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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / July 2006Cleaning cat's bottom?
My male cat is having a bit of a problem today and I need some advice on how to help him. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a bit graphic to explain the problem so forgive me or, if you find the topic vulgar, perhaps you should move on to another post.... He has some fecal material in the fur near his rectum. This is quite unusual for him - he passes me, tail held high, as he walks past me in front of the computer monitor so it's hard not to notice - and I'm not sure what to do for him. He seems to be sitting a bit awkwardly today and on a couple of occasions today, I have seen him dragging his bottom along the floor in an attempt to free himself of the "klingons". There was a very long and rather soft stool sample beside the litter box this morning and I think that is related. My two cats have recently started drinking milk again - they seem to prefer it to water - but this may be having some negative effects on my male. I used to give them milk all the time without any health problems but I was having problems with milk splatter on my baseboards near their dishes so I thought I'd try water for a while instead. But they rarely seem to touch their Brita-filtered water and started hopping up on the table and licking milk out of my cereal bowl recently so this seems to be their way of saying they prefer milk to water. So I pour half a bowlful of milk into the bowl after I'm done and they take turns lapping it up. Anyway, that's how I got to the current situation. This morning, I saw that there was a fairly substantial "klingon" on his butt fur so I got some toilet tissue and pulled it out of his fur as best I could. He seemed to be glad it was gone but was rather squeamish when I tried to get more. I expect it hurts to have someone try to pull fecal material out of your butt fur so I don't blame him! What's the best technique to get the remaining material out of his fur with the minimum discomfort to the cat? I don't want to go to the vet over something this trivial. I had thought he might lick the material away by himself - cats seem comfortable licking their own bottoms! - but I haven't seen him do so yet. Also, once I've got him cleaned up, what should I do about giving him liquids? Is it okay to keep giving him milk, even if it softens his stool and causes more "klingons"? Or should I make sure he gets only water? I'm worried that he will get dehydrated if I don't give the milk becuse he just doesn't care for water. My other cat, a female, is similiarly disinterested in water but doesn't seems to have side-effects from milk. The both get a quarter tin of canned c/d and a half cup of dry c/d at each of their two daily meals. They always finish those meals. I know they get moisture from the canned food but that isn't enough is it? I assume they need _some_ liquids over and above the canned and dry food. -- Rhino > My male cat is having a bit of a problem today and I need some advice > on how to help him. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a bit graphic [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > -- > Rhino Cats are lactose intolerant so milk is not a good idea. I've heard of people giving their cats lactose free milk but that seems pretty pricey! Some cats drink better with flowing water--such as a Drinkwell fountain. Cats get a lot of moisture from canned cat food so a good quality canned food would be better than dry. Many people feed their cats exclusively canned food. As far as cleaning your cat's behind--good luck! With long-haired cats I've sometimes actually shaved or cut out hair around their backsides. With a extremely co-operative cat and about 10 sets of hands I've also been able to wash it out under a tap--usually with a lot of complaining from the cat and bloodshed on my part. Other people will probably have better ideas. Have fun! Bonnie > > My male cat is having a bit of a problem today and I need some advice > > on how to help him. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a bit graphic > > to explain the problem so forgive me or, if you find the topic vulgar, > > perhaps you should move on to another post.... > > > > He has some fecal material in the fur near his rectum. [...] > > What's the best technique to get the remaining material out of his fur > > with the minimum discomfort to the cat? I don't want to go to the vet > > over something this trivial. I had thought he might lick the material > > away by himself - cats seem comfortable licking their own bottoms! - > > but I haven't seen him do so yet. [...] > > -- > > Rhino [...] > As far as cleaning your cat's behind--good luck! With long-haired cats I've > sometimes actually shaved or cut out hair around their backsides. With a [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Bonnie I have an old, fat, thickly furred white cat who has often had bowel problems and has almost never cleaned her own butt. She does "scoot" her butt on the rug when she's got some "residual", and sometimes I can help her get stuff off using dry toilet paper, but mostly that doesn't work unless I get it almost immediately after her trip to the litter box. Usually, I find it necessary to use a wet or damp solution to get the suff off her bottom. (1) I've had some success cleaning her up with baby wipes - but that only seems to work well if there is very little "goopy poopie" back there. (2) If she's really quite gross, I use a wash cloth, gentle soap and running water (this options tends to get her belly wet too, and is fairly tramatic). But the best all-around solution I've found is to use ... (3) my Oil of Olay Facial cloths!! I always cut them in half (I like that size better for my own face) but full size sheets might actually work better for cleaning dirty kitty butt. When I need to clean Jasmine's butt, I make sure I have a supply of 3 or so ready and right close at hand before I commense the kitty-butt cleaning operation -- and also a small terry towel for drying her after she's clean. When that's set up in place, I take Jasmine into the bathroom, close the door, place her on the vanity (this requires active holding with my left hand and arm, because she knows that no good thing happens on the bathroom vanity!) and gently run the water warm (btw, keeping the door closed is also very important, because if (when) she escapes from my left-handed hold, she can't go very far, and she's quite easy to recover and re-place on the vanity). The Oil of Olay Facial clothes will foam up with soft and gentle soap when I wet them and mush them about in my right hand. Then I use this warm, wet, gentle soapy disposable facial cloth to wash Jasmine's butt and the fur around it. It may take a second or even third facial cloth to get all the dreck off, but I just throw the soiled ones right in the trash and keep on going. The last one, I rinse out a few times under the still running warm water and use it to rinse off her butt. Then I have a small towel nearby to dry off her butt. With this approach, I rarely get either her belly or her tail wet, the nasty stuff is easy to throw away, and she doesn't seem to be quite so distressed by the proceedure. Anyway, that's what works for me. :) Hope you find a solution that works well for you! Elizabeth > > > My male cat is having a bit of a problem today and I need some advice > > > on how to help him. