My Cat Has Poop On Her Anus And Won't Clean Herself

[Lilo's mom]

We adopted Lilo a bit over two months ago. She is 14 month-old DSH on the smaller side (8lb). She had chronic diarrhea when we adopted her and after trying a long list of treatments, including medications, probiotics and diet changes, she is finally having firm stools. She has always had little bits of poop stuck to her anal skin and I assumed it was related to her diarrhea. Now that that problem is solved, she still has a dirty bum and does not lick herself clean. I tried to clean her several times with wipes or warm water but without success (and she hates it). Should I suspect another problem? Can I teach her better cleaning habits? She is not big on grooming herself in general.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Primula]

My Harry would never clean his bum. I suspect it was because he never had solid poops so somehow did not associate pooping with cleaning. He liked me cleaning his bum so it wasn't a problem.

I suspect that Lilo's mom did not teach her how to groom properly. I can't think of anything you could do that you aren't already doing. Perhaps someone will come along who has a better answer for you.

 

[red top rescue]

The best way to get her to thoroughly clean her bum is to put something on it that is slightly greasy and yet doesn't taste bad. I suggest butter or coconut oil, slightly soft but not runny.

 

[Lilo's mom]

The best way to get her to thoroughly clean her bum is to put something on it that is slightly greasy and yet doesn't taste bad. I suggest butter or coconut oil, slightly soft but not runny.

That's a great idea. Would salted butter be ok? Will she eventually get into the habit of cleaning herself without prompting with butter?
Thanks!

 

[Purr-fect]

We have on occasion had to help our boys with this issue. Although I think its more because they have very furry butts.

We use two or three cloths. One is soaked with warm water. We hold it in place and let things soften. Then we gently wipe with the dry cloth. Yuck....never had to do this with short haired cats. Needless to say they are NOT impressed. They growl and complain, but never bite or scratch us.

 

[red top rescue]

Salted butter is fine. We've used this when teaching our rescued orphans to clean themselves since they don't have a mama to teach them.

 

[PawPawsLover]

did they eventually get it? the one I have is a Persian cat. so she have a long fur. Not THAT long that its touching the floor. But long enough, maybe somewhere a mixed of Siberian/mainecoon length? she will lick herself but not for long. And the poo stuck on her fur and she didn't clean that up... so its both about her not cleaning long enough so there wont be poo smell AND about her having long fur that the poo bits stuck on her fur and didn't come off..... my bed smells of poo... ;( I went to spray perfume on my bed and stuffs....

 

[red top rescue]

There is such a thing as a "sanitary cut" that the vet tech can do for you, which clips the hair in that area very short so cleaning will be easier. It takes a long time to grow out if they do it very short. Also, what you feed her may make a difference. You also might want to try adding the probiotic S. boulardii to her food twice a day. It takes awhile but it works wonders firming up the stool so that nothing sticks to the fur, and it is also anti-inflammatory and can get rid of all sorts of bad bugs in the intestines.

 

[PawPawsLover]

There is such a thing as a "sanitary cut" that the vet tech can do for you, which clips the hair in that area very short so cleaning will be easier. It takes a long time to grow out if they do it very short. Also, what you feed her may make a difference. You also might want to try adding the probiotic S. boulardii to her food twice a day. It takes awhile but it works wonders firming up the stool so that nothing sticks to the fur, and it is also anti-inflammatory and can get rid of all sorts of bad bugs in the intestines.

i see. Alright, thank you!