# One of my kittens just will not behave!



## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

Hi! I've posted about part of this before, but the problem is getting worse now. Tabitha just won't behave!  Poppy is probably making it look worse by being a little angel. 

Basically I have two (almost) 6 month old kittens, Poppy and Tabitha (she was a runt). Neither have been spayed yet (they're booked in on the 16th Jan).

*Toilet habits *

Poppy - Since the day they arrived almost 4 months ago, Poppy has been as good as gold. She has always used the litter tray without fail and always covers her poop.

Tabitha - We have have almost nothing but problems with her in this regard. We've been using wood pellets until recently. When they arrived, Tabitha ran straight out of the litter tray, as if she was scared. Since then, we've had to deal with her pooping/peeing under the bed (now blocked off with boxes). The poops have varied from runny to solid, so I don't think it's that that is the cause. Before this, we also had a long period of time where she was walking around the edges of the tray and scratching the wall, floor, anything that wasn't litter! She would stick her butt over the edge, often getting it on the walls or edge of the tray. :mad5: Lately though, she has been using the tray much better since I switched to Oko about two weeks ago. However, since then she has pee'd on the bed twice in the past few days and today is the final straw as she has done a runny poop all over the bed. 

We were told that from a litter of 7 (two litters, different mothers), that one kitten wasn't using the tray but they weren't sure who (This was after we got ours and I mentioned Tabitha was being problematic).

*Feeding habits*


Poppy - Since we got Poppy, she has never stolen any food, doesn't scavenge and waits patiently for meals. She has had no stomach upsets from her diet and eats whatever she is given, but moderately (she may come back for more later). She will take any food from plates that she is given, however.

Tabitha - She steals food from plates (we have to hold them in the air or distract her somehow, removing her from the room isn't always possible), she scavenges (and eats!) _anything_ she finds on the floor, edible or not. She _will_ claw you in order to get to food, she hoovers up any meals given and has a runny bum every so often, she is also sick on occasion.

Diet: At first they were fed some cheap rubbish called "Rufus", which is what they were fed before coming to us. After a couple of weeks, they were changed to Butcher's Classic, while I studied the A-Z of wet food. Quite a few weeks ago, Hobbs2004 and Kaz25 were both ever so kind and sent me a variety of cat food, all of which they loved. This included Mac's, Bozita, Smilla, Granatapet, Ropocat, etc. I ordered some Bozita paté (Reindeer) and they have been eating that since. I will be ordering more food when I get paid in the next few days. They have never had kitten food. They also have the occasional Hi-Life essentials or Nature's menu (adult) pouches.

Up until last month, they were fed Go-Kat kitten, which I now know not to bother with. However I wanted them to have something to nibble on, even though I know they don't need it.  So I bought them some Applaws chicken dry, which they seem to love. I started giving them it in a bowl with their Catit fountain, but then Tabitha started having the runs. I've been giving smaller amounts in a Catit treat ball which has worked fine, but last night they were crying for food and I felt so bad for them that I gave them a bowl of Applaws dry. It was too late to go downstairs for the wet food. Today though, Tabitha has the runs - as she went on our bed! 

They primarily live in our bedroom, as I still live with my parents, one of which loves to leave doors open, so I have little choice, especially before they are spayed. The room is cluttered as it is and I just don't know how I'm going to fit a second litter tray in here but I'll have to find a way I suppose. 

Also, my mom swears that Tabitha's fur is "livid" which means she's ill. :skep: She also thinks that the food you have all recommended is "too rich" for her little, underdeveloped tummy and she therefore much be fed Whiskas kitten. :shocked: She doesn't believe me when I tell her that as I've read on here, kitten food is a swizz. Thoughts? She pays more attention to adverts on the telly than people who have kept cats all their lives. :frown2:

Thank you SO much for reading all this, I'm glad to have finally taken the time to write everything down! 

Also, here is a pic of Tabitha's "livid" fur. I think she means how it's seperated.


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## rcmadd (Feb 6, 2011)

oh what fun.... having 2 cats basically confined to one room..

ok... litter.. have you tried changing it?.. our cats dont like pellet litter.

food.. you seem to be geting foreign makes of food... try going to a petshop for some gourmet(or whatever).. its possable the wet food is causing the runs.. could be the dry.. but i would say mainly the wet..
try differant dry foods ie.. royal canin.. our cats love the kitten 36 and the exegent.. its trial and eror with regards to food.. one will like but the other might not.

and finally.. they are kittens...


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

Hi, thanks for your response. 



rcmadd said:


> oh what fun.... having 2 cats basically confined to one room..


I know, but they're fine except for the litter issue. They'll get a bit more freedom in about two weeks time when they're spayed. 



rcmadd said:


> ok... litter.. have you tried changing it?.. our cats dont like pellet litter.


