Why is my kitten going to the bathroom outside the litter box?

That can be many different reasons. Probably one of the most common reasons we see is because the litter box is dirty. They don't like to go in a dirty litter box. And that might mean that you didn't scoop it today, or you didn't scoop it all week. That's probably the number one thing to look for, or that they share a litter box with another cat. And as I mentioned earlier, the correct number of litter boxes is one litter box per cat plus one. So, depending on how many cats you have in the household, that will total how many litter boxes you should have. Sometimes it's the type of litter box. You might have it covered, and then they don't want to go in the cover or under the cover. Or you might have a non-covered, and their rear end is hanging over. There can be many different reasons for that. But I would say, number one, make sure you're scooping that litter box all the time.

Kittens instinctually use the litter box, so if they're not using it, there could be a few reasons. They might be in too big of a space and have trouble finding it, the sides of the litter box could be too high for them to get in, or they could have a medical issue such as parasites or urinary tract infections causing them to go outside the litter box. It may require a discussion with your veterinarian to determine the exact cause.

There could be multiple reasons, such as not understanding the litter box, which can be handled by putting them inside the litter box and manually raking their feet through the litter, which will trigger the normal response that they should be able to go to the bathroom. Other possible reasons include other cats blocking their access to the litter box with aggression, medical reasons like a urinary tract infection, or preferences regarding the litter box type and litter. Try different options and consult a vet if necessary. Also, if you have a really small kitten, the edge of the litter box may be a bit high for them.