopefully wouldn't provide him with the same 'urge' to wee on them. Cutting up his old soiled blanket and using two litter trays sounds like a great idea. Once he is doing all his business in the litter tray and you are confident he knows where to go and is happy with it, you can reintroduce soft beds and blankets and allow free access to all rooms as you see fit.

He sounds like he is just a confused kitty though, I'm sure he'll get the hang of it soon.

[jenny]

thanks everyone for ur advice. ive now removed his blankets and just have newspaper at the bottom of his crate. im also putting him in his crate when we arent there and have put newspaper under the throws on the sofa incase he has an accident as its wrecking the sofa.

im not sure how to clean the sofa properly, but it was really expensive and dont want anymore wee on it if i can help it, so its all padded out with newspaper under the throws just in case. im also gonna get working on cuttng up the blanket to put in his tray

[yola]

Just a quick note to say make sure the sofa's 100% dry because if you put newspapers on even a slightly damp sofa the newsprint will transfer and it'll completely ruin your furniture.

I hope the prob with Tao remedies quickly - I did have issues with Balie peeing by the front door when he was a tiny kitten - he had his (filthy) litter tray by the front door at the breeders. Only removing/replacing the carpet finally cured it for good

[Fran]

Good luck with this Jenny - I think all the advice given above is excellent and worth a try..