I already said I changed them to Oko, which seems to be going down better.



rcmadd said:


> food.. you seem to be geting foreign makes of food...


Only because they were recommended as having a higher meat content on here. 



rcmadd said:


> try going to a petshop for some gourmet(or whatever).. its possable the wet food is causing the runs.. could be the dry.. but i would say mainly the wet..


Everything I've seen in local petshops is Whiskas, Felix, and the "premium" brands like Sheba, which aren't really any better in terms of meat content.

I feed wet every day, Tabitha doesn't have the runs every day. They are fed dry every few days, Tabitha has runny poops every few days. The correlation to me seems obvious. 



rcmadd said:


> try differant dry foods ie.. royal canin.. our cats love the kitten 36 and the exegent.. its trial and eror with regards to food.. one will like but the other might not.


I've read Royal Canin is quite overrated for the price, but it's only what I've read on here, I haven't tried them on it myself yet. I agree with some cats being fussier than others, but mine have been fine with everything given to them so far so they don't seem that fussy. If you mean their tummies liking it (i.e not reacting) then yeah, I understand. 



rcmadd said:


> and finally.. they are kittens...


 Poppy is the same age and she isn't doing any of these things.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Okay - firstly kittens are just like people and will have different personalities - so Tabitha will be like Tabitha and Poppy will be like Poppy. That's just cats/ people/ life. 

With the toileting - how many trays do you have? I know it's a small space you have them in but rules are 1 tray per cat plus one extra. With her standing on the edges etc it really sounds like 1 or 2 things, either she doesn't like the feel of the litter on her feet and / or the tray is too small for her. Try covered trays if you don't have them, many cats feeling safer in a covered tray. 

As for her runny poops - you can't really tell her off for missing the tray - she quite possibly can't hold it in in time to get to the tray. The fact that she is using soft furnishing would also indicate that she doesn't like the feel of the litter on her feet. Cut out the dry for her - she doesn't need it and it obviously doesn't suit her. You do need to control her 'hoovering' up of spare human food. It isn't good for her and sounds like it is irritating her. Bad behaviour CAN be caused by bad foods. 

I personally agree with your choice of food - stick with it. Your cats fur looks fine to me - she's got a good strong tabby pattern and looks healthy. 

When you eat - don't eat in the bedroom and keep them in there and you away. They will complain for the first few days but then get used to it. Also blowing gently on her face helps, be constistant and firm but gentle. She will eventually get the message. 

Once they get spayed, get more room, and get older she will begin to calm down. But definitely cut out the dry.


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

Thanks for the reponse, Spid!


spid said:


> Okay - firstly kittens are just like people and will have different personalities - so Tabitha will be like Tabitha and Poppy will be like Poppy. That's just cats/ people/ life.


Well said, I've had two cats before these two and they were worlds apart. 



spid said:


> With the toileting - how many trays do you have? I know it's a small space you have them in but rules are 1 tray per cat plus one extra. With her standing on the edges etc it really sounds like 1 or 2 things, either she doesn't like the feel of the litter on her feet and / or the tray is too small for her. Try covered trays if you don't have them, many cats feeling safer in a covered tray.


I have just the one tray at the moment. We do have 3 but the other two aren't in use as they are uncovered and it's too messy. Tabitha wasn't really using them either. I'll be getting another covered tray in a few days when I have the funds available.

When she was standing on the edges and avoiding the litter, she was on [email protected] wood pellets. They've had Oko for the past two weeks (It's FANTASTIC) and she hasn't been doing that anymore. 



spid said:


> As for her runny poops - you can't really tell her off for missing the tray - she quite possibly can't hold it in in time to get to the tray. The fact that she is using soft furnishing would also indicate that she doesn't like the feel of the litter on her feet


Well when she was getting it on the wall etc, that was when we had an uncovered tray and she was avoiding the litter, I changed that now. It drove me nuts but I didn't yell at her that time.  Well she uses the litter tray most of the time, then this randomly happens. Surely she'd avoid it the whole time if that was the case? Either way, she's doing it a lot less since I got the Oko.



spid said:


> Cut out the dry for her - she doesn't need it and it obviously doesn't suit her. You do need to control her 'hoovering' up of spare human food. It isn't good for her and sounds like it is irritating her. Bad behaviour CAN be caused by bad foods.


Yeah, I don't think there's much point in giving it anymore, this'll be the last bag.  I'll keep my eye on her and make sure any plates etc aren't in the vicinity.



spid said:


> I personally agree with your choice of food - stick with it. Your cats fur looks fine to me - she's got a good strong tabby pattern and looks healthy.


