Help with diarrhea and a dirty bottom?

ninababy

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So lately I've been having problems because Snow has been having diaherra or looser than noramal stool and she gets it all over her bottom somtimes... also since she never covers her poop.. yesterday even audrey got it on herself.. they are both longhaired, but I don't think it's a problem of trimming the hair near their bottom.. because it doens't happen all the time... just sometimes when Snow has a bad poopy day. (btw.. she is on medicine after taking her to the vet)..

anyways, I was wondering if there is a special way to hold and wash their bottoms only without getting the tail wet... because usually the tail is not dirty and I don't want to unneccasriliy get it wet (because then they run around and get stuff stuck on it even if I dry it)... and where is the best place to do it (sink, bathtub, on the florr etc..) yesterday I tried using baby wipes but don't feel like I get everything off.. so then I tired to put her head/front paws between my feet while I held my her back legs and tried to hold her tail up and just wash beneath... yeah.. I was pretty unsuccessful at that...

any tips would be appreciated.. it seems like now the only way I can do it takes over an hour and I go through half a box of baby wipes...

there's just got to be a better way!!
 
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ninababy

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Any ideas?? Anyone?? To those who have had this problem how did you deal with it??

It sucks because I realized that Audrey also has diarrhea now.. along with Snow.. them both being longhaired and Snow being white (so it's obvious) isn't helping.. yesterday Audrey got it all over her bottom again. annd I felt like I was accidently going to sprain her legs trying to hold her down and clean her.. it's so frustrating!! They were both at the vet last week, so I don't know why Audrey has diarrhea now.. Snow had it then, but the vet said no parasites etc.. so it couldn't have spread...

But any ideas on how you guys clean them up would help A LOT!!
 

sibohan2005

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Duke used to have this problem... try some deluded baby shampoo (johnson's no more tears) and warm water on a cloth and whipe a bit. Make sure to rinse with clean water but if your cat is showing obvious discomfort I'm not sure what you can do
 
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ninababy

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So this weekend, with them both having diarrhea, I decided everytime they go and poop I get them immediately and hold them and try to rinse that area under the bathroom sink.. I live alone, so there is no one tto help me.. This means I end up washing Snow and Audrey about 2-3 times a day each!!! It's crazy.. I try to hold their tail back.. so it doesn't get wet.. with Audrey it's actually not too bad b/c she's big enough so I can scruff her and she doesn't fight tooo much then. With snow being soooo tiny and a fighter it's harder.. I can't scruff her.. so I hold her butt facing the sink and try to get her head and front two paws underneath my right arm. then I hold her tail and back legs with my right hand... so I can free up my left hand to wash her...
The bad thing is she tries to get away and w/ her front two legs has put scratch marks all over my back... worse then that, there's been several times she jumped (tried to) and I was left holding her two back legs and her practically dangling in the air... I'm so afraid I'm going to sprain her back legs muscles, tears ligaments etc.. if I haven't done it already in this struggle between us.. It's so frustrating.. but's it's either this or lock her in the bathroom allday till she clears up (which who knows how long that will be) (and she meows).. or use the cat wipes/baby wipes don't clean the butt area.. however I feel like that makes the area sore (verses washing it with water) and also doesn't get it as clean as when it wash it (since Snow/Audrey get the diaherra everywhere)..

They are both on medication and the vet says she doesn't know what's causing it... so far it doesn't seem like the medicine is working (they've been on it almost two weeks now).. I don't know what to do!! I really hope I don't end up hurting them while bathing them because they are stuggling and is it bad to wash the butt area this many times a day??

Maybe I shoudl post this in the Health section.. but how do I tell if I've accidently hurt them (esp. Snow's back legs.. ) she seems to be walking fine and everything.. but the times she made a jump for it I just couldn't get a grip and was left hold her by her two back legs (and one time her tail) as she dangled in the air.. before I scooped her back in my arms... omg.. this is crazy.. I need to know if I'm doing what's best for them?? B/c it can't be good for them to clean/lick up diaherra butts themselves and leave i t all over my aptartment!!
 

mschauer

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What is the history of their diarrhea? When did it start? Did anything seem to trigger it? What have you tried so far to resolve it? How old are they?

