Solutions to dirty butt

So I found myself searching "Dirty Cat Bottom" and landed at this site. Sam, my 2-year old "street urchin" - a feral cat who is now a full-time indoor cat has a dirty bottom. Problem: he won't wear underwear, or use toilet paper (for its intended purpose anyway) and he sits on my lap and my furniture!

Based on an old wives' tale - about smearing butter on a cat's feet when you first bring it to a new home - according to the legend, the cat will always remember where it licked off the butter and will never get lost ..... I used the same "folk logic" and wondered if I could help Sam to remember to clean his butt. This worked like a charm!

Grab the cat, smear butter on its bottom and then put him / her in a room where you won't mind if he / she sits on something - in my house its the laundry room - only place to sit is the floor and the floor is easy to clean if we wind up with a greasy spot on the floor.

Take about 1/3 - 1/2 of a teaspoon of butter and let it melt on your finger tips - should be just about dripping off your fingers. Grab the cat, smear it on his / her bottom. Toss the beast into a "safe room" and check out the cat after about 1/2 hour.

I won't ever publicly admit that I put butter on my cat's butt, but I have ... and now Sam's got a clean bottom and I don't mind when he sits on the back of the couch with his rear legs hanging over each side!

If others try this, please post results because if it works as a general solution, we can help pets become better family members! This approach seems to be the least traumatic for the cat - kind of rough on the owner, but I'm sure you've all done worse!











Keyword(s): Butt, Anus, Bottom, Dirty

Ummm, I just wash it with a cloth if it gets messy.

If our new kitten doesn't start cleaning his bottom soon I'm going to give that a try. He's really cute but is his butt ever nasty! I can't decide whether or not to clean it myself. I don't want to start something that may keep him from doing his own cleaning.

Jennifer

We found our kitties became much more fastidious about cleaning as they got older. Like Paula, we just used a warm wash cloth to clean them up.

Hmmm. Hobbs is terrible about cleaning his butt but I sometimes wonder if he can reach it. He hates it when I clean it.

For years I've been of the mindset of "If something works, keep doing it, even if it might be considered weird by most people."

Daisy (as a kitten) didn't have the cleanest butt and hygiene to put it mildly. This was 4+ years ago. I remember praying alot. Like God, please let this adoption not turn out to be a mistake PLEASE

I also would joke around with her and say Daisy, if you don't clean yourself, I'm not going to be your friend. (I joke around with them alot)

Daisy is now 4 and a half years old and has been good at self-care for years. I couldnt ask for better I guess she realized with age that clean's the way to be

Originally Posted by jsmla

If our new kitten doesn't start cleaning his bottom soon I'm going to give that a try. He's really cute but is his butt ever nasty! I can't decide whether or not to clean it myself. I don't want to start something that may keep him from doing his own cleaning.

Jennifer

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A kitten's mother does that job for him until he gets the idea to take care of it himself... maybe he's still too young to catch on quite yet. You're his Mom now.

I use a plain white paper towel or paper napkin moistened with warm water, and gently wipe until I clean away any poo or kitty litter residue. I wipe once, and then throw away that paper towel and moisten a new one with warm water to gently wipe again until the kitty booty is clean. Then I gently dry their fur back there with a dry paper towel. I never touch their anus with a dry paper towel - too rough... I only dry their fur with it.

I notice that their bottoms are much cleaner and their stools are firmer and don't get stuck in their butt fluffs when they eat a quality canned cat food like Wellness or Pet Promise.

Originally Posted by jsmla

If our new kitten doesn't start cleaning his bottom soon I'm going to give that a try. He's really cute but is his butt ever nasty! I can't decide whether or not to clean it myself. I don't want to start something that may keep him from doing his own cleaning.

Jennifer

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It's very possible your kitten just never had a mama long enough to teach him how to wash. If you do it for him a few times, gently with a warm damp washcloth or bounty paper towel, he'll start to get the idea. He is a baby after all.

Grab the cat, smear butter on its bottom and then put him / her in a room where you won't mind if he / she sits on something - in my house its the laundry room - only place to sit is the floor and the floor is easy to clean if we wind up with a greasy spot on the floor.

Take about 1/3 - 1/2 of a teaspoon of butter and let it melt on your finger tips - should be just about dripping off your fingers. Grab the cat, smear it on his / her bottom. Toss the beast into a "safe room" and check out the cat after about 1/2 hour.

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Thanks for the laugh! I can just imagine tossing the beast with butter covered butt in the laundy room. Too funny!

I'm glad it worked though. My long haired girl has a dirty butt problem but that's fixed with regular butt cuts.
When I have kittens with dirty behinds I just give them a quick butt bath. They will give you that very unhappy look but most submit to the brief water torture.

This thread has been a fun read. Thank you all for your comments/solutions.

One of ours, (Jonny Cat), a silver Persian, with short legs and a very round belly, frequently gets "dirty pants" after he's been in the litter box.

And because of his body stature (short legs and very round belly) he seems to find it difficult to clean his behind. (Or maybe he doesn't care!)

When it gets too bad, we'll use a warm, wet paper towel. On one occasion we took him to the vet to be shaved back there.

