dirty bottom cat. any ideas?

I've read all of these and they're quite helpful, although, my kittens bum stinks.. She's about 4 months and her bum is not caked on or anything, it's just mearly stinky.. Her turds are firm so that's not the problem.. I'm going to try the misting trick. I was wondering since I rescued her and they found her very young if it's possible that she was gone away from her monther before she could teach her how to clean her parts.. She grooms but not her bum..

Barney was meowing and complaining constantly and licking his bottom, or so it seemed. Actually he was licking everywhere except his bottom, which, upon inspection was quite crusty. Not sure why he suddenly lost the skill of keeping that area clean, but it might have something to do with being a ten year old male. I guess as we all get a bit older some tasks seem  not worth the trouble anymore.

Anyway, we used a paper towel with warm water and biodegradable soap to clean him up and he is MUCH happier now. Guess the diagnosis was correct. Hope he continues to keep himself clean, but if not I like the ideas of using vasoline or water to encourage him to clean.

If we need to clean him again we might try those baby wipes. Does anyone know if those are non toxic should he ingest some of the wipe's chemicals??
 

quite crusty

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Was the crustiness on the anus itself or the fur in the area?  I ask because we adopted a cat with a crusty anus (crusty on the skin not the fur) and it turned out to be anal gland secretions.  Her anal glands were quite full.  The vet expressed them.  She had probably been in pain down their for a while.  If the problem persists then I'd have a vet take a look.

I'd definitely buy the unscented baby wipes.  I'd probably rinse them in warm water before using just to be on the safe side.  Like you said you wouldn't want him ingesting anything iffy.  And though I'm sure unscented baby wipes are pretty mild, they weren't designed to have their ingredients ingested. 

txcatmom said:

quite crusty

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Was the crustiness on the anus itself or the fur in the area?  I ask because we adopted a cat with a crusty anus (crusty on the skin not the fur) and it turned out to be anal gland secretions.  Her anal glands were quite full.  The vet expressed them.  She had probably been in pain down their for a while.  If the problem persists then I'd have a vet take a look.

I'd definitely buy the unscented baby wipes.  I'd probably rinse them in warm water before using just to be on the safe side.  Like you said you wouldn't want him ingesting anything iffy.  And though I'm sure unscented baby wipes are pretty mild, they weren't designed to have their ingredients ingested. 

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You can also buy dry wipes and wet them instead of trying to rinse the chemicals out of the wet wipes.

My male cat does the same thing.  He was a stray that was most likely got outside and then couldn't be found.  He had worms and fleas when he was found.  He is fat now as he has been neutered and that usually makes them fat.  He never cleans down there, it is gross!  I don't know how long I can put up with the thought of the poop getting on my sofa, carpet, bed etc., and yes, it does get on these things though you cannot see it all of the time. I wipe him with a good quality cotton wash cloth wet with small amount of organic soap and then wipe again to rinse, gently so he isn't hurt. You can then put on some aloe or other topical if they are red down there.  The problem is not what to do for it the problem is having to do it- I have to be home to get at him.  I am seriously thinking of giving him to a farm if this can't be resolved.  My female has no problems.  The cat box cleaning, hair pick-up, quality food issues and vet bills make me think wiping butt all the time is not worth it. Feel bad, but it is my health and anyone's who comes in my house to think of, especially children.  

I have actually trained one of my cats to wait for me to wipe her after she used the litterbox when she was a kitten. She would go make her business and I  warmed in my hands a wet wipe (for animals, buy it in any pet shop). Because she would lick herself after I stopped using the wet wipes and switched to cleansing cotton (the stuff women use to take off their makeup), which I soaked in warm water. She seemed to enjoy the treatment. As she grew older she mastered the art of cleaning herself and my services are not needed anymore.
 

For mature cats that need assistance with their hygiene (I currently have 2 that require periodic attention) or bouts of diarrhea I use the baby wipes. The wipes are even better after they have dried out because they are so soft. Rinse them and wet them with warm water to gently wipe nasties off the cat fannies. This is unpleasant, but something else that may help is putting a small throw rug near the litter box area, so that they can drag their behinds. Some cats won't clean their behinds until they've drug it on something, like a pre-cleaning. You can wash & bleach the throw rug as often as is necessary. The cotton balls work very well, too. I've used them for orphaned kittens to simulate their mother's cleaning.

I have the same problem though the vets have never said anything about itwhen I take him in. I am worried about it because when I bathe him I take particular care to - gently - scrub his butt which he hates and when looking at it after tonight's bath, it looked to be trickling blood. I got a q-tip and carefully dabbed at it which he also didn't like, and nothing. His butt still looks like he's got caked on poo in places but doesn't stink anymore and I amworried about hemeroids or something. His diet hasn't changed but twice his whole life. From the pet store food they had him on when we got him to a holistic food and to another holistic brand. Poos are fine, not rock hard but generally not overly soft either.

If he'll allow you to do so, holding a very damp, warm cloth against his bottom for a few minutes where the poo is really softens the poo up, making it easier to get off. Do you think the blood could have been from a hard piece of poo scratching his bottom? 

Cearbhaill said:

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It is gross, it just builds up and gets caked on there.

Are his stools normal?

Meaning are they well formed and almost hard?


I'd be looking at diet.

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Good observation, I was thinking the same thing too. Sounds like the stools are too soft for some reason. Does this kitty get enough dry food in the diet? I balance my kitties diets by keeping dry food available all of the time and give them wet food once or twice a day and their stools are all very solid and healthy.

