# 5 month old kitten issues



## ZenLike (Dec 14, 2012)

Hi all

Ive had many cats over the years but ive not had a kitten quite like the one i have now.

Our cat had a litter of 6 on the 1st July and we kept two, one male and one female.

The female is such a lovely kitten, she is always playing and uses the litter tray without fail .. she is just basically a lot of fun.

Then we move onto her brother ..... who is basically not right in the head !

He point blank refuses to use the litter tray , never has its almost like he refuses to poo or pee outside either !

He has done the business on my bed, my sons bed, the hallway ... anywhere.

Its got to the point where he is not allowed around the house and has to stay in the kitchen / dining room and i just leave the patio doors slightly open so he can go into the garden when required.

I cannot now leave him in the kitchen overnight with his sister because he just makes a mess everywhere and its not great to wake up to when you have that morning coffee... so he sleeps in the shed.

But now ... hes decided to take it to another level and will now poo whilst laying down when i walk into the kitchen... even if im just putting the kettle on.

I think he now gets nervous because he THINKS im going to throw him out !!

Even if i make the effort to be nice to him and shower him with praise ... he will still look me in the eye and start to poo.

Even today ... he was laying on the dining table and just started peeing and pooing for no apparent reason !!

Its getting to the point where i dont want him in the house at all .. but that makes me sad to see him outside whilst his sister is upstairs in the warmth.

Ive honestly looked at him in the garden for 10 minutes and decide to let him in ... only for him to instantly poo in the kitchen. 

tbh .. i dont think hes all there, but thats why i chose to keep him in the first place.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Maybe he has incontinence issues have you had him checked by a vet?


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Poor little guy,he does sound as though he has some "issues"which need to be addressed.
As we love bhs's has said has he been checked over by a vet.Cats/kittens are naturally clean animals so something is causing this behaviour.It could be stress/fear/confusion/incontinence lots of things but I dont think shutting him outside is ever going to help.


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## Chiantina (Oct 16, 2012)

You absolutely need to get him checked by a vet!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Zenlike -- have you considered it may be a dietary issue that is making it difficult for him to control his bowels? What are you feeding him on?

Or, it could be be he has a chronic urinary tract infection, which could make him incontinent of urine as well as incontinent of stool. 

I echo what others have said, please have him checked out by a vet. 

It is far too cold atm, (if you are in the UK or Europe) to have him sleeping outside in a shed, and could well make his problems worse.


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

I have never known a cat lie down and poo - he can't be well. I echo what the others say - please take him to a vet. 

But also a couple(!) of other questions to think about :
Is it solid or runny? More smelly than usual? Does he wash himself afterwards? Does he try to cover it up? Is he walking properly and has he got a temperature? It might be worth taking a fresh sample in a clean jar to the vets with you, to speed things up if they suggest tests.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

This kitten has a serious problem and whether it be physical or mental you really need to get him seen by a vet. It cannot continue for his sake or yours


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## Ang2 (Jun 15, 2012)

I absolutely echo what Jonescat has said. This is most definitely not done with control. There is something seriously wrong here. Please please see a vet asap. 

Just another point: Get him insured now - before you take him to the vet.


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## ZenLike (Dec 14, 2012)

Good morning all, and thanks for the replies.



> Maybe he has incontinence issues have you had him checked by a vet?


Ive not checked him with a vet yet, but i dont think its incontinence, because he seems to be able to control himself until he probably feels threatened etc.



> It could be stress/fear/confusion/incontinence lots of things but I dont think shutting him outside is ever going to help.


I think it is stress/fear/confusion.

The same thing happened yesterday, he had peed in the kitchen and i stood in it by mistake and looked over to him when he was sitting in the cat house thingy and he just looked at me and started to poo.

Its a reaction thing i think.

I will keep him in the kitchen overnight though.



> You absolutely need to get him checked by a vet!


Not sure what a vet can do for mental issues, but i do agree with you.



> have you considered it may be a dietary issue that is making it difficult for him to control his bowels? What are you feeding him on?


Ive tried various tins of cat food and i see no difference tbh, his sister has not such problems and is fed the same food.



> Is it solid or runny? More smelly than usual? Does he wash himself afterwards? Does he try to cover it up? Is he walking properly and has he got a temperature?


They tend to be small pebble like pellets that are fairly solid, they dont smell much really, i think he does wash himself, but hes not as clean as his sister, and he never ever bothers to try and cover it up, and walks fine, he actually looks in really good health.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

If you feel it could be because he feels fear/confused/stressed ,what do you think could cause this It is not a natural reaction in a young kitten unless something in this environment is/has caused it,cats are very sensitive creatures.He sounds like a very unhappy kitten.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

What you explain sounds as if he is fearful of you.


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## Golgotha_tramp (Feb 27, 2011)

Please don't take this wrong but how old is your son? If he is young and he has seen you punishing the kitten (which banishing from the house is) and complaining about his behaviour could he have though he was helping and punished the cat in other ways?

Like I said please don't take this wrong, children are innocent and don't understand that they can sometimes hurt animals. But ths kitten sounds literally petrified.


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Have you ever got so frustrated that you have yelled at the kitten, roughly grabbed him to chuck him out etc? Sounds like he regards humans as something so terrifying that he's engaging in the fight or flight reaponse. It is common for an animal to evacuate their bowels preparatory to running away. He sounds like a terribly unhappy little boy. Have you considered rehoming?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree, he does sound as though he is terrified out of his wits, poor little fellow. 

