Last weekend I turned in my perfectly good kittens, Ishmael and Queequeg, to go up for adoption, and I picked up three new, little ones to foster. These kittens are the opposite of Ishmael, who was a very ugly kitten (it's no accident that Iris Uber Alles' nickname for him was "Mangy") with a winning personality. They are pefect looking little balls of fluff, a walking Hallmark card, but they have the worst personalities ever. They are super needy and clingy, constantly meowing and crying, and they are too lazy to walk over to the litterbox. I've put out three new, supplemental litterboxes about the house to make it easy for them, but nooo. They will take a crap right next to the litterbox.
Also, they are picky eaters, and their nonstop crying as they refuse the latest food offering can drive you insane.
Yesterday I decided it was time for some intensive litterbox training, which means confinement to a small space in order to learn not to soil one's one nest. I set up my old playpen (once used for Iris Uber Alles) and put them in that overnight. This morning, I let them out for two hours, and during that time, they managed to take at least four craps outside of litterboxes. One of those "accidents" was again right next to the litterbox. As I write this, one of them is constantly screaming its guts out for no good reason. "I hate that kitten," I confided to Iris. Before I'd met this perfect-looking little ball of fluff, I'd have thought myself incapable of uttering those words.
8 comments:
i can totally understand your frustration. it's not easy being understood by another species. even polly occasionally does things that drive me crazy. example: in the morning when i wake, she has an annoying habit of putting her paw on the keyboard when i check my email.
still, they don't quite understand. maybe "hate" is too strong a word. you obviously don't hate kittens. you spend so much of your time nurturing them.
I still love them as a species, but this particular litter drives me crazy. This bunch is super adorable looking, but they really are as thick as a bunch of planks. Lucky for them they are such cuties; I'm sure when they are big enough, they'll be snapped up for adoption.
Were they stray at one point? So that their bathroom was literally dirt or sand?
I had a foster kitty once that was near impossible to litter train, until I realized she had been strictly outdoors until I took her. So I started putting dirt from my garden in the corner of the litter box and that was the trick! She never had an accident after that.
I don't think so, Carla. They are completely tame; I got them from a prior foster mother whom I think bottlefed them. (I also have 2 ferals from a different litter, whom I love).
They do use the litterbox sometimes, but they just can't be bothered to make an effort to hold it in or go seek one out.
I'm sure in a week or two they'll be better.
You could name them Paris, and Hilton, and Nicole, and Richey!
also, not to be the devil's advocate, you pit them in containment thinking they wouldn't crap in their nest (which they didn't) and then they crap when they're released from their nest. maybe you should keep them in the pen?
Ha! You probably haven't been following my tales of the Itty Bitty Kitty, but we've been having the same problem. She is 12 years old, and has never really used a litter box before, has been used to going outside. We were going to get rid of her because she was pissing and shitting all over my nice hardwood floors. We have restricted her movements to just the bedroom and the bathroom, and it's helping. She seems to be getting better about it - she hasn't peed on the floor in the bedroom in over a week! This morning, though, when I got up, she walked through the litter box, stepped out of it, and peed on the bathroom floor right next to it. At least it was on tile, which is easy to clean up.
The pet psychic who chatted with her suggested that we put dirt in her litter box, and we will be trying that.
You, DH, are a saint amongst cat lovers! It's amazing how much work you've been putting in on all the kittens. Hopefully you will teach the little darlings some good manners before they go to their permanent homes.
BTW, a friend of mine rescued a feral kitten who was about 3 days old, and has been bottle-feeding her every four hours. I totally thought of you!
"this bunch is super adorable looking, but they really are as thick as a bunch of planks"
Sounds like some pretty people I know.
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