kitty advice needed

[minks]

Im terribley new to owning a kitten, never in my life owned a cat nor has anyone in my family.
But the trouble is the kitty has stopped using his box and is going in the laundry room grrrr I have cleaned it thoroughly and sprayed the area to erase the scent but I look in his box today and nooooo use. I don't know where next he may leave us a surprise.
Any tips on encouraging him back to his box. I have cleaned and scrubbed that out too over and over.
??????

[lady cop]

this should do it.......

[Peg]

If you do not take LC's advice, why not move it to the laundry room where he seems to want to go? Also, is the litter box near his food? Some cats will not use their litter box if their food is nearby.

[john8pies]

If available / possible, keep him in a room with ONLY his tray in it (eg, laundry room?) Then, when he has used it correctly, allow him out to be fed, etc. Repeat as necessary!

[minks]

thanks gang good advice welll ok LC funny enough but he is just to cute to shoot.... yet I am going to give these suggestions a whirl.

[nvalleyvee]

Put the kitty box in the laundry room!!!

[valerie]

If you are using the "scoopable" litter, you might just try scooping it out
but NOT cleaning and scrubbing. Sometimes their little noses don't like the
cleaners.

Also, try using just a "basic" littler, one without any green crystals and
also unscented. Or plain try a completely different litter!

I don't suppose there's any way to find out what they were using at the
place you got him from? If you can, I'd switch to that.

To clean the places he has gone you don't want him to, do NOT use
ammonia based cleaners... like Windex or something. Try something
called Nature's Miracle, it's found at most pet stores and will really
help.

And good luck. Not having a kitty use the box is a pain.

[mominiowa]

Like Val said - sometimes if you find out what he was going in before ya got him..that helps...and if it was a farm kitty, try using a little gravel or sand..right on top of the litter..If you bought the Natural Pine stuff..my cat after many tries - would NOT use it.. This is my Dutchess - she drowned in our pool last summer...U made me miss the lil turd...

[Agnes]

yes, i am dealing with the same stinky problem right now. bert & ernie are in the laundry room off the kitchen too. i have (2) shitters here. they love the box but spew on the wood work. they have been in there for a week. continue to clean, spray and keep small amount of food near box. too much food means lots of manure.

[valerie]

Originally Posted by Peg

If you do not take LC's advice, why not move it to the laundry room where he seems to want to go? Also, is the litter box near his food? Some cats will not use their litter box if their food is nearby.

Peg is right, you never should put food near the litter box. The closest it
should be is maybe 8-10 feet away.

And Minks, thought of a couple other things... has kitty been vet checked?
Might eliminate health problems as a cause... sometimes if they associate
pain with the litter box they try somewhere (anywhere!) else.

Also, some kitties are secretive, you might try a litter box with a "hood"
that snaps down, then they can go unobserved.