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a bit graphic [quoted text clipped - 67 lines] > Anyway, that's what works for me. :) Hope you find a solution that > works well for you! Thank you, Elizabeth, that sounds promising! Better yet, it seems like something I might manage _by myself_ ! That's a plus because I'm the only human in the house. Bebop, my male, might tolerate this treatment and I've certainly got better odds with him than with Samba, my female cat :-) Both cats took quite a while to get used to claw trimming! It used to take three humans to trim Samba's claws and only two for Bebop. Now I can do them by myself. Bebop barely struggles while Samba squirms and cries somewhat. Bebop is just that much more tolerant of "human intervention" :-) -- Rhino > > My male cat is having a bit of a problem today and I need some advice > > on how to help him. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a bit graphic [quoted text clipped - 52 lines] > Cats are lactose intolerant so milk is not a good idea. I've heard of > people giving their cats lactose free milk but that seems pretty pricey! When I posted to one of the cat newsgroups about giving milk several years ago, I was told that SOME cats are lactose intolerant and that, at worst, they would get diarrhea from consuming milk. As a result, I tried giving my cats milk for a day or two to see if they would have problems. They didn't so I gave them milk for several years - they are both 6 years old - without difficulty. If they drank milk without problems for years, I doubt that one of them could be lactose intolerant now. Unless, of course, a few months without milk can MAKE them lactose intolerant. Does anyone know if that can happen? > Some cats drink better with flowing water--such as a Drinkwell fountain. > Cats get a lot of moisture from canned cat food so a good quality canned > food would be better than dry. Many people feed their cats exclusively > canned food. I noticed that they lost weight after a few months on the canned c/d. The canned food is quite expensive and I still had some dry c/d left over so I started giving them both: a quarter can of c/d and an eighth of a cup of dry c/d at each meal. They still don't seem to have gained the weight back though. They used to be at their ideal weights but look slenderer now. I'm a little surprised really. They used to get a quarter cup of dry c/d each at every meal and sustained their perfect weight. Then, for two or three months, they got only a quarter can of wet c/d and lost weight. For the last three or four months, they got a quarter can of wet c/d and an eighth of a cup of dry c/d and don't seem to be gaining much weight.... > As far as cleaning your cat's behind--good luck! With long-haired cats I've > sometimes actually shaved or cut out hair around their backsides. With a > extremely co-operative cat and about 10 sets of hands I've also been able to > wash it out under a tap--usually with a lot of complaining from the cat and > bloodshed on my part. Other people will probably have better ideas. That leaves me about 8 hands short ;-) I may have to con some friends into coming over :-) > Have fun! Thanks! -- Rhino >> > My male cat is having a bit of a problem today and I need some advice >> > on how to help him. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get a bit graphic [quoted text clipped - 100 lines] > -- > Rhino I have a very long-suffering husband who is very gentle and strong at the same time which is an immense help! I occasionally have trouble with one of my long-haired cats who has very silky, furry "pantaloons" and I really can't get it clean with just wiping--it just seems to spread it around. The dip under the tap is a last resort when I can't clean him otherwise! If I change his food too suddenly he tends to have more problems so sometimes I'll trim the long hair on his backside. As far as the milk, it might be worth trying the lactose free milk and see if it makes a difference. I've always heard that cats in general are intolerant of lactose but I suppose that could vary from cat to cat. Bonnie > My two cats have recently > started drinking milk again - they seem to prefer it to water - but > this may be having some negative effects on my male. Milk is a big no-no for male cats. We almost lost Ruf to bladder stones when he was young. My wife was giving him a tablespoon of milk a day, and the vet said that that small amount was what was causing the cristals to form in the bladder. The vet was able to clear the pipes with a cathetar. We stopped giving Ruf milk, no matter how much he cried for it, and he's not had the problem again. Cheers, Jerry  SignatureMy cat and I are very much alike: we're both gray, we're both fat, and we both dig in his litter box. >> My two cats have recently >> started drinking milk again - they seem to prefer it to water - but [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >pipes with a cathetar. We stopped giving Ruf milk, no matter how much >he cried for it, and he's not had the problem again. Use lactose free milk!! > > My two cats have recently > > started drinking milk again - they seem to prefer it to water - but [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > pipes with a cathetar. We stopped giving Ruf milk, no matter how much > he cried for it, and he's not had the problem again. Really?? I posted here a few years ago asking about giving milk to cats and was told that the only negative consequence was diarrhea and that this would only happen for cats that were lactose intolerant. No one said anything about crystals! I know that's very serious, especially in males. In fact, the "nurse" (? whatever you call the people at the vet's office that book the appointments, sell you the food etc. I know they're not vets themselves but they seem pretty knowledgeable) at the vet's office said crystals formed if cats weren't getting enough moisture through hydration. The hydration helps dissolve the crystals. Since milk is 99% water anyway (I'm guessing), wouldn't it help to REDUCE crystals through hydration, rather than CAUSING crystals?? -- Rhino > Since milk is 99% water anyway (I'm guessing), wouldn't it help to > REDUCE crystals through hydration, rather than CAUSING crystals?? I'm just reporting on our experience and what our vet told me. Our female Burmese loved chocolate ice cream and never had a problem, but Ruf is a neutered LHD male and seems to be a different case. As always, your mileage may vary. Jerry SignatureMy cat and I are very much alike: we're both gray, we're both fat, and we both dig in his litter box. I had to clean our kittens butt recently. I used a damp paper towel. For a day after she followed me around faithfully, like I would always be there to be her PAW (Personal A** Wiper). It was cute and my wife gave me some good laughs. |
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