grooming concern.

lellophant

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On Monday I brought home my first kitten, she's a long haired manx cross. I do scoop her litterbox daily, and I also check frequently for poop caught in the fur near her bum. Today I found a clump of poop caught in her fur, and it is matted in there a little. I tried to remove it with a warm, damp cloth; although I have a good hold on her she won't let me remove it. It seems as if it won't come out easily.
Will she take care of this herself? Should I try again a few more times? If by Friday she has not taken care of it herself, should I see a groomer so it can be cut out?
 

goldenkitty45

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Try gently combing it out. I'd have a groomer or learn to trim the butt area of the long fur so it doesn't get caught when she goes.
 
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lellophant

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i would comb it, but it's much too close to the skin. i'm almost afraid it's half a poop sticking out.
hopefully i can get to a groomer asap.
 

mzjazz2u

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Yes, I would get her to a groomer so they can safely remove it, if it appears to be that close. I have to keep the fur around Peaches' butt trimmed a little bit or she gets the occassional poop stuck around there!
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by lellophant

On Monday I brought home my first kitten, she's a long haired manx cross. I do scoop her litterbox daily, and I also check frequently for poop caught in the fur near her bum. Today I found a clump of poop caught in her fur, and it is matted in there a little. I tried to remove it with a warm, damp cloth; although I have a good hold on her she won't let me remove it. It seems as if it won't come out easily.
Will she take care of this herself? Should I try again a few more times? If by Friday she has not taken care of it herself, should I see a groomer so it can be cut out?
My longhair has an extraordinary amount of hair "back there" but I never have had any problems with that area being unclean. I can only think of two reasons.

1. The food I feed the cat causes his poop to be well formed, hard enough so that it will not dirty the cat's behind like softer poop.

2. He keeps it clean himself. He is always cleaning himself.

He will be one year old tomorrow and I comb back in that area every day and never notice anything sticking at all. But I do remove a lot of hair from that area by just combing (which he is not too happy about).
 
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lellophant

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in case anyone is wondering how this all worked out:
we took her to a groomer who trimmed her nails and then trimmed the little bit of poop my kitten wouldn't let me get. today i brushed her and bathed her bottom to get all the little crusties left behind(haha). she groomed herself, i brushed her again and she's surprisingly in a good mood.

think an investment in a trimmer is wise?
 

jellybella

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I would learn to trim her bottom myself. She's young and you can get her used to you helping her (even if it's not trimming, get her used to brushing back there). Some cats are just better groomers than others, or she may just have a problem due to inexperience.

Stan is a long haired cat that has had several courses of antibiotics that caused soft poop. It became easier for both of us if I kept his bottom hair trimmed. Less stuck to him, less he has to lick off
 

mzjazz2u

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Originally Posted by lellophant

in case anyone is wondering how this all worked out:
we took her to a groomer who trimmed her nails and then trimmed the little bit of poop my kitten wouldn't let me get. today i brushed her and bathed her bottom to get all the little crusties left behind(haha). she groomed herself, i brushed her again and she's surprisingly in a good mood.

think an investment in a trimmer is wise?
I'm glad you took her in and got her all cleaned up! It should be fairly easy for her to keep clean if you stay on track! Sounds like you're doing a good job. Now that you got all that stuff that was so close to the skin trimmed and cleaned up, you may want to try trimming back there a little bit by yourself. When she is sleepy is good. Or when you have an extra pair of hands.
 

mybabyphx

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Originally Posted by lellophant

in case anyone is wondering how this all worked out:
we took her to a groomer who trimmed her nails and then trimmed the little bit of poop my kitten wouldn't let me get. today i brushed her and bathed her bottom to get all the little crusties left behind(haha). she groomed herself, i brushed her again and she's surprisingly in a good mood.

think an investment in a trimmer is wise?
Yes definetly! I trim my cats nails when he's really calm and relaxed.. so maybe that's a good time to trim up the hairs?!?!?! Also, brush your cats hair daily. Personally, I don't brush my cat daily but he's got short hair. I think every long haired cat though, needs to be brushed regularly! Good luck!
 

althekitty

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My little kitty is a long hair and he sometimes gets some cling-on's. He's not too chuffed about mummy or daddy cutting them off when they won't be wiped off but we do it anyway! I try to comb them out but he doesn't like to be groomed so the comb is met with disdain, therefore i cut them off, and he just has a little wash after and is in a good mood. He doesn't really like his bottom being wiped or fiddled with but after he is a happy camper!!!
 
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lellophant

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thank you all for the wonderful tips!
i've been able to clip some fur on a couple occassions after a brushing. she will tolerate being brushed and handled alot better.
 

mzjazz2u

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Originally Posted by lellophant

thank you all for the wonderful tips!
i've been able to clip some fur on a couple occassions after a brushing. she will tolerate being brushed and handled alot better.
Great! Keep it up and before long, she'll be used to it and you'll be a pro!
 
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