Poop around her butt

[Tamaki]

My 11 year old cat is only on wet food and when she poops some is left behind around her butt. She is 14 pounds and can't groom herself properly so I use baby wipes to clean her after she uses her potty. Why is her poop so hard and how can I get the poop from around her butt area??

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Can you, or have a vet/groomer give her a hygiene trim? It helps my Poppycat tremendously when the fur under his tail and upper back legs, and even inside his back legs is trimmed.

Does your vet have any comments about the hard poops? What if you changed wet food brands?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Is her poop really hard, or is it drying on her butt before you find it? What does her poop look like in the litter box? It would be my guess that her poop is 1.) looser which is the reason it stays on her behind and you find it when it is dried, and/or 2.) she is sitting more when she poops allowing it to collect on her hair. Even if she is long haired, if this hasn't always been an issue, then something has recently changed to make the poop stick to her behind. Grooming with wet wipes, as you are doing, of course, helps.

She is 11, so there might be some arthritis involved, which can change the way she squats to poop. It can also affect how well she can groom, in addition to being overweight. An x-ray would show if she has arthritis, and there are ton of supplements to help with that (glucosamine, chondroitin, green lipped mussels).

I would still be looking into the actual consistency of her stool in the litter box immediately after she goes.

 

[Tamaki]

Hi! Can you, or have a vet/groomer give her a hygiene trim? It helps my Poppycat tremendously when the fur under his tail and upper back legs, and even inside his back legs is trimmed.

Does your vet have any comments about the hard poops? What if you changed wet food brands?

Thank you for your response. I'm going to schedule a trim for her tomorrow and a bath. She's shedding alot so I think that may help. I noticed today her poop was like a soft serve not hard. It might just be hard when I go to dump it but I saw it first hand coming out and it was soft. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Tamaki]

Hi. Is her poop really hard, or is it drying on her butt before you find it? What does her poop look like in the litter box? It would be my guess that her poop is 1.) looser which is the reason it stays on her behind and you find it when it is dried, and/or 2.) she is sitting more when she poops allowing it to collect on her hair. Even if she is long haired, if this hasn't always been an issue, then something has recently changed to make the poop stick to her behind. Grooming with wet wipes, as you are doing, of course, helps.

She is 11, so there might be some arthritis involved, which can change the way she squats to poop. It can also affect how well she can groom, in addition to being overweight. An x-ray would show if she has arthritis, and there are ton of supplements to help with that (glucosamine, chondroitin, green lipped mussels).

I would still be looking into the actual consistency of her stool in the litter box immediately after she goes.

Hello so I looked at her poop as it was coming out and it was like a soft serve not hard. I am going to schedule a trim with the vet tomorrow since this has happened before. They shaved the area that she cant reach due to being overweight. I regularly wipe her since she can't do it. I'll keep you posted thank you.

 

[alphakitty]

Hello so I looked at her poop as it was coming out and it was like a soft serve not hard. I am going to schedule a trim with the vet tomorrow since this has happened before. They shaved the area that she cant reach due to being overweight. I regularly wipe her since she can't do it. I'll keep you posted thank you.

Is your kitty overweight? If so, ask the vet how to put the kitty on a diet. Obese kitties do not typically live as long as other kitties.

Best Regards and good luck

Alpha Kitty

 

[Tamaki]

Is your kitty overweight? If so, ask the vet how to put the kitty on a diet. Obese kitties do not typically live as long as other kitties.

Best Regards and good luck

Alpha Kitty

Yes and we already have her on a diet. She's naturally just a big cat but we are watching her diet closely.

 

[Furballsmom]

This might be helpful regarding her diet. You want her to lose really slowly - if you aren't already, you can gauge her weight loss by using a bathroom scale where you weigh yourself, weigh again while holding her, and subtract - the difference is her weight. Keeping a log will allow you to see what's happening

How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat? – TheCatSite Articles

 

[neely]

You may find this Article helpful about how to clean a cat's dirty butt and it also discusses kitty being overweight;
Be Kind To Your Cats’ Behinds! Dirty Cat Butts Prevention And Treatment – TheCatSite Articles

 

[crouton]

I think a sanitary trim will not help much here as the poster is saying her cat has poo stuck to the butthole (dingleberries) this happens to all three of my cats who have normal poops. Sadly I have no answer for it besides wiping it off with a wet towel or water wipes when I see it. I also sometimes use glandex wipes made for anal gland issues. None of my cats clean their booty properly. It’s infuriating.

 

[Furballsmom]

I think a sanitary trim will not help much

No matter where the poop is getting stuck (right next to the skin or a bit lower, or where-ever), I have found that having the fur short is an advantage. Also, try different food that isn't as sticky when its expelled, and as mentioned in the article, using a little butter to promote cleaning their bottoms when cats are flexible enough to reach can be of help.

 

[crouton]

No matter where the poop is getting stuck (right next to the skin or a bit lower, or where-ever), I have found that having the fur short is an advantage. Also, try different food that isn't as sticky when its expelled, and as mentioned in the article, using a little butter to promote cleaning their bottoms when cats are flexible enough to reach can be of help.

I keep my cats booty trimmed super close shaved and this still happens to her no matter the food type or flavor. We have tried the butter trick and also tried nastier things like tuna water etc (really hard to clean up after) and none of them are interested in licking it clean off their butt. I wish this worked for me but it didn’t. Even sequestered in a small area they got the butter or tuna juice all over the place. Not fun to clean up. The cats are not overweight and can all reach their butts but choose not to. They also get angry if another cat tries to clean their butt area.

In my house they all have this problem but some worse than others.One of mycats also constantly has pee stuck near her vaginal opening every time she urinates, she’s not overweightand can reach the area but she refuses to clean it. Resulting in nice pee drops all over my furniture. I keep that area shaved in a Brazilian fashion for her and it still happens. She gets angry if her kittens try to clean her butt area too and will slap them

 

[Tamaki]

You may find this Article helpful about how to clean a cat's dirty butt and it also discusses kitty being overweight;
Be Kind To Your Cats’ Behinds! Dirty Cat Butts Prevention And Treatment – TheCatSite Articles

Thank you this is helpful