As far as cleaning them I think you are right to be concerned about possibly hurting them. I think it would be better to let them get away rather than to grab at them and possibly hurt them. You'll just have to deal with any mess that results.

If I were you I would concentrate on resolving the diarrhea. That is something that shouldn't be allowed to go on long term.
 

taterbug

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I have used the bathroom sink to clean bottoms!
I would always run a sink full of warm water before I even caught the cat, and then quckly dip their bottoms in the water and use a wash cloth to get the remnants off. Other times I have only filled the sink with a couple of inches of water and just let them sit in it for a few seconds. Then just wrap them up in a big fluffy towel, drying and cleaning at the same time. When I've done this I didn't have to worry about their tails...they would hold it up themselves.

You need to be very gentle at wiping them though...cause kitty bottoms can get raw very quickly and then you'll really have a hard time cleaning them.
 
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ninababy

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They are both 6 months old/female .. I've only had them since the 1st of December from a rescue.. currently on a foster bais, but I wish to adopt one or both or them.

Snow has had diaherra off/on since I got her (alsmost a month now).. rescue said she had it at the'r place also... I took her in knowing she had it and me/rescue though maybe better food/different enironment with less cats might help.. she had leaking diaherra but now it doesn't leak anymore, but is still liquidish.. (however sometimes she has nomral poop).. took her to the vet and vet said fecal sample showed no parasites, didn't know what was wrong.. gave her cat Pepto-bismal (gastrocote?) and Flui-Flora (good bacteria stuff)... this has helped stop the leaking diaherra she had when I first got her. She's also had preventative coccidea meds and de-worming meds although no signs of it were found by vet in her system. She's also taken allacore (for congestion) and has a runny nose.

Audrey was fine till about a week ago when she started having diaherra.. she's had it contstantly now.. she has had not had any medication but has had a little of the Flui-Flora.. also she was on Clavamox/Allacore for URI when I first got her.. but she's not on it now.. however still hasn't gotten better adnd sneezes often.

i give Little Noses drops to both to help with the runny/stuffy noses.. Also they eat Nutro natural choice kitten (mixed with soome IAMS/ Purina ONE) dry food and Nutro Max Cat Canned food

I want to resolve the diarrhea, but the vet doesn't know what's causing it... I don't want to hurt them while washing them.. but it's either I wash them or keep them locked in the bathroom... And if I do that then they lick their on diry diarrhea butts which can't help the diahrrhea situation.. , not to mentiton they don't like to be locked in teh bathroom and it stresses them out probably.
 

mschauer

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I usually don't post when it is kittens with diarrhea because I have heard that with kittens it can just be that their digestive systems haven't fully matured yet and that it will usually resolve by 1 year of age.

That said, there are things you can try that wouldn't hurt especially given the hygiene problem. You could try mixing a little pumpkin in their wet food. This is canned, plain pumpkin, not the pie filling. Slippery elm, found at health supplement stores (the human kind), might also help.

A probiotic supplement is another possibility. You might have trouble finding something locally though. I use Eagle Pack Holistic Solution. My bengal requires it on an on going basis to prevent loose stools. It is safe for kittens. Call pet supply stores in you area to find something. If they don't know what a probiotic supplement is that just means they don't have it. Bene Bac is available online from www.drsfostersmith.com.

Your vet might be able to recommend a probiotic supplement that is available in your area.

I hope this helps...
 
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ninababy

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Thanks!! I might try the pumpkin...

I tried yogurt in the being.. but then stopped b/c it wasn't helping and the vet said maybe it might make it worse if they are lactose intolerent

The Forta-flora I'm giving them made by purina is a probiotic supplement. It is contains good enzymes and intestinal bacteria that is supposed to help.. although I think it (or the pepto-bismal) has helped with leaking diaherrea, it hasn't stopped diaherra althougher.


In your experience is it normal for kittens to have ongoing diaherra till about 1year olds?? If a kitten is like this does it increase their health problems in the future? Do they have more health problems in the future??
 

sharky

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NO on going diarrea is not normal... they may be getting food to rich for them...

I use baby wipes for rears
 

twstychik

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I don't know about health issues but if it seems to be on-going (even if only temporarily) I'd still trim the hair around their behind and rear legs. It will grow back in and make cleaning them much easier.

