Tips on cleaning cat’s behind

[Szewan]

My adopted cat Pancake is overweight and since I adopted him 2.5 months ago, I noticed his butt always had some debris...I didn’t notice signs of diarrhea do I am guessing that he can’t clean himself properly because of his weight. , or maybe some cats just have not developed good grooming habit all along....(Pancake should be 7 years old at beginning of next year) ? He still wouldn’t let me help to clean his behind (he would swat at me, hiss, or just sit down so his behind became inaccessible ). A couple of weeks ago I actually had a groomer to give him a sanitary cut (despite he is a short hair cat) to minimize dirt sticking to his butt. But I noticed his butt is starting to get dirty again. I read stories online that some owner would actually spray water to his cat’s behind so the cat is forced to clean himself....but I guess if Pancake really can’t turn around to clean, this wouldn’t help? I am helping him to lose weight which hopefully would help, but in the meantime, any tips on cleaning cat’s behind...?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! What a gorgeous boy!!

Basically, a little warm water and a gentle wipe with a clean dry cloth should do it. Any baby wipes or pet wipes that are available for purchase run you the risk of getting chemicals onto his skin, although you could look into pampers aqua pure - these don't contain alcohol, dyes, fragrances, parabens

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I wouldn't spray his behind with water, even if he could reach it. Most cats don't understand why you are doing it and tend to react poorly to being sprayed with water anywhere on their bodies. If you have someone that could help you - as in hold him while you gently wipe his behind, that would your best bet. It is very likely that over time he will become more tolerant to it and then you could probably start doing on your own. If you have no one to help, you might try to wrap him in a blanket with his behind exposed. Or, you could even ask your vet's office to show you how they handle bathing a cat's behind - I am quite sure it happens all the time (they've done it for my cat, Feeby), and they have some techniques you might be able to duplicate on some level. You probably can't actually duplicate their equipment, but seeing what they have on hand might help you to devise something similar at home.

You might also consider trying out some calming products that you could use before you attempt to clean his behind. Products like Feliway, or Bach Rescue Remedy which are drops you can rub into a cat's hear to help calm them. Many folks use these in advance of a vet visit. However, not all products work on all cats, so you would likely have to experiment a bit. You can do an internet search on "Cat calming products" to see which ones you might want to try.

I do 'booty duty' on Feeby, using unscented hypo-allergenic wipes. She doesn't love it, but has learned over time that the better behaved she is the quicker it is over. I don't rub hard, just gently wipe the area repeated times. She has come to tolerate it enough that I can even now take a comb to brush the hair back there to help smooth it out after wiping, and comb out any debris caught in her hair as the wipes 'loosen them up' and make them easier to remove.

 

[Szewan]

I’ve had Feliway plug in since I adopted Pancake, and I had added Rescue Pet’s calming drops to his daily kibble treats but recently stopped since I don’t feel they are making a difference.

Pancake is almost 7 but I suspect no one in his prior lives had taken the time to get him really acclimated to brushing or grooming. He wouldn’t allow brushes at the beginning with me, and now 2.5 months in, he’s starting to accept *some* brushing, as long as I do it quickly

I guess same with cleaning his behind. I just need to keep trying to get him used to it!

 

[She's a witch]

Try to reward him with treat every time after you successfully clean his behind, he will eventually associate it with nice thing.. hopefully you can give him some healthy snacks (I recommend freeze dried) that will not contribute to his weight issues Or hopefully some good petting session will be rewarding enough for him?

Personally I’d stay away from the commercial wipes, not only because of chemicals as Furballsmom mentioned, but also most of them contain some plastic that never decompose.. so if you go that route, I’d chose compostable ones not to contribute to the plastic waste.
I’d use a cloth with warm water and/or some oil (coconut/olive) to clean his behind.

 

[Purr-fect]

Greg and arnold can both clean their butts, even at 21 and 23 lbs.

"BUTT" since they are long haired, sometimes things get stuck and I help.

Firstly....anything sharp on the cat faces AWAY from you. My left arm goes around their waist, my right arm cleans their butt and their head and front paws are behind me and facing away.

I prepare several wet, warm cloths and several dry absorbant cloths ahead of time.

I calmly hold the cat as stated. A warm cloth is held against the cats butt, I do not wipe. Let the cloth soften what needs to be removed. A dry cloth is then used to absorb and a gentle wipe is given. I repeat this process several time with fresh wet or dry cloths.

At this time the boys are starting to sound like mountain lions and its time to let them be.

Sometimes I can use scissors, but extreme caution is used. My wife will cradle one of the boys in her lap and I trim with small sharp scissors. I do not get closer than about 1/4" from their skin. I take off the worst and leave the touch up to them.

I finish off with giving the "patient" a few treats.

 

[Furballsmom]

They are gorgeous!