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I found a baby cat who was about 1 month old I think. I can't bring her in our house because we are not in ground floor and some other reasons. I keep her in the parking and she can go out and back in the parking anytime she wants easily. Also I've made her a little house to rest in there and get warm in this winter. But after 5-6 weeks I saw she had pooped in that house, while there is lots of soil around in and out of the parking. And another thing is that I never have seen her lick herself.

She is from DSH race and got medium hair.

So this is my question: can a baby cat (kitty) who has lost her mother, learn on her own how to hide her poop and clean herself by licking? Are these skills instinct or must be taught by their mom?

Thank you for your answers.

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    welcome to pets.SE :) I am not a cat person, and will let others with more skills in this answer your question. Only to clearify: what are the temperatures in your region in winter? I am not sure, how old kittens need to be, before they can stay warm alone... – Allerleirauh Dec 22 '20 at 14:58
  • Thank you :) I appreciate you for your help. Nowadays the temperature reaches to about -8 degrees centigrade in morning. some days a little higher. but there is warm inside the parking and I don't think it goes under 0 degrees. because it's isolated enough. And also we store many foodstuffs there and they never freeze. it's more like a cool place for keeping foodstuffs than a parking – Mohamad Bigdelly Dec 22 '20 at 18:26
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    Are there rescues or anything in your area? A month is too young to be separated from mama, and having to live outside all by itself sounds awfully cold and lonely for a little kitten. I do know these behaviors aren't entirely instinctual. It's possible for them to learn from humans, as humans have raised tiny, tiny kittens before, but I don't know the method. One other question, is the soil loose like sand or hard? If the latter, it's still unsuitable and the kitten probably won't prefer it anyways. – Kai Dec 24 '20 at 17:07
  • Thank you for your comment. Now she is more than 2 months old. Yes there is a rescue, she stays in the parking and I've made her another little warm house in the parking. And the soil is soft like sands. – Mohamad Bigdelly Dec 25 '20 at 14:34
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A 1-month-old kitty is big enough to know the basics of kitty life such as covering poop and grooming themselves. We got our boy at a similar age and he instinctively knew how to use the litter box. Maybe you should place some litter sand inside the enclosure you've made and see what she does. I surmise that she is treating the enclosure you've built as her house and expects the litter to be inside it. Cats in the wild usually over their tracks to hide their smell and avoid predators. This includes covering the litter and food after they are done.

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  • Thank you, this comment helped me so much. The enclosure is not so big and there is not enough space to add litter, I made it small in order to the kitty can warm up there by her body heat. But I'll make her a bigger house. Thank you again for your help. Hope we can save these little angels – Mohamad Bigdelly Dec 26 '20 at 8:29

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