Sore bum

My little kitten ran out of her litter box with a piece of, well, poo stuck to her bum. She proceeded to rub herself across the carpet pretty furiously before I could get to her and get it off. When I did get to her, I pulled off the stool but noticed her bum was red and irritated...not only around the anus itself, but also practically inside from what I could see. There didn't seem to be any blood in her stool, but I'm going to watch her over the next day or so. She's acting normal otherwise, eating, playing. I wondered if it would be okay to put a little vaseline on the sore area. Also, is there anything else I should watch for with this? Thanks for any advice you can give this paranoid mom.

When they are in the process of defecating, the rectum kind of turns inside out briefly and this tissue is red and raw looking. This is normal. Look again and see if her bum has returned to its normal appearance.

Thanks. She's still a little red looking, but as I said, she hit the carpet pretty hard trying to get rid of that little dangler she had. And it's not like she was rubbing it against some super plush carpet. We've got industrial carpet here, which is pretty flat and stiff, so that might be adding to her irritation. I'll definitely keep a close watch on her, though.

She is giving every indication of either a worm invasion or impacted anal glands. It would be a good idea if you took her to the vet to be examined- because impacted anal glands can be quite painful if overlooked. Just because she is pooping, does not mean her glands are not swollen with fluid and need to be expressed.

About her poop sticking you can clip the hairs back there to help, then take a cloth with a bit of PAM cooking spray on it, and rub it a bit on the legs and the hair around her bum, but not on her rectum itself. It will help the poop to not stick. If her bum stays red you can look into desitin ointment, use just a little bit of it though, it goes a long way. Vaseline will only irritate the area

Thanks, Hissy. This isn't something she's doing all the time. But I will have her checked out. Last night was the first time she did it (well, that I've seen). Usually she goes when I'm home, so I can see how she acts. Her bum looks normal today, but I will check in with the vet to have her looked at.