# Do all cats spread stool sometimes?



## CatQuestions (Sep 3, 2011)

Question for y'all:

I'm considering getting a cat. I've had several in the past. Recently I temporarily cared for a Ragdoll kitten (about five months old), while its owner was getting her housing situation settled.

My question is this: Do all cats sometimes leave behind little dabs of stool on the upholstery and carpeting?

I don't have a memory of any of my previous cats leaving spots behind on places they sat after using their box, but I guess I could have just had dark carpet, or simply not been paying attention. 

The Ragdoll I hosted here definitely left spots. She got better at using the box as she got older, but it was always a problem. I spent an entire day shampooing our home after her owner was able to take her again.

The kitten had an unpleasant tendency to accidentally step in her poo, or get it on her hind legs somehow. She seemed to be starting to grow out of this, but it still happened sometimes, and it was very common for her to have a bit of a cling-on that needed to be cleaned off. 

I know any cat might get sick from time to time, that's no problem. My concern is regular or semi-regular deposits.

Can you good folks enlighten me: Do all cats somewhat regularly get solid wastes on themselves that end up on the carpet or furniture?

Thanks for any information.


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## purpleprincess22 (Jul 15, 2011)

The first month or so I had my kittens, then both stepped in their poop (usually when they had diarrhea) and tracked it everywhere. However, I haven't seen any tracked poop in a while. I think they grew out of it.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

If the cat is long haired it could get stuck in the fur. You could always shave the fur in that area if it becomes a problem.


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## CatQuestions (Sep 3, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. All information is greatly appreciated.

I wonder if I might clarify what I was specifically trying to ask a little. I know that many kittens grow out of stepping in their poo, but what about cling-ons or little spots on their rear ends? Is that just a fact of life for many cats, or is that uncommon? 

My real concern is whether all cats leave little "stamped" marks from the residue of their solid wastes. I know I mentioned fur-transfer, but I'm afraid I just managed to obscure exactly what I was trying to ask by doing that. I'm trying to walk the line between not being clear, and being overly graphic. My intent was to focus on whether it was just kind of an inevitable fact of cat ownership that the (to be delicate) area directly under the animal's tail regularly acts as a kind of stamp for spots of solids.

BTW, the cat pictures in the kind replies are wonderful- what pretty kitties! Thanks again.


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Well I can tell you from experience that some cats leave residue and some don't. It all depends on the individual cat. I have only had one cat that stamps the carpet when sitting down. The others never had that issue.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

MowMow's left 'residue' a time or two but it's not often. I find myself glancing at his backside after he's left the box just to make sure everything looks copacetic. Especially if he's coming to bed.  It always seems that if he's going to leave something icky behind it's on my clean sheets at bed time......


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

agreed some cats do, some don't. In 18 years Sherbert never "stamped" and BlackJack has maybe a handful of times. I have had more litterbox misses in all that time then this issue.. but again, they are all short haired.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

In 36+ yrs. of cat ownership, 18 of which were breeding and showing, I can only think of one cat that had some "leakage" and would leave spots where it sat, so I would say this is a _un_common problem. Longhair cats will get cling-ons occasionally, or if they get diarrhea can get their "britches" or "pantaloons" dirty. But if the hair is cut back or shaved 1 " around the anus, that cuts back on having to wash it's backside if it's dirty.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I have _all_ long-haired kitties and sometimes I find some marbles or tootsie rolls which have dropped off after they've stepped out of the box, but that's going to happen once in a while (like every few months, nothing regular). When the twins were kittens, of course they stepped in their poop, they were just babies. I used *unscented* baby wipes and sometimes had to rinse their little feet off myself, but again, they were babies, just learning.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Athena had this problem a lot as a kitten because she had soft stools (which were fixed by an improved diet) but haven't had much in the way of problems like this since changing their diet. Every once in a while, someone knocks a little solid poo out of the litterbox but I always find it just sitting right next to the box, easily scooped up. I haven't found anything tracked anywhere else in the house since I put them on the better diet. And as far as stuff stuck to their bottom, kittens in general often are bad at cleaning themselves back there. As they get older they learn how to do it better.

I do have shorthair cats though, I think "cling-ons" can happen occasionally more in long-hair cats, simply because it's easier for stuff to get stuck there. I haven't ever had a longhair cat but I grew up with a pomeranian and we'd sometimes have to clean or clip the fur on his bottom.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Yup, my girls got potty patches, which really did help to keep them neater, especially when they were younger. I don't much bother with that anymore, but when I clip off a Klingon, I usually cut the hair as short as I safely can. Usually, though, since the cats HATE having me do _anything_ back there, I'm lucky to clip the dangler off....


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Besides the accidents as tiny kittens & rare tummy upsets, my cats have never had this problem. When I first got Pumpkin she was only 6 weeks old, so I would wipe her behind with a damp paper towel. I guess she didn't like the damp feeling because she was really quick to start cleaning herself up after using the litterbox. When I adopted Simone (he was 8 weeks & she was about 4 or 5 months), I never really had to wipe him up because Pumpkin would force groom him and cover up his poo for him. When he got tired of her grooming him, he learned to do it himself or else! Pumpkin is my little neat freak; she's groomed any other cats that I've had at my house if she's found them to be stinky. She will also go in the litterbox when they are finished to cover their poo.


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