One of my girls had the same problem years ago, turned out that the wet food she was eating didn't agree with her. As soon as we switched to a different wet food the problem went away.

Jasper's stools are normal meaning semi-squishy, but formed. And he's only had a hard poo four times, when the vet gave us drugs to make him loopy for road trips. 

Pick him up wrap ihim in a blanky so his rump and head are free but his lil clicky claws are covered and give his tush a scrubbin he isn't gunna like it but if he doesn't get it done he's gunna be a icky stinky boy hopefully in the end he will get the clue but you either do it quick and quiet like that or you traumatize the little fella until he doesn't trust you. Key to the blanket solution afterwards give him a treat and some good old snuggly petting and love on him till hes forgotten all about it.

I am very composed and quiet before I approach my kitty with determination.

but, first, without kitty in the bathroom, i fill the tub to, say, 6 inches of warmish water. i do NOT use a spray at that point. i make sure the shampoo is to hand and the towels nearby on the toilet seat. then i get kitty and bring him into the bathroom, shut the door and lower kitty into tub making SURE that all 4 feet stay ON the tub floor at all times - i do this by keeping one hand on his back. then, with my other hand i 'soap him up', massaging nicely, no scrubbing - but i don't use all that much 'soap' - i don't want to dry out his coat. then, with one hand on his back i get the warm water flowing, shower spray on and BE CAREFUL NOT to spray near face or head....and spray his sides clean, his back, his tummy while the water leaves the tub. One hand on his back at all times.

after he's spray-rinsed clean, he leaps out of the bath. I encase him in a big towel, all around so he feels secure and rub him with the towel. sometimes i need to use a few towels. i don't like to leave him wet when he gets out of the bathroom. i ensure that he is mostly dry before i open the bathroom door.

after he leaves the bathroom he usually runs somewhere to hide and lick himself off. but then...voila...he smells great and is so smoothe!

good luck!!

p.s. I would never bathe the cat in the winter or when it's chilly or raining/damp. i only do it once a year in the heat of the summer so he won't catch cold.

Thanks I will try those.

hi ,

Could it be a diet problem?  Is he having loose bowel movements? 

I had the same prob. It was the diet, and yes h is eating dry food, with fresh water avail at all times. My kittens are 6wks old, and re mane coons with kinda long fuzzy hair, so I bathed him and sissor cut the hair around his bum area, and he hasn't had that prob since. It could be tha he can't get to the bum due to long hair, get just not interested in cleaning good. I think if you do it afew times he'll take on the job. Gud luck

My older cat Estelle doesn't clean her own butt. She is a long-haired, short-legged chubby cat whose previous owner had her de-clawed. I assume that part of her hygiene issue is from  having the de-clawing. She used to act like her paws hurt and would step gingerly. Now she waddles around and likes to sit on my bed right after I've washed the comforter....So I put a sacrificial bath towel down and that helps. Just make sure you know which side is up or else you get the smell on your bed anyway.

I use either baby wipes or Good Earth animal wipes. I bought a electric razor/trimmer and keep her shaved on her butt since without self-care it gets bad, quickly.

She washes the rest of herself, but the 9 years I've had her, she has always not cared about her rear. She used to come into the bathroom, lay down on her side and lift her leg up awaiting the bath.

She is one incredibly strong cat and the times I have gotten her into the tub for a good wash, she can get away....If I wait too long to take care of her stink behind, the urine makes her raw or sensitive. So I also use baby butt paste to at least shield her bottom for a while.

She can't reach her behind so I'm not worried about her licking off the butt paste.

you guys are funny,Toby wouldn't let me near his bum so I just left him alone and he eventualy got everything off; my other cat Jack is too big to clean himself so I just wait until it dries and then brush it out which he loves and of course wouldn't you know it - both are males

JackToby said:

you guys are funny,Toby wouldn't let me near his bum so I just left him alone and he eventualy got everything off; my other cat Jack is too big to clean himself so I just wait until it dries and then brush it out which he loves and of course wouldn't you know it - both are males

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are they both neutered??

I've read & heard that males are lazy about cleaning them selves (especially if not fixed), and females are pristine, but I've had the opposite with my cats!

My female cat is either lazy, or just...lazy??? lol, and is bad with grooming herself. She used to completely avoid her bottom. I now give her wipe downs, and trim the fur back there, and she has slowly started to groom herself back there, but over all she's not much of a groomer. if she's laying on her side, she'll groom the side she's not laying on, but then ignore the side she is laying on...and then call it a day. lol. She looks at me like "did i do good?". I still give her a treat because she did something (i've always had issues with her grooming herself. could be that she was separated from her mom and litter when she was less than a month old?).

My male cat is ALWAYS cleaning himself. Always, every inch, every corner, every part of him. Always. He rarely needs a wipe down. but gets one every couple days to help with my allergies. 

We only had that problem once where our young  female would not clean her bum. Hubby would take a spray bottle with water and spray it, which made her want to clean it.  A couple of times doing that and she took over the job with no spraying anymore.  She just passed away 2 years ago at 10 years of age, all that time, taking care of herself with cleaning.  Spraying their rear-end with water would be my first step.  Of course that won't help if you have a chubby cat that cannot reach the area or an old one that can't reach it. We never had a 'lazy' cat that would not give itself a bath.