# how to prevent kitten tracking poo in house?



## lillylove (May 4, 2010)

Hi, I just wondered if anyone had tips or advice, perhaps she will grow out of it? or is there something I can put on the floor that would encourage her to wash instead of running around? 

Kitten is 4 months old and I have a very large enclosed litter tray, she is fully trained and covers her poo up. I have been using woodbased litter. 

The problem is that she regularly stands in her own poo, gets covered in it and tracks it all round the whole house before washing herself up. She gets agitated that its on her, and this makes her run around really fast - covering even more surfaces!

I prevent this by closing off all the doors when I am out, but it happens sometimes when I am home - today whilst I was in the bath she got it all over the dining table and 2 clean beds. I now find myself heading her off when she gets out of the litter tray each time which I think is stressing her a little, as is not being allowed in rooms makes her all the more determined to get in there! 

I found that fish products make her stools very loose so by sticking to dry and wet food but meat based its better... but she still stands in her poo!

Thanks


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

Im not too struck on wood based litters, though I do use them for the very young kittens (till they stop eating it, lol). I find clumping clay based litters better, and maybe trying one of these would solve your problems but changing litters can create other problems, so its a tough one? Maybe a second tray with another type of litter in it next to her current tray?? Just to see if makes any difference?? I have had cats (fosters) who have been terrible with one type of cat litter, but fine with another type. (by type I dont mean brands, I mean more, clay based, clumping, silicone, wood, paper, pellets) 

You can buy little rubbery mat thingies that you place outside the litter trays, and the theory is, they walk over this rubbery mat and it cleans their feet yeah right I had messy motherless kittens just a few weeks ago and they couldnt get the hang of burying their poos so I had a lot of mess while I was trying to teach them. Bought one of these litter tray floor mats and the little buggers just jumped the 30cm from their tray to the floor in front of the mat. Maybe you could try something like an old beach towel or bath mat at the exit of the tray to see if she would maybe wipe her feet on that??


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## Aurelia (Apr 29, 2010)

Try buying one of those cheap door mats you can get from pound shops or the market, the ones that are carpet offcuts. Get a fairly long one to start with. 

Once I had put one of these outside Rilly's toilet I found she started wiping her feet by scratching the mat on the way out 

Other than that have you tried emptying her tray (or even just scooping the poo out) a couple/few times a day just to narrow down the chances of her stepping on poo?


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## Kaitlyn (Apr 28, 2010)

Babywipes and an eagle eye? My kitten suffers from a bad tummy so often stepped in his when i first got him, still does it now but not as much. I literally had to pounce on him and wipe him over before he got anywhere else in the house. Also removed poops straight away to minimise the risk of it being stepped in the next time he went.

Very good idea about the doormat :thumbup: Cheap, cheerful and effective


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## mummiesofRio (Oct 25, 2009)

Rio still does this & he's 10 months old  the thing is, he flicks it all over the place if it's on his legs - we've found it everywhere!! We've tried the rubber mat that was mentioned previously but that made no difference whatsoever!! Babywipes & fast legs are are only help at the moment!! There's a mat that they sell in Asda & i think Robert dyas that 'soaks up' any excess water, mud....or poop. It's meant for the front/ back door to wipe your feet on but I want to get hold of one to see if that might work, i think it was about £15 so quite expensive but it'll be worth it to not have poop everywhere!! I don't know the name of it but I'm sure they'll know what you mean if you ask about it.


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## lillylove (May 4, 2010)

Her poo has been more solid, but also changing the litter has stopped this completely 
I was using wood based now I use Worlds Best


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## lawrence_elena (Nov 22, 2009)

We have two cats and one of them tends to either step on the poo as he is trying to cover it or his tail will drag over the poo as he turns round to sniff it. His tail hangs quite low all the time and he does not lift it when using the toilet. The other cat has no issues at all.

We are also closing doors when we are away and watching them every time they come out of the box. There must be a way to train them to clean themselves before walking away from the box. We have mats directly outside the box. Can be very annoying at times.

Any help would be appreciated.


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## phil.kennedy99 (Oct 28, 2009)

Our cat has quite messy poops and used to regularly stand in them. He would also sometimes leave a perfectly round poop circle on our bed!

He has slowly grown out of it, he still struggles to cover his poop (not for want of trying, he spends at least 5 minutes in there diggin around and still leave it uncovered) but hes less clumsy now.

The only thing I can suggest is to grab the baby wipes as soon as you hear the tray go.

We still do it now out of habit but its less hassle in the long run.

(FTR we washed the poop circles off the bed lol)


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