I don't trim Wickett's back side regularly but if he gets a "hanger" then I'll trim it. It's easier for me to cut the hair and poo out than to try and wash him. Plus, since his hair is soooo long triming the poo out gets all of it most of the time.
 

mzjazz2u

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It sounds like they need two things. Another call to the vet to tell him about this problem and a sanitary shave/trim around the bottom. You can get the sanitary shave at a groomers. They just shave a little around the butt and the privates. Or you can try just trimming the fur back a little bit around their butts. It will help a lot.

Yogurt shouldn't bother even a lactose tolerant person or animal. It's composition is different.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by NinaBaby

In your experience is it normal for kittens to have ongoing diaherra till about 1year olds?? If a kitten is like this does it increase their health problems in the future? Do they have more health problems in the future??
I have little experience with kittens. I have read that kittens with loose stools with no apparent cause will sometimes grow out of it possibly because their digestive systems need time to develop. I wouldn't call it "normal" though. You may be able to find food that they can tolerate better. Others can better advise you on good food choices.

Long term loose stools or diarrhea can cause health problems because they aren't getting full nutritional benefit of their food. Also not passing firm stools can cause their anal glands to not properly drain and can cause sphincter muscle atrophy. Disclaimer: I'm no expert. These are things I have learned from researching my bengals problem.

I think it is important to resolve their diarrhea but don't panic. My bengal had loose stools for the first 1 1/2 yrs of her life and she is perfectly happy and healthy now at 2 1/2 yrs old.
 
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ninababy

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Thanks for all the replies! It's gotten to a point where I'm so tired of washing bottoms and as bad as I feel about doing this (and i feel really bad!) I put both of them in the bathroom when I'm at work (like right now) and also a night because I can't monitor them.. I put all their food, toys, litterbox and the two of them have each other and I lock them in there. but it sucks because I can't enjoy them and they are not enjoing it either. Oh well... It beats them going on my carpet (which Audrey did yesterday!! argh!!) Way to start of the new year!!

I will try to trim back more of the hair.. I'll do that today. The next thing I'm going to try i giving them the tapeworm medicine as a prevention... I haven't seen tapeworm in their stools, but I don't not know what else it could be... They have also had preventative treatment of roundworms, cocidiea and giardea (sorry about the spelling) (Snow had these two), and now they'll have tapeworm meds.

I hope that it clears up.. I'm doing everything the vet said to do and what I am hearing from you guys...I hope something works soon!!

About the food... well, Snow anyways had had this problem even before I got her.. I'll find out what the rescue was giving her.. but now she gets a mix of nutro, IAMS, and ONE (1/2 Nutro dry with 1/4 ONE/1/4 IAMS dry - all mixed in a bowl I leave out for them)and nutro max wet... but since she had diarrhea before I got her.. i don't know if it is the food??

and audrey was fine on this food till about two weeks ago...

Since they both have it now do you guys think it's related?? something that is being passed b/t them?? I'm giving the tapeworm meds today..if the tapeworm meds don't show results I don't know what else it could be.. I've tried everything else.. and the vet doesn't know.. ... what to do .. what to do??
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by NinaBaby

About the food... well, Snow anyways had had this problem even before I got her.. I'll find out what the rescue was giving her.. but now she gets a mix of nutro, IAMS, and ONE (1/2 Nutro dry with 1/4 ONE/1/4 IAMS dry - all mixed in a bowl I leave out for them)and nutro max wet... but since she had diarrhea before I got her.. i don't know if it is the food??

and audrey was fine on this food till about two weeks ago...
Once parasites are ruled out it could well be food related. Are you feeding the kitten versions of those foods? If not, you should be. I know that one difference in at least some kittens foods is that they are formulated to be easier to digest than adult foods. If you want to try to determine if it is food related you could feed them an easy to digest food exclusively and see if that helps. I would look for a kitten food that has little or no fruits and veggies and has protein meal rather than whole protein ("chicken meal" rather than "chicken").

Since they both have it now do you guys think it's related?? something that is being passed b/t them?? I'm giving the tapeworm meds today..if the tapeworm meds don't show results I don't know what else it could be.. I've tried everything else.. and the vet doesn't know.. ... what to do .. what to do??
Have you tried the pumpkin yet?
 
