litter box/weaning

I know that this has been asked a million times before, so I will try to be brief.

I just adopted a kitten that is about six weeks old. She and her litter mates were found shielded from the rain by mom underneath the dinosaur climber in the playground at the preschool I work at. They couldn’t stay there, and Animal Control said they would only rehab the kittens if both them and mom were caught, otherwise they would be euthanized. We never could catch mom – she still has one kitten, but the other four were fostered by a loving mother at our school. A few teachers have now adopted the kittens as their own, including me.

I am having a hard time getting Kitten to go in the box. Unknowingly, I bought a box that is most likely too large for her, so I will be buying a smaller one asap. I’ve never had to box train an animal – my previously adopted cat was already trained, and my ferret is about as “trained” as a ferret can be (he goes maybe 60% of the time in the box on good days).

I’ve had the most luck with non-clumping pine litter for my ferret, and so I tried that with Kitten. I’ve now read that they don’t like strong odors near their litter – what is the best brand/type of litter to use with new kittens?

She has found a corner of the room that she most likes to go in – what is the best odor neutralizer to buy so that I can get her using the box more? She’s really been favoring this corner!

Also, I am trying to wean her off of the bottle, but she is so particular, just like my babies at work! She likes her bottle slightly warmed and will take it no other way. I’ve tried diluting the formula, but if it is not exact, she’ll just chew on the nipple. She’s eating wet food from a bowl, but won’t touch water. What are some tips?

Wow. So, not so brief. Any sage advice would help this new kitten owner. Thanks!