My cat is too fat to clean her bottom!

[pinkmist]

My cat is really pudgy and can no longer reach her behind when she's grooming. I am putting her on a diet, but I need some help with the butt issue because it's almost impossible for me to get it clean with towels. Should I shave it? I've been googling this problem and it seems some people buzz off the behind hair so stuff doesn't stick so much. If this is a good idea, does anyone have a recommendation for a shaver to buy? Should I just bring her to a groomer? If not, what do you suggest?

thank you for any help.

 

[StefanZ]

Here are several different answers necessary, as I think we do have several different issues.

Being too fat and having difficulty to groom itself isnt not unusual, and of course, something must be done.
You did mentioned a diet. Which do you use?
Fat cats shall not starve, the liver may get hurt. (starving not so dangerours for normal weight cats, but thus dangerous for fat cats).
Dry food with low fat isnt always the best, especially if there are lots of carbohydrates instead...
Eating wet food almost exclusively is what I recommend. Good overall nourishment, and in practice being a mild banting diet.
Try to get her move more is also good... Playing.

Yes, shave or clip down behind may be a good idea. If you cant do it yourself, why, use a groomer if you want.

The real problem here is, what washes? why? Taking as example our residents. They very seldom do soil themselves on the behind. As yet, we had never washed our short-haired residents. True, they are wellbehaving boys and do wigorously wash themselves if need be, but they never get messy on they behind so we must think about bath...
So I suspect your girl does quite often have diarrhea? So this is the problem.
Normal cat poo is rather hard sausages or pears. You can held them with fingers without difficulty, hardly soiling yourself.
Sometimes they can get somewhat rare yes...
But soiling soililing, ie diarrhea - should NOT be common.
At best, try to change the food (preferably slowly - many cats dont manage to quickly change their diet nor even mark of the food).

If this dont helps - please do consult a good vet.
You will perhaps even to consider consulting a good vet already now - if you have such a nearby.


Good luck!


ps.

Welcome to the Forums!

 

[newcat19]

I'm just wondering.. but why is fasting not good for fat cats.

I believe fasting can be good for everyone, when I say this I
mean juice fasting so that the body still gets vitamins & minerals.

One disadvantage I see with fat anything fasting, is fasting can
actually slow down your metabolism as your body shifts to a conservation
mode.

I'm sure all animals are forced to fast sometimes, not by choice.

In my experience, once an animal is overweight is tough to reverse it.

Good luck

 

[StefanZ]

Originally Posted by newcat19

I'm just wondering.. but why is fasting not good for fat cats.

They get easily liver damages. A so called fatty liver.
I presume they dont always get it, but the risk is much higher.

Im not sure of the mechanisms behind, but I have heard it from many sources, also experienced vets.

Fasting is not at all same danger for normalweight cats. As can be seen for cats who got astray, and get stucked somewhere for days.

And this is of is of course luckyli for all homeless cats...

 

[ducman69]

As was said, definitely do not fast your cat. You can aim for 1-2% body weight loss per week though.

Rather than go with those "diet" kibbles, I would recommend sticking with a quality grain-free kibble and simply feeding less. More of the diet should consist of wet food, which tends to be lower carb and since its mostly water is more filling so your cat still feels satiated after a meal. Reason is that high-carb diets tend to promote obesity in cats. We do two wet meals and one dry meal a day. Poo should be tootsie roll shaped, so if you are getting cow patties that is very soft, you may have a food allergy or other issue.

Exercise is equally important, and I find that the da bird wand toy with mouse or feather attachments really gets them panting.

For the bootie cleanup, you can bring kitty to a groomer if its a longhair to get butt-buzzed and you can also just use regular plain baby wipes if there is an accident.

 

[ligwa]

Take your kitty to the groomer and have a hygiene cut. Get some kitty "baby wipes" from the pet store and help her stay clean. I would never fast a cat but gradually reduce the amount of food you are giving her. Play time to force exercise will help a lot.

I know about this. I had a cat that got up to 21 pounds. My fault. I could never say no to her. I did not help her by feeding her whatever she wanted and in the end had to put her on a diet. I still feel bad about allowing her to get so big. I know she had to be very uncomfortable.

 

[kaiser]

I take my cat to the vet and have her shaved. It's horrible listening to the cat screaming so I would recommend telling the vet to sedate her.

Easier on the cat and the owner.

 

[stewball]

I take my cat to the vet and have her shaved. It's horrible listening to the cat screaming so I would recommend telling the vet to sedate her.
Easier on the cat and the owner.

Why did your cat scream when being shaved? Mine never did. Maybe whoever shaved her wasn't gentle enough and cut her.

 

[LTS3]

I'm just wondering.. but why is fasting not good for fat cats.
 

Cats can devlop a serious medical condition called fatty liver disease if their calorie intake is drastically reduced.

Here is a good web site that explains how to help an overweight cat to safely lose weight without risking fatty liver disease: http://catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Is your cat a long haired? Maybe you can just use blunt children's safety scissors to trim the hair around the butt to keep pop from sticking. Pet bath wipes would help to clean the area up if it gets dirty back there.

 

[thomas24]

Just use a wash cloth or rag as wet as it can be, without making a dripping mess, with warm water. do whatever you usually do to calm your cat and place wet rag under tail for 10 to 30 seconds (as long as my cat will allow) and gently pull the mess out. saves time (trip to the vet or groomer), carbon foot print emission (trip to the vet or groomer) and cash, which is always good. 