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ninababy

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No, I haven't tried the pumpkin yet.. I was talking with the rescue and they said to give the tapeworm meds wait about three-four days.. and if nothing is happening than maybe try pumpkin.. other foods etc... So as of yet I'm still holding off on it.. I don't really want to overwhelm their stomach with new stuff.. (meds, new fods etc..) I gues that will be the last resort... it's becoming a wait and see.. what is frustrating is for example yesterday morning they both had relatively normal stool.. a little o the wet side, but it was formed/shapley.. and then the whole rest of the day it was diarrhea.. and it's not like I changed anything?? that doesn't make sense!!

I'm feeding ONE kitten, IAMS kitten, Nutro Natural Choice indoor kitten all mixed

and Nutro Max cat canned food (adult).. (they don't like the kitten ones so much)
 

smokiethecat

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Why are you feeding three different dry foods together? Just wondering....
maybe the combo of the three is causing a problem. Maybe stick to just
one of them,like the nutro. I realize you had been feeding that before without
problems,but I would think three different drys could cause more problems
than one dry....just thinkin......
 

mrs mog

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I just want to say, 'keep going'. My kitten came to me with loose stools just like yours. I treated her as the vet advised for nearley two months and was fed up of locking her in a tiny room when I was at work and chasing her round to clean her bum on an evening.

In the end I put her onto three little meals of steamed chicken for four days (she was a robust seven months old). Her little digestive system cleared itself out and she started to do proper poos. I then reintroduced food for very sensitive stomachs and little allergens. I think she responded to eating something unprocessed for a few days.

I used to clean her bottom with baby wipes, except I'd rinse a few out with warm water and then "pinch" the hairs to wipe the poo off. When she came to me the vet had to shave off the worst of it though and it was better if I kept the hair short. I also dabbed some organic sore skin balm on her bottom which stoppped it from getting too sore. I found it was best to catch her by the scruff and pop her on my knee on her back to immobilise her when wiping.

She is so much better now and never has an accident - and even when I clean out her litter box now I still marvel at her little perfect poos! Best of luck - I very nearly gave up on mine.
 
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ninababy

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Thank you for the comments and motivation! I'm feeding them the three together partly because I'm try to slowly switch them to nutro, and also because I have some IAMS and ONE left over and I don't want to just throw way the food. It's becoming now a process of elimination.. and hopefully something will work.. they both got a flatworm tablet on the 2nd of Jan. and now both of them are eating Forta-Flora pro-biotic supplement with the wet food. It sucks because I was excited all weekend because it seemed like Snow was having consistently good poop (althoug a little moist) but then this morning it was diarrhea..
Audrey is the one that has gotten worse now with very watery diaherrhea... she went on my carpet.. and I've gotten so attuned to this now that at the middle of the night I am able to wake up when I hear any one of them scratch the litter box and I get up and go see what they are doing and if they need to be cleaned... because I feel bad locking them in the bathroom at night and don't want them to have stuff all over them when they jump on my bed.. however all day when I'm at work they are in the bathroom .. Poor things!

I just don't understand what it is?? Because it keeps going back and forth.. And It is frustrating!!! But they both really are the sweetest kitty! When Audrey went on the carpet [at 5 in the morning!!] (and I don't think she meant to go there because it looked like they was some poop in front of and inside the litter box as if she was leaking it all the way to the box).. Suprisingly I was not even that mad.. it was become routine now..
I just cleaned her up first and then it took me an hour to clean it.. and when I got back in bed she was the sweetest thing ever laying her head right next to mine and with her paw try to hold my face so she could lick it.. lol.. it was so sweet and she awas purring.. There sweetness makes all this easier to deal with.. but I know it is not healhty for them!! I'm gonna give the Forta-Flora a couple more days and if by Wednesday they are not showing any improvement, it's back to the vet for a fecal sample etc..and then I'll try the pumpkin too.. it's crazy because they still are playing, eating normally.. so I don't know what's up.. What are the chances they both have similar sensitive stomachs that go back and forth b/t being normal and bad .... but I hope they have a great success story and I no longer think it's normal to run around wiping kitty butts..
 
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