Thanks - that's a relief. 



spid said:


> When you eat - don't eat in the bedroom and keep them in their and you away. They will complain for the first few days but then get used to it. Also blowing gently on her face helps, be constistant and firm but gentle. She will eventually get the message.


We'll do this and thanks for the blowing suggestion, we'll try that as I really hate shouting at her. 



spid said:


> Once they get spayed, get more room, and get older she will begin to calm down. But definitely cut out the dry.


Gotcha, thanks very much!


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Some cats are very fastidious about trays and need one to poop in and a DIFFERENT one to wee in. Also some will only use a completely clean tray and not a soiled one - this may be why she's erratic.


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

spid said:


> Some cats are very fastidious about trays and need one to poop in and a DIFFERENT one to wee in. Also some will only use a completely clean tray and not a soiled one - this may be why she's erratic.


She's eating now actually - Bozita again! I'll go clean out the tray now and see what happens.


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## Kat1703 (Nov 22, 2011)

Also make sure that their trays are as far away as possible from their food and water - they're pretty finicky about that as well 

Good luck - we're having litter issues with our two 5 month old kittens as well so we're also currently using the powers of deduction to figure out what we're doing wrong!


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## Rylee (Oct 21, 2011)

My kitten had an upset stomach on dry food, it was pets at home purely and her stomach just didn't like it so i would say the dry food definitely sounds like the problem, i just changed brands and mine has been fine since. It was the same as you as well feeding mainly wet but some dry for her to snack on.

Mine is a bit of a terror at times, but absolutely lovely most of the time and when i tried blowing on her face she launched herself at my face lol so be aware (she wasn't trying to hurt me though, just playing)


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

Kat1703 said:


> Also make sure that their trays are as far away as possible from their food and water - they're pretty finicky about that as well
> 
> Good luck - we're having litter issues with our two month old kittens as well so we're also currently using the powers of deduction to figure out what we're doing wrong!


Yep! Catit fountain is as far as possible already, but the place for food is being taken up by the Cabrio carrier. : I'll just move that now. 

Good luck with your two also!:thumbup1:



Rylee said:


> My kitten had an upset stomach on dry food, it was pets at home purely and her stomach just didn't like it so i would say the dry food definitely sounds like the problem, i just changed brands and mine has been fine since. It was the same as you as well feeding mainly wet but some dry for her to snack on.
> 
> Mine is a bit of a terror at times, but absolutely lovely most of the time and when i tried blowing on her face she launched herself at my face lol so be aware (she wasn't trying to hurt me though, just playing)


Thanks for the info Rylee, sounds very similar. I'll either just give it in tiny amounts in the treat ball so she doesn't eat too much (no problems then) or give it to Poppy til it's used up. Then I'll probably not bother anymore, it seems like an unnecessary expense for a student. 

lol! Oh dear. XD


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Heybunny said:


> >>>>>>>I'll either just give it in tiny amounts in the treat ball so she doesn't eat too much (no problems then) or give it to Poppy til it's used up. Then I'll probably not bother anymore, it seems like an unnecessary expense for a student.
> 
> lol! Oh dear. XD


I give my 2 young cats small amounts of dry food (kibble) as treats, or inducements. Giving more caused them problems --some makes of kibble resulted in them getting diarrhoea, without question.

I now give them only small amounts of good quality Orijen grain-free or Acana grain-free, but have to be diligent in rationing, or they get constipated, not being good drinkers.

I'd quite like them not to eat any kibble, but they both love it so much, having been put on a mainly dry food diet by their previous owner (they are rescued cats). And it is quite useful to give as treats


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

chillminx said:


> I give my 2 young cats small amounts of dry food (kibble) as treats, or inducements. Giving more caused them problems --some makes of kibble resulted in them getting diarrhoea, without question.
> 
> I now give them only small amounts of good quality Orijen grain-free or Acana grain-free, but have to be diligent in rationing, or they get constipated, not being good drinkers.
> 
> I'd quite like them not to eat any kibble, but they both love it so much, having been put on a mainly dry food diet by their previous owner (they are rescued cats). And it is quite useful to give as treats


Yeah, they seem to be fine if I just give it in the treatball as it can only hold a tablespoon's worth, max. The only problem is that Tabs hogs it so Poppy barely gets a look in. Last time I had to feed Poppy some while I distracted Tabitha with the ball. 

Also, I found an uncovered poop in the tray today! That's definitely Tabitha's doing! :thumbup1: Then she looked at me and made me think of this:


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

UNcovered poops are quite common with cats - it's not really something you can 'cure' just put up with.


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

spid said:


> UNcovered poops are quite common with cats - it's not really something you can 'cure' just put up with.


Oh, nononono. I know some cats are just like that. It's actually a good thing, because that way I know that Tabitha's used the tray.


