Butt wipes

Oliver, the stray we neutered and brought in at the beginning of this year, is a mess. He'll clean himself, except - as you probably gathered from my title - he won't clean his rear. So my husband and I shear the area and clean it, but he STILL manages to get it messier every time. I considered getting some baby wipes, the natural kind with no alcohol and unscented, because they are a lot cheaper than the cat wipes. The ingredients lists appear similar, but does anyone have any thoughts on this? I don't want to cause him any problems, but since he's not cleaning it anyway, I suppose we don't have to worry about him ingesting any of the ingredients. Maybe if I put some whipped cream or gravy back there.... Nah, nevermind.

I've read that some people use them to clean their kittens dirty rumps, and I think I've done it (kitten's rumps, that is !), but it's been so long... .

I did it all the time when Ivory was tiny, she was such a messy kitten and I couldn't bathe her until after her URI was gone and her stitches were out.

Not sure about cats but when my dog Bobbi was sick and had a bit of a mess on her (she has long hair too!) we used flushable wipes to wipe her rear and she was fine (had some around the house while potty training my youngest and now I keep them on hand just in case!).

My kitten was the same way, but once I started to "train" her to clean herself, she started doing the job herself. After she did her business, I gave her a few minutes (so she didn't feel like she was getting pounced on whenever she left her litter box) and then I took a paper towel (or tissue) that I had soaked in warm water and wet her bottom with it. It took her just a little bit of time to understand that she needed to clean herself.

So, if you have the time to do it, why not give that a try with Oliver -- what do you have to lose?

I've seen it suggested that you use a spray bottle with a real light mist to mist on his bum after he does his job and the feeling of the wetness will stimulate him to clean.

As long as he is not cleaning because he is too fat to reach then that may work for you.

My guy doesn't clean his rear. I think maybe he can't reach it, but he really isn't that fat. I don't think he tries very hard. I am grateful his bowels firmed up, but he is still dirty. I let him go unless I see a big hunk that needs to be removed. About once a week, I use a warm wet washcloth, him on my lap, and the washcloth on the rump to soften the remnants and then a few wipes cleans it. That is about all he will tolerate, and then because I got it wet, he will finish the job. My other boys have clean bumms. The offender was a street cat and maybe his mother never taught him how. I have tried the wipes and other paper materials, but I find that an old wascloth is better because you can get a lot more wipes the first time and you can rinse it out. getting a second wipe out and trying to fold it for another swipe is a pain.

Thank you all for the suggestions! I'll try getting his rear wet and seeing how he does. I think he could reach it if he really wanted to, but he does have a pretty large belly.