My worst nightmare - Cat Poo

[poppyheart]

Hi All

I am new to the site and have just adopted a 5 year old DLH Abra Rose.  This morning I woke up to a small blob of cat poo near her litterbox that my Husband has stood in without realising and traipsed through our house (I think she may have been going to the toilet and got a fright and not totally finished). 

I know I need to get some Nature's Miracle or similar (not sure what they sell in Australia) but I have to wait until the shops open.  I have cleaned with spray and wipe and then I diluted some napisan and water and lastly I used 2:1 vinegar and water.  Will this be enough until I can get to the shops? 

If it is now through the house will this mean she thinks her toilet is everywhere or once I clean up with the enzyme cleaner it will no longer be an issue.

I know this question gets asked a lot and for a lot worse then what I am dealing with so thanks in advance for any help.

 

[kittenstar]

Im pretty sure you will be fine! She usually uses her litter box correct!? Maybe some just plopped out when she thought she was done. Best of luck!

 

[poppyheart]

Thanks KittenStar. She has never had an accident before I was just worried about it being walked through the house and she would smell it everywhere. I got the enzyme cleaner and cleaned everything down so hoping she will be ok.

 

[fhicat]

It may not be a bad idea to take her to the vet too, just to make double sure. Is there a reason to suspect why she might get a fright? If she did, she may start avoiding the box due to the source of whatever frightened her.

 

[poppyheart]

Hi FhiCat good point on the fright.

She is a big scardey cat she hides most of the time and only comes out in the evenings. Everything scares her cars driving past, laughing, talking too loud, vacuum cleaner etc. I had spoken to previous owners and they said she has always liked to hide. I have taken her to the vet 2 weeks ago for a check up and she is very healthy the vet said some cats are just shy and get scared easily he felt that over time she would get less and less scared as she got used to the new house , noises etc.

I am hoping that it is exactly how KittenStar mentioned and just wasn't finished. I will keep an eye on her and if there is another incident will take her for a vet visit as it could end up being an avoidance issue.

 

[fhicat]

Sounds like my cat then. He likes me for the most part, but he'll still bolts off if there is a cardboard box or plastic bag nearby. Once I brought home a soft toy, about the size of a small kitten, and he was just terrified of that thing.

 

[poppyheart]

Yes that sounds like her. I am not sure friends and family believe she exists other then cat hair in my house she hides from everyone. It looks like I just put some cat things in my house with no cat :lol3:

 

[kittenstar]

Yeah no problem! My girl always throws her poo outta her litter box. Lol such a weirdoo!

 

[poppyheart]

I think that may be what happened made worse by my husband being half asleep and stepping on it. She has been toileting fine with no issues since.

 

[kittenstar]

Yeah lmaoo! My girl will usually fling out one small piece! Lol

 

[raina21]

poppyheart

You mentioned she was long haired right? All of my cats are long haired and as gross as this is, sometimes when they are using the litterbox, a little piece of poo can sometimes get stuck on the long fur on their behinds. And sometimes it will get knocked off when the cat jumps out of the litterbox and starts walking around. Trimming the fur on the cat's behind can help, but if she's had no issues since that one incident, it's probably okay to just leave her fur alone.

 

[poppyheart]

@Raina21
Hi yes she is long haired. That could have been what happened. If it happens again i will consider a trim. I am just glad that the scent seems to have been removed and she hasnt gone to the toilet all over the house.

Thanks

 

[Caspers Human]

I use Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds to clean up cat messes as well as many other kinds of messes around the house.

Scrape up the bulk of the mess with a piece of cardboard, etc.  Mop up any leftover fluids with paper towels.

Put a squirt of Sal Suds on a wet sponge and wipe.  Rinse the sponge and wipe up the suds, etc.  Blot dry with a cloth.

Sal Suds has a strong pine scent which I like but cats don't seem to find attractive.  If you get the mess cleaned up right away, I don't think there will be a problem with residual odors attracting the cat back to that spot.  I've never had a problem with it.

https://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SALSUDSCLEANER/SSLI16.html

 

[poppyheart]

Thanks for the advice Caspers Human. I have used an enzyme cleaner which seemed to help. I gad just finished respondung to Raina21 saying no issues when it happened again. This time I heard her in her box then I heard a loud noise and went to check on her and she was scooting her bum on the floor and when she stood up there was a little piece of poo again. Her worming treatment is up to date. Could it be stuck on fur as Raina21 mentioned does this cause scooting? Constipation (she has firm stools which haven't changed)? Anal gland? Both bits out of the box had a lot of fur in them. I do brush her every second day. Is there a furball remedy i should try? I don't want her to get a litterbox aversion as Fhicat previously mentioned so want to get this sirted asap. Thanks for everyones help so far.

 

[poppyheart]

Sorry for spelling errors on my phone.

 

[raina21]

poppyheart

It could very well be getting stuck in her fur. As that does cause scooting.I would recommend trimming her backside.


If she has problems with hairballs it could be what is causing the constipation. There are many foods that are made to treat hairballs. Most treatments for hairballs are also mild laxatives that will help loosen any hairballs that may be stuck in the digestive tract or causing an intestinal blockage. But it is important that if you believe her intestines are blocked by a hairball that you see a vet immediately! otherwise, trimming her behind and giving her specialized food to help treat and prevent hairballs may help.

Edit: Also, if the poo got stuck on her fur earlier, it is likely that she had some dried poo stuck on her backside already from that first incident, which would make it easier for the her next poo to get stuck, and so on.

Adult cats with long hair sometimes have a hard time getting to that area when grooming themselves. So trimming is ideal. You don't have to trim it down all the way. Just make sure it's short enough (I usually just trim the fur down to about 1/4 to 1/2 of the normal length) that it shouldn't cause any issues.

 

[poppyheart]

@Raina21
Thanks for the information. She is not showing any obvious signs of being unwell but I am going to contact the vet and see if I should get her checked. If her fur does need a trim (hopefully that is the issue) I have no chance of her letting me so I will probably have to get the vet to do that for me anyway. I have only had her for 6 weeks but these incidents have been the first time there has been an issue so not sure if that is still fur related or would it have been happening the whole time?

 

[raina21]

poppyheart

Even if it is fur related, it wouldn't happen all the time. Having it happen once without trimming or cleaning the backside of the cat will make it much easier for it to happen again though.


I also just thought of another explanation for what may have happened.

Your cat may be passing/pooping out an abnormal amount of fur. A little bit of fur is normal, since it gets swallowed while grooming. Your cat sounds like she might be passing a hairball that she wasn't able to hack up. And the fur in her stool might be causing a sort of "dingleberry", causing the poo to stick to her bum instead of falling in the litter like its supposed to. So it may not have been sticking to the fur on her bum at first, but if she's scooted on the floor, she's definitely going to have some poo in her fur at this point.