How often does a 10 week old kitten pee and poo in a 24 hour period on average?

[tomtemama]

We've just adopted a 10 week old kitten. We've had him here for two and a half days now. He is fantastic and we love him a lot. I've never had a cat before and dh has but he was living with his parents at the time so they took care of all the litter stuff. This kitten is still definitely training. He seems to prefer to (try to) pee on towels, duvets, beds and the like. We have been redirecting him if we see him scratching and squatting.

We got him from a friend and I'm wondering if maybe peeing on towels etc. at her house went unnoticed. They had him and his 4 brothers and sisters in a room together along with their mama, removed from most of the family. I'm not sure that they spent tons of time watching them.

We have found that offering the litter seems to work pretty well but he's only peeing about twice in a 24 hour period and pooing once. I get nervous about 3 hours after the last time he peed and feel like I need to watch him more closely. This is getting nerve racking and if I knew that peeing so infrequently was normal I'd be able to relax a bit.

[Jeannettea]

If you have a large home and a small kitten, he's not finding the litterbox quickly enough. You might want to add a couple more boxes.

Also, after eating/drinking, w/in @ 30 minutes he will need the litterbox.

Are you using a clumping litter? If so, you will be able to tell how many times he's gone in one day by the # of clumps in the box.

One last tip - I've had cats for years (usually only one but sometimes two at a time), and they ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS (without exception!) will pee on dirty laundry. I don't know why. They just do. It's a great incentive to make sure that all laundry goes straight into the hamper (or straight into the washing machine)! This includes damp towels and damp bathroom rugs (even though they're not really dirty).

Hope this helps!!!

[tomtemama]

Hmmmm.......That's food for thought. He's eating quite often and I have been keeping a really close eye on him. I can't find any other place he's going but he must be. When he pees on in the litter it takes at least 20 seconds before he's done. Would he be faster if he were going somewhere else? There is no laundry on the ground so that's not it.

We live in a super small house and he definately knows where the box is as I plunk him in it many times a day. The litter does show when he has used it. It is pine pellets and they kind of expand into a little mound when they are wet. I'm not sure if I should just leave him to his own devices and try to keep an eye out for where else he may be going.

Any advice about where else I should look or what I should do?

[Jeannettea]

It usually does take a few seconds (20 seems average - when I just watched my dd's eight month old cat pee she took that long, and she goes several times a day).

If the cat pees elsewhere, you're going to notice the smell probably very soon. Their pee really stinks!

As far as pooing, they might be able to hide it better......perhaps under a bath rug or towel, maybe inside a slightly open dark closet, sometimes behind the entertainment center or under the kitchen sink cabinet....

If you find him going somewhere, be sure to lay a large piece of tinfoil down there. They don't like the feel/sound of tinfoil on their feet/claws and will avoid it usually. Just make sure he doesn't try to eat it since he's so little.

Hope this helps!