I was so glad to read this trick. Juno has a dirty butt. She's 3 yrs. old, medium haired and this is the first time she has a poopy butt. I tried to cleat her but she wasn't having it. I was able to snip off some, but very little. When I catch her she's getting the butter treatment. I'll let you know.

Ku Ku's been having dirty butt problem for the last couple of weeks.
She licks herself cleans but does not thoroughly do so

I've tried using "Cat bath" wipe but wasn't successful. She wouldn't let me...she hates these wet wipes, maybe the scent? Idk.
I also tried wet paper towel...this didn't work either.
I guess she hates getting wiped in general.

I'll give this "butter trick" a try. Hope this works...

My solution for poopie butt? Cutting the fur off.
We are going through a big food transition here, especially for Hope, and she has been having the poopie butt... For her and Bugsie, there is no way I can do the wipe the butt thing, and Bugsy can not properly clean his butt due to a huge mane, being way too furry, and because he is also a bit too chubby... So... I have a sharp hair shear available at all time, and just cut the hair off... It is definitely the least traumatic solution for the kids, and you can't really notice the "new haircut"...

Same thing has been happening to Archie.. he has "crusties."

When I took him to the vet, they did a sanitary shave on him... it is sooo funny-looking. He still has a bit of of problem... but if Doug holds him like a baby and I wash with a warm damp cloth he actually seems to like it. He purrs and cleans his forelegs and front paws.

I posted several weeks ago about Jonny of the short legs and rotund belly who cannot seem to clean himself when he gets "dirty pants!"

We've also done the cutting of the hair around that area but I'm always afraid I might cut something I shouldn't!

We tried something new the last time this happened. We happen to have a little "sitz bath-type" oval shaped basin. (I think this might work with a small bucket or the bathtub or a bathroom sink.)

We filled the sitz bath basin with warm water. Then set it on the open toilet--with the seat up. (Again, this could probably work in the sink or tub.)

Then my husband held Jonny so his front paws were up, like he was sitting on his hind legs), lowered his back end into the water while I splashed warm water (with a little soap) onto Jonny's bottom.

Of course we all got a bit wet! Then we used paper towel to dry off his bottom.

I have to frequently clean Rascal's butt as well so I prepare everything in advance!

1. A large (dinner plate size) soak proof paper plate.
2. Vinyl disposable gloves (to protect my hands )
3. Warm dripping wet kleenex, several pieces. I like that better than paper towel.
4. Paper towel for gentle drying afterwards.

Then with my gloves on I go and get Rascal and I just lay him on his side.

If he's really nasty hubby comes and pets him to keep him distracted.

Then I gently press soaking kleenex against butt. Yes it does get messy and gross but I have a special rubber mat I put down first and then I sterilize it afterwards.

When the kleenex is soaking all the dry bits "melt" right off making clean up easy and painless for cat, although rather gross for cat mommy!

I place "used" kleenex on my soak proof plate as I go and then when all is clean, clean, clean <grins> I gently pat area dry with paper towel.

Then I throw paper plate etc, and gloves in garbage, then I sterilize mat. And voila! All good!

I like the butter idea, but I don't like the idea that my poor baby has to lick up that poop! He is just so finicky about that. So, I guess out of pity, I do it for him when he needs it. Which is not everyday. Maybe once or twice a week.

to put butter on Ku Ku's bottom...
First she got freaked out and didn't let me.
I left her alone for about an hour, then tried the kleenex with warm water.
Kinda worked, seemed she liked it(better than butter, I suppose...).
Maybe warm wet Kleenex was comfortable to her somehow.
But as soon as kleenex got colder, she got impatient and tried to escape.
I couldn't completely clean her...

Now, she's all rolled up & quietly sleeping right next to me.
Guess I'll try it again in few minutes to finish off cleaning...

Originally Posted by KKH

to put butter on Ku Ku's bottom...
First she got freaked out and didn't let me.

I left her alone for about an hour, then tried the kleenex with warm water.
Kinda worked, seemed she liked it(better than butter, I suppose...).
Maybe warm wet Kleenex was comfortable to her somehow.
But as soon as kleenex got colder, she got impatient and tried to escape.
I couldn't completely clean her...

Now, she's all rolled up & quietly sleeping right next to me.
Guess I'll try it again in few minutes to finish off cleaning...

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If your kleenex is nice and wet it makes a difference. It quickly softens up any "crusties" and makes it easy to gently wipe them away.


Oh what a fun topic!

I just trim the furnishings around my DLH's rear. I have also taken her to a groomer on a few occasions and had her done in a "lion" cut. She looks SO cute when she is groomed. Too bad she doesn't want to speak to me afterwords.

Jack is my only dirty butt problem child and it happens rarely. Unfortunately right now, d/t meowmy went out of town and left him for four days with only the cat sitter coming--who he knows very well, but isn't his momma! So thus his belly has played a game with him and his butt is a mess. We too clip what we can with scissors or the electric trimmers. As a side note, if you have cats who will behave while scruffed but only have one set of hands, use a spring loaded clothes pin on their scruff and then you have two hands to clean with. Someone shared this trick with me and its been a life saver for when DH is at work at Jack gets a dirty butt, or I have to clip toenails without hubby's help.

Leslie