2 siamese kittens in training

[Marinne]

Hi there,
We’ve been training our 2 Siamese kittens, Matzu and Keiko, with the LK since we got them at 3 months old. At first, we had the LK on the toilet and a bigger litter box on the floor.
After 2 weeks with no incidents, we just left the LK (red stage). Everything was going fine until Keiko peed on the floor. Since then, and for the following 2 months, we had many more accidents so we are going back and forth to having two litter boxes, to the LK only (red and amber stages). Today, Keiko also pooed by the toilet, on the floor.
We praise Keiko all the time when he uses the LK, pet him and give him treats, and also take him to watch when his brother uses the LK. At times it’d seem like he has trouble positioning on the LK. So he meows, jumps down and starts scratching the floor. When we catch him like this, we tell him right away to use the LK (a command he understands very well). So he would meow, jump back to the LK, and do his n1 or n2 with no problems.
All accidents happen at night, while we are sleeping, or when we are at work. We keep the LK extremely clean (we scrub it twice daily). We ruled out medical issues, litter issues (we used the same litter as the breeder). Sometimes, the LK was quite soiled so it was no surprise Keiko would prefer the floor. But other times, he would still pee elsewhere even if the LK was barely used. We even spray the floor with repellent, but nothing works.

We are puzzled. Keiko has accidents at any stage. I’d seem like he would only use the LK if we tell him to do so, although sometimes he uses it right away on his own. Matzu, on the other hand, is a LK natural and would be in the green stage for weeks now.
Matzu and Keiko are litter mates; however, they differ a lot in personalities and even size. Keiko is the big brother, extrovert, outgoing and talkative. Matzu is the little, smart one, more reserved and introvert. But both are extremely loving and well behaved, and extremely fast learners. They already play fetch and understand quite a few commands.
Any tips or ideas as to why Keiko is behaving like this? Or is it just a matter of time and patience? We won’t give up for sure.

Thanks!

[Norwegiangirl85]

Welcome to the forum

It sounds to me like you are confusing the cats with going from both a litterbox and the LK, to more than one litterbox, to red LK, to amber LK...Cats hate changes and need things to go slow, the best thing is if they don't even notice the changes. It is also really important to move at the pace of the slowest cat even if you really want to move on...

Try reading some links in this thread (Especially tips for red and amber stage) : http://www.litterkwitter.com/forums/...ead.php?t=3095

Hope it helps, keep us posted

[Marinne]

Hi Norwegiangirl,

So far Keiko, our slowest kitten, is dictating the training pace. I've been reading the posts and found out that lots of praise and treats do wonders. We we did not have any accidents in four days in a row (last Friday thru Monday)

Keiko appears to enjoy the kudos + treats sessions a lot, so after a successful pee or poo, he even goes back to the LK, scratches a little bit and looks at me waiting for more!. He does not pee or poo, he just wants more treats. So I stand by the bathroom door and wait to see if he goes. I tell him NO treats until then. And Oh!!, I'm sure he gets he cannot fool me by the way he meows.

We are timing the kittens' meals now to be around when it's time to poo, so we can clean the LK right away. Keiko always goes on the floor if there's too much pee and/or poo in the LK, otherwise he uses the LK. So now we are figuring out how to drill holes in the disks without breaking them to prevent pee from accumulating...

Thanks for reading and I'll sure keep you posted on any progress!