I'm a new cat owener. I've never had one before. Like an idiot, we let our cat out before getting her fixed and she got pregnant. She had three kittens about 4 weeks ago and just two days ago "Patches" (the mom) brought them out of their birth place (which is located in a closet in our basement) to begin roaming the basement.
If you walk into our basement it smells like urine! We have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and I don't even want them down here right now. Our living room is down here so I'm just at my wits end.
What do I do? Where do we keep the kitties while they're being potty trained? I know if I put them in a large open box with towels that Patches will just remove them. But this has to stop.
Also, at what age can we give the kitties away to new owners? Two of them already have good homes as soon as they're old enough.
PLEASE HELP ME! I need to clean up our basement. Thank you - Jeff
HELP! My kitties are going potty ALL OVER the basement!!
Re: HELP! My kitties are going potty ALL OVER the basement!!
The kittens may not be old enough yet to master a litterbox, but the mother should soon be teaching them how. Are you providing her a litterbox in a safe and private area? Is she and her kittens healthy? If she is marking in other areas and avoiding her litterbox, you need to consider placing it in a private area, keep it scooped and cleaned on a daily basis, and get her examined by your vet to ensure she is healthy (you can also make a spay appointment for then). Use enzymatic cleaners, like Nature's Miracle to clean any areas she may be marking.
Provide a second litterbox with low edges so the kittens can access it and learn to use it, be sure *not* to use scoopable litter for the kittens.
If you don't want mother and kittens in the basement, then provide a clean, sizeable, kitten-proof room for them. But don't keep them confined in a small area, mom and babies need ample room to romp, play and exercise. Keep the litterboxes far enough away from their food/water dishes.
Kittens should not be adopted out until they are 12 weeks of age, and weaned completely, that is, that they are healthy, eating solid food sufficiently, and have been checked by your vet, dewormed and vaccinated accordingly.
Provide a second litterbox with low edges so the kittens can access it and learn to use it, be sure *not* to use scoopable litter for the kittens.
If you don't want mother and kittens in the basement, then provide a clean, sizeable, kitten-proof room for them. But don't keep them confined in a small area, mom and babies need ample room to romp, play and exercise. Keep the litterboxes far enough away from their food/water dishes.
Kittens should not be adopted out until they are 12 weeks of age, and weaned completely, that is, that they are healthy, eating solid food sufficiently, and have been checked by your vet, dewormed and vaccinated accordingly.
..........Traci
Re: HELP! My kitties are going potty ALL OVER the basement!!
Thank you very much!
Re: HELP! My kitties are going potty ALL OVER the basement!!
I found the best litter boxes for the young kittens is to go to your local bar or grocery store, and get the soda/beer flats...they are just the right size after the stores cut them down, for babies to crawl into, and you just toss the old ones rather than having to clean boxes...
Of couse, these will never work for older cats, but for training kittens they are great!
Of couse, these will never work for older cats, but for training kittens they are great!
If you cannot give them a room of their own get creative and create a "playpen" for the babies. Buy a couple big cardboard boxes from moving supply store. Cut one edge so you can flatten out the entire thing flat to have a long continuous piece of cardboard to work with. Get some duct tape. Make a wall with the cardboard that is about 24-30" high. The idea is to create a wall high enough that the babies can't climb over but that mom can jump in and out. The cardboard has smooth side makes is difficult for the babies to scale. DO not underestimate how quickly they will gain climbing ability!
Create a wall to box off a large corner of a room or maybe an area right outside the open closet door. Be very careful to ensure the wall has no holes of gaps in it. The babies can wiggle through a very small space. Put a litter box, their food, and kitten safe toys in the play pen. This was they can explore and learn but still be safe and confined.
When my cat had her kittens I used this technique to divide an extra bedroom in half. I could not devote the entire room to them, so this worked great. Around 5 weeks the babies could scale the knee high wall and I made another higher one. By 8 weeks they could scale a 33" wall and so I just gave up and kitty proofed the entire apartment. They were using the litter box regularly (just a few accidents) by 6-7 weeks.
Mom cat seemed to like that they had a safe area to play. She got really nervous the first times they escaped their playpen room.
I found homes for 2 of mine at 9 weeks and one more at 14 weeks. Most vets I talked to said 8 week minimum but longer time spent with mom and the litter mates is better. I wish they had been more forceful and just said 12 weeks. If I did it again, I would wait at least 12 weeks before letting them go like Traci said. I saw a big difference in social skills and confidence between 9 weeks and 12 weeks.
And remember to have fun with them. There is no better entertainment than playing with a bunch of kittens. You will miss them when they are gone and forget about the smelly accidents.
Create a wall to box off a large corner of a room or maybe an area right outside the open closet door. Be very careful to ensure the wall has no holes of gaps in it. The babies can wiggle through a very small space. Put a litter box, their food, and kitten safe toys in the play pen. This was they can explore and learn but still be safe and confined.
When my cat had her kittens I used this technique to divide an extra bedroom in half. I could not devote the entire room to them, so this worked great. Around 5 weeks the babies could scale the knee high wall and I made another higher one. By 8 weeks they could scale a 33" wall and so I just gave up and kitty proofed the entire apartment. They were using the litter box regularly (just a few accidents) by 6-7 weeks.
Mom cat seemed to like that they had a safe area to play. She got really nervous the first times they escaped their playpen room.
I found homes for 2 of mine at 9 weeks and one more at 14 weeks. Most vets I talked to said 8 week minimum but longer time spent with mom and the litter mates is better. I wish they had been more forceful and just said 12 weeks. If I did it again, I would wait at least 12 weeks before letting them go like Traci said. I saw a big difference in social skills and confidence between 9 weeks and 12 weeks.
And remember to have fun with them. There is no better entertainment than playing with a bunch of kittens. You will miss them when they are gone and forget about the smelly accidents.
And I forgot, get a black light to go along with the Natures Miracle. Animal pee glows under it. (and a sacry amount of other various stains you never knew were there).
You need to find all the spots and saturate the area with the Natures Miracle (or similar product) so the smell does not attract them there again. Works great!
Someone makes a package with a black light and the enzyme cleaner together. But any old black light bulb will work. You do need to be able to hold the black light about 1 foot away, so putting a black light in a floor lamp will not really work.
You need to find all the spots and saturate the area with the Natures Miracle (or similar product) so the smell does not attract them there again. Works great!
Someone makes a package with a black light and the enzyme cleaner together. But any old black light bulb will work. You do need to be able to hold the black light about 1 foot away, so putting a black light in a floor lamp will not really work.