Hi Edie,

Yes and no is the answer to your question.  Cats do not wipe their a.s -
they do not have toilet tissue, for a start!  Usually, the cat makes a clean
enough job of it, but soon does the 'paperwork' with its tongue, if need be.
For a brief period, a cat of mine was *very* occasionally less than clean.
I would check under his tail from time to time and tell him to wash if he
was soiled.  Astonishingly, he did - bless him!

Since your cats have a more regular problem, you will need to adopt the
mother cat's training method with her kittens.  After a deposit in the
litter tray (your nose should tell you when!), gently wipe each cat's anus
with a soft damp tissue.  (Mother cat would use her tongue, of course).
This tells the kitten (your cat, in this instance) that it needs to be
clean.  After a while, each cat should get the message and clean itself.  To
make sure that they do, shampoo and deodorise your carpets or flooring,
otherwise they'll scent their past droppings and want to re-mark that area.

It is most unfortunate that all your cats have this unpleasant habit.
Probably they all picked up the habit after one started, because of the
scenting/dominance issue.  (You may also need to reassert your dominance, as
this may be part of the problem, too).   It may not be easy to stop them all
now, but the above advice ought to help.  Do try and stick it out for a
while, however less than enjoyable.  Actually, I didn't mind at all because
that kind of very personal training is good for bonding; also, it helped
that my cat responded well.

I do wish you success.  It can't be a very nice thing to live with.

Spider