Re-homing him might be better for him, but you would need to be open and honest about his problems with any potential adopter, or the poor little chap could find himself in trouble again, and end up being passed from pillar to post.

The kind of person who should re-home him would need to be someone 
patient, calm and compassionate, who likes a challenge.

I still think you should discuss this situation with your vet, and also ask for a referral to an animal behaviourist, the type who visits your home and makes an assessment of your cat's behaviour in situ.


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## ZenLike (Dec 14, 2012)

Hmm ... if i was being nasty to the kitten or thought for one second my 13 year old son was doing something similar do you really think i would come on here and post a thread about it ?

There is virtually zero chance my son would do anything to harm the kitten, i would hope i have brought him up far better than that.

I would also like to point out that my ex, my sons mother ( we split up and i have custody ) used to work as a vets nurse and even she admits to being perplexed by the kittens behaviour.

On a side note .. i allowed the kitten to go upstairs today and as predicted .. he went to lie down on my son's bed.

I told my lad to keep an eye on him and the kitten stayed there until about 8pm ( about 8 hours ) and only once come down to the kitchen for food.

At 8pm we brought him down and he went outside and had a pee i think so hes done well today.

Spending the day on a comfy bed next to a radiator was no doubt a good day in his book and he got a fair bit of attention for behaving..

Hopefully he learns to understand that if he behaves then good things happen.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I think if you had maybe shouted at the kitten in exasperation once or twice, when he pooed away from the litter tray, it would be understandable.

I am not implying that _is_ what you did though, and going by your user name I would imagine you to be a very laid back kind of guy, who would be very patient, tolerant and understanding with your cats. 

However cats can be extremely sensitive to human moods and I am certain 
they can sense disapproval directed towards them by humans. And it is quite difficult not to be disapproving (even if it is silent disapproval) when a cat keeps toiletting away from the designated place.

Because cats are very clean by nature, a cat who has a toiletting problem like the one you describe, is likely to be unhappy with itself. Sensing disapproval from his humans could make him anxious, and anxiety could make the toiletting problem even worse.

Basically all I am saying is that if an atmosphere of calm acceptance can prevail, you may find the toiletting behaviour improves. But it is unlikely to be resolved overnight, and there still needs to be allowance made for 
*mistakes*.

How many litter trays do you have in the house? The rule of thumb is one per cat plus one extra. Do you have other cats apart from the 2 kittens?

However, with your incontinent kitty I would definitely provide litter trays all over the house, so there is one in every room where he spends time. Or if you don't want trays in the bedrooms, put one or two on the landing outside the bedrooms.

Also, it might be worth one of the trays you provide being a tall hooded tray, in case privacy in the tray is an issue for your cat.

A soft litter, such as Oko Plus (cereal based) will also encourage the cat to use it.

Btw, have your kittens been neutered/spayed yet? If not, there is a possibility some of the male kitten's toiletting behaviour could be due to scent-marking.


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## sarahhenderson (Aug 28, 2012)

we had a similar problem with one of our kittens, we got two brothers from 12 weeks old, one would use the tray no problem , the other had accidents almost every day in numerous places

We have been accident free for a few months now and hopefully trying afew of these things (if not tried already) may help:

Feliway plug ins

Zyklene capsules - they have a calming effect on cats, though it'd be best to consult a vet first 

trying different depths and types of litter - for instance, our cats for some reason like to pee in clay based litter and poop in wood chip  they were also trained in hooded trays but now prefer open topped ones as they have more room to squat. we also keep our litter trays positioned in rooms with no soft furnishings which has helped for us. 

apart from that we take our problem cats behaviour as it comes, we try and cuddle him a little to try and socialise him and bond a bit better with him as he can be quite aloof, and playing with your kitten would do also benefit your bond with him. Also if he is in a busy environment he might be made nervous by this.

-For us the zyklene capsules are the main cure, as if he skips a tablet he is likely to have an accident 

hope this helps, 
Sarah x


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## Hannahmourneevans (Dec 16, 2012)

Sounds like you have had a better day today! 

I have never known a cat to poo lieing down either - bless him I think he is nervous temperament and is scared of you. Also seems as if he is marking his territory. Possibly give him an area of his own including a litter tray if this is suitable in your house?


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

Do you think it is possible that he is constipated? What does he eat? It does sound almost as if he doesn't know that he has done it, and the fact that it is pellet like and dryish makes me wonder about constipation. A vet could tell you this by feeling his tummy.

When you say he's not quite right and that is why you kept him - what do you mean? Has he got symptoms other than this? It's a puzzle, as you can tell by all the different responses you are getting, so please bear with us while we fire questions at you until between us all we may come up with something that helps!


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## Leam1307 (Feb 12, 2010)

deleted ....


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

years ago i had a cat that started pooing everywhere while lying down - she would even poo in her sleep. in turn she would wee too. it turned out she had a pancreas deficiency and had medication for the rest of her life. the meds sorted the problem straight away but unfortunately she disappeared at around 18 months old and we never found her. a vet visit is needed for sure.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2012)

He may look fine but you don't actually know if the problem is internal. I would definitely take him to the vet and it sounds like cats galore may have found the answer. I would recommend getting him insured but they leave 14 days before you can make a claim and if you know of the condition before taking out the insurance you have to declare it and it is more than likely it would be excluded.


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