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

Ok, she's just pee'd on the quilt. AGAIN. :mad5::mad5::mad5: We JUST changed it last night and we've run out of bedding, this is getting freakin' ridiculous now... :frown2: I'm changing the damn litter every time I see it get used (at least twice a day), I moved the food + water as far away as I could.  There is literally nothing else I can do at the moment.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Sorry you are having so much trouble. As a temporary measure, until the problem is resolved, can I suggest you put a waterproof sheet over the top of you quilt during the daytime. Something like a large waterproof mattress cover, or a groundsheet of the type used when camping. If the cats want to lie on the bed you can always put an old blanket on top of the waterproof. 

The inappropriate toiletting may be due to Tabitha having a sore tummy. 
You have mentioned she has diarrhoea sometimes, and this can make cats use inappropriate places to toilet in the house. If her bottom is sore she is likely to choose something soft like a quilt to pee on. 

With diarrhoea there is a risk of a urinary tract infection developing, and this could definitely cause inappropriate toiletting habits, as it has done with my cats in the past. Has she been checked for a UTI recently? If she has a UTI she will be very uncomfortable and unhappy. 

I hope you manage to get Tabitha's diet sorted out, as it may well be the solution to things. I know you are discontinuing the dry foods, have you also thought of trying her with cereal-free foods to see if that settles her tum completely? There are quite a few on the market. 

Many catfoods have a lot of offal in them, and this can give some cats loose stools (it did so with one of my cats). So if Tabitha still has a dicky tummy after you have tried her on cereal-free foods and foods with a high meat content I would suggest giving her only home cooked food for a while to see if she improves considerably. Roasted or casseroled Chicken, Turkey, Rabbit, and steamed fish. Plus 10% offal to make a balanced meal, and supplements of calcium and taurine. 

I put one of my cats on this diet and he is now a lot better and able to tolerate certain canned foods alongside the homecooked foods.

Best of luck


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Also you need to be washing your bedding with more than just washing powder - you need to use SImple Solution or the like otherwise the smell remains for her even though it has gone for you and she will still be attracted back. But I really would also stop feeding her ANY dry at all and have her checked for a UTI. She isn't doing this deliberately - something is wrong and she doesn't know how to tell you. Either the litter isn't right, or she feels ill, or she doesn't feel safe in the litter tray. Have yo tried using a feliway or per rescue diffuser? SHe may be stressed from living a confined space with her sister and you and your partner. She may also be beginning to have hormones as she matures and this can sometimes lead to inappropriate toileting. Get her spayed asap, give her a little more space, get her checked out by a vet for a UTI, and invest in a stress relieving diffuser (it takes a while to build up but they really do work). The more you get stressed with her the more likely she is to do it again - I know that seems odd but it tends to be true.


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## Heybunny (Sep 14, 2011)

Hi guys, thank you for your responses. 

@chillminx: Yes we have been using a plastic sheet we randomly own just as a preventative measure. I'm not sure if I should have said diarrhoea really, as it's usually just once every few weeks (if that). She doesn't keep going back and forth, it's just really runny on those few occasions. She seems happy enough, she was sat on my lap purring a few minutes ago. ^^ I do know that animals can hide that they're suffering, though. Regarding her food, she's been on Bozita paté for the past few weeks. I just put an order in for some Smilla fish pots, Ani Carny and more Bozita paté. They haven't had grainy cat food in...about 2 months now at least.

She'll be getting spayed on the 16th, as her 6 month birthday is the earliest my vet will do the procedure. Thanks for the Simple Solution spid, it looks good. We do have a spray already but it's by Johnson's and only for litter trays. I'll pop into [email protected] and see if they have any. 

I've also read that I should be using biological washing powder for these issues as well, but I can't as I have eczema and I'm allergic to anything like that so I have to have non-bio. ^^;

I know the poor thing isn't doing it to be bad but I guess I struggle to not humanise her, which I'm trying to work on now. 

Once she's spayed she'll have at least another room to play in, so hopefully that will help as well. I'm planning on putting a second litter tray in that room also.

I understand what you mean about stress spid, makes total sense. I'll get one when I get paid I think.

They've not had anymore dry since I made this thread and Tabbles has both used the tray *and* has normal poops.  I just hope it lasts. I'm cleaning it out every hour or so now as well, lol 

I'm also very tired so if my post seems odd or anything, that'll be why! XD G'night (hopes to find more evidence of Tabs using the tray in the morning)!


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## Grumblebum (Dec 5, 2011)

Peeing on a bed can be a sign of stress also so you need to try to identify the stressing agent and change it (which is easier said than done with cats).

I would wash the bedding and duvet in Bio powder, dry it then wash in non bio to remove the bio residues so it won't make your skin flare up, as bio is the best way of breaking down the urine and removing the smell.


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