cats always have fecal matter on paws?

nekootome

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I didn't know where to post this ..

I was told by someone that since cats use the bathroom in their boxes.. they always have fecal matter on their paws.. trailing it everywhere in the house. I've never heard this before, but thinking about it makes me consider toliet training. Has anyone ever heard this before or seen an article about it?
 

sweetkara

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Well yeah- I mean they are using a litter box and cover their waste.

And they don't wash their hands afterwards


If you toilet train, then they'll have their paws on the toilet seat which isn't super clean either.
 

mrblanche

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Probably true to some minor extent, although they clean their paws very regularly. Comes to that, so do you, unless you do a "pre-surgical" type of handwashing.
 

mer636

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you could always put a little mat in front of the litter? Thats what we have and they don't track litter all over the place anymore
 

cyndr03

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My cat Essie's full name is "Princess Esmerelda Paintpaw" because of her beautiful green eyes and because some of her toes/paws are a mixture of white and grey- as if painted on somewhat randomly. However, I sometimes tease her by calling her "Princess Esmerelda PoopPaw" this thread makes me think that perhaps there is more accuracy to that then I had thought!
 
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nekootome

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Originally Posted by SweetKara

Well yeah- I mean they are using a litter box and cover their waste.

And they don't wash their hands afterwards


If you toilet train, then they'll have their paws on the toilet seat which isn't super clean either.
yeah... if you don't clean your toliets..
 
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nekootome

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Originally Posted by Mer636

you could always put a little mat in front of the litter? Thats what we have and they don't track litter all over the place anymore
I do. If only they made foamy aniti bacterial ones! hah
 

denham

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I noticed this with one of my new kittens. One of his back paws....well, you know. I hold him up every now and again and wipe it clean with a wet wipe. I cannot imagine that there is anything we can do about it. He is trying to do a good job at the kitty litter.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Probably true to some minor extent, although they clean their paws very regularly. Comes to that, so do you, unless you do a "pre-surgical" type of handwashing.
I was going to say the same thing. Yup, we all have fecal matter on our hands.
 

buzbyjlc10

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Not to burst anyone's bubble, but there's fecal matter in the air at all times... anyone see that mythbusters? They did experiments placing toothbrushes in various places (including in the bathroom, where most of our toothbrushes are) and brushes placed as far away from the bathroom as possible had just as much fecal matter on them as those in the bathroom... it's just a fact of life and your body protects against it... as long as you're not sampling the nuggets your kitty leaves behind, you should be just fine.... I mean if you actually see poo on paws or bums, just wipe it off.... it's just impractical and actually impossible to try and "sanitize" your cat after every box visit... heck, even when we wash our hands we're not completely sanitized after using the potty... I know where my pets paws have been and as long as they look physically clean to me, it doesn't stop me from kissing those piggers... my cat and dog both lick their bums, but also give me kisses with those same tongues - to my knowledge, it hasn't killed anyone yet, so I'm not worried
 

mer636

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very true
I just thought a mat would help since it keeps the litter off my actual carpet
 

kalikat

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Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but there's fecal matter in the air at all times... anyone see that mythbusters? They did experiments placing toothbrushes in various places (including in the bathroom, where most of our toothbrushes are) and brushes placed as far away from the bathroom as possible had just as much fecal matter on them as those in the bathroom... it's just a fact of life and your body protects against it... as long as you're not sampling the nuggets your kitty leaves behind, you should be just fine.... I mean if you actually see poo on paws or bums, just wipe it off.... it's just impractical and actually impossible to try and "sanitize" your cat after every box visit... heck, even when we wash our hands we're not completely sanitized after using the potty... I know where my pets paws have been and as long as they look physically clean to me, it doesn't stop me from kissing those piggers... my cat and dog both lick their bums, but also give me kisses with those same tongues - to my knowledge, it hasn't killed anyone yet, so I'm not worried
That's so true. Most everyone today is so worried about germs that they don't have a natural immunity to them. Children brought up with furry pets are said to be the healthiest.
 

buzbyjlc10

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Originally Posted by Kalikat

That's so true. Most everyone today is so worried about germs that they don't have a natural immunity to them. Children brought up with furry pets are said to be the healthiest.
I just read somewhere (Cat Fancy maybe?) that if a family line is known to be allergic to furry pets, exposing young children to them early could make them less likely to be allergic... I guess it's all dependent on whether the rest of the family can tolerate the pets.... my mom's allergic to cats, but has noticed that Oliver does not bother her allergies as much now as he used to - he's still not allowed on my parents' bed and most of the downstairs furniture though, just in case
 

jameshayden

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You basically move the litter box a little each day until you are keeping a small litter box in the toilet bowl, then you take it away. or you can train through videos and by methods mention in book here is my recommendation-


Video on Cat Training
Cat Training Revealed



GOOD LUCK !
 

owenj

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Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but there's fecal matter in the air at all times... anyone see that mythbusters? They did experiments placing toothbrushes in various places (including in the bathroom, where most of our toothbrushes are) and brushes placed as far away from the bathroom as possible had just as much fecal matter on them as those in the bathroom... it's just a fact of life and your body protects against it... as long as you're not sampling the nuggets your kitty leaves behind, you should be just fine.... I mean if you actually see poo on paws or bums, just wipe it off.... it's just impractical and actually impossible to try and "sanitize" your cat after every box visit... heck, even when we wash our hands we're not completely sanitized after using the potty... I know where my pets paws have been and as long as they look physically clean to me, it doesn't stop me from kissing those piggers... my cat and dog both lick their bums, but also give me kisses with those same tongues - to my knowledge, it hasn't killed anyone yet, so I'm not worried
Thank you! Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person around who doesn't get their panties in a bunch at the mention of the word "germ".
 

mrblanche

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Epidemiologists and other researchers are beginning to have very real worries that our germicidal society is actually preparing itself for a catastrophic disaster. We've over-treated with antibiotics to the point that some of our resistance is being lost to what used to be common diseases.

Just as an example, a couple of weeks ago researchers published a report saying that people without A. Pylori bacteria seem to be way over-represented in asthma sufferers. Of course, that bacteria is the one that has been found to cause almost all stomach ulcers, so getting rid of them is a good thing, right? Well, maybe not...

Of course, they don't know if there is a true connection, or just that whatever actually protects most of us from asthma is also killed when we get rid of the A. Pylori.
 

cc12

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I notice that people are crazy about germs. I kiss my cats all of the time and I kiss them on their noses, cheeks and all over their heads. I am very clean by nature. But there is a difference between keeping a clean home and using good hygiene and being a germaphobe. You can't possibly win a war against germs.
A large number people are walking around with parasitic infections and don't even know it. People kill so much of the good bacteria that they end up sick all of the time.
Germs are a part of life.
 
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