Our cat will occasionally have some poo stuck there, and after a hair shaving anal gland injury episode, we do it at home with a wet rag.

 

[lucymagilicutty]

One of my cats was overweight and she ended up getting vaginitis because she couldn't keep herself clean. My vet advised me to cut back a little on her dry food. She was getting 1/2 cup a day now she gets 1/4, and also my vet told me to give her more canned. She gets around 3oz. each day. She's losing weight slowly, is more active, and the vaginitis hasn't returned for months now.

 

[imayankee1952]

Why did your cat scream when being shaved? Mine never did. Maybe whoever shaved her wasn't gentle enough and cut her.

I have had my "portly" girl shaved twice and each time it is agony--for her and I. She has very thick fur that mats like rug yarn. And, because she is overweight, her behind gets really nasty. So much so this time, that she needed an antibiotic shot. I will try the kitty wipes, but she's not much of a fan of having her butt touched. My vet does the shaving and he definitely sedates her. She weighs 22 lbs and is very strong.

 

[imayankee1952]

I take my cat to the vet and have her shaved. It's horrible listening to the cat screaming so I would recommend telling the vet to sedate her.

Easier on the cat and the owner.

I have had my "portly" girl shaved twice and each time it is agony--for her and I. She has very thick fur that mats like rug yarn. And, because she is overweight, her behind gets really nasty. So much so this time, that she needed an antibiotic shot. I will try the kitty wipes, but she's not much of a fan of having her butt touched. My vet does the shaving and he definitely sedates her. She weighs 22 lbs and is very strong.

 

[imayankee1952]

Take your kitty to the groomer and have a hygiene cut. Get some kitty "baby wipes" from the pet store and help her stay clean. I would never fast a cat but gradually reduce the amount of food you are giving her. Play time to force exercise will help a lot.

I know about this. I had a cat that got up to 21 pounds. My fault. I could never say no to her. I did not help her by feeding her whatever she wanted and in the end had to put her on a diet. I still feel bad about allowing her to get so big. I know she had to be very uncomfortable.

I have had my "portly" girl shaved twice and each time it is agony--for her and I. She has very thick fur that mats like rug yarn. And, because she is overweight, her behind gets really nasty. So much so this time, that she needed an antibiotic shot. I will try the kitty wipes, but she's not much of a fan of having her butt touched. My vet does the shaving and he definitely sedates her. She weighs 22 lbs and is very strong.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Before I started cleaning Feeby's behind every day with grooming wipes, she was getting UTIs - because of her weight, age, and arthritis she was not cleaning herself. And, the vet feels confident that is what was causing the frequent UTIs. So, on one of the her numerous vet visits, the vet cleaned her up by using some sort of special tub whereby they only got her back end wet while cleaning. The vet said Feeby actually liked it!

The second time - because I was still not cleaning her routinely - I took two little hospital wash tubs, one for washing, one for rising, put her on a heavy folded towel, and used a baby washcloth to clean her. Then I used another towel to dry her as much as possible. There were a few mats, and I did take cuticle type scissors to remove the ends of the bigger mats (not close to the skin). The rest of the matting came out with the motion of cleaning/wiping.

Since then, I use a couple of GNC Hypoallergenic grooming wipes daily to ensure her booty stays relatively clean. She will have a small mat or two now and then, but they come out really easily with just using the wipes. I hope this stops the UTIs - we will see. Good luck.

 

[fionasmom]

I have a heavy, 18 lb, diabetic cat. She eats food prescribed by the vet for her condition and received insulin twice a day. However, she cannot use a litter box of any sort, or won't, so I have had to resort to doing something similar to FeebysOwner. The vet also does what he calls a "sanitary clip" which does not require sedation and is not painful. However, some vets and groomers shave too closely, as happened to my dog with an infected anal gland, and he was miserable and on a narcotic medication ( I don't know if The Cat Site forums are set up to immediately reject the name of any narcotic based med or not, but it was the most famous one.) I did not find that baby wipes were sufficient for Stella and while she complains, I think that she is very happy to be bathed and clean. We did have issues with a UTI at one time as well, and she was treated for that as well.

Mat breaker combs, specifically for that, are great for resolving some fur issues without having to use scissors.

 

[PaulaNina]

I'm just wondering.. but why is fasting not good for fat cats.

I believe fasting can be good for everyone, when I say this I
mean juice fasting so that the body still gets vitamins & minerals.

One disadvantage I see with fat anything fasting, is fasting can
actually slow down your metabolism as your body shifts to a conservation
mode.

I'm sure all animals are forced to fast sometimes, not by choice.

In my experience, once an animal is overweight is tough to reverse it.

Good luck

You should never have a cat fast because they can get fatty liver disease in 24 hours if they haven't eaten and it's very hard to come back for that and they can die. I'm very surprised that you don't know this! Please don't ever try to not feed your cat that is a major no no and it angers me that you would even think that it would be good to do that. It takes a very long time for an overweight cat to lose weight because you have to do it very slowly and very carefully under veterinary supervision. I feel sorry for cats that have owners that don't understand what to really do and how to take care of them properly, poor cats ;I hope everything goes well !!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, this is an old thread and the original poster as well as the member you tagged haven't been on the site for a while.