# Poor hygiene?



## Julz (Feb 17, 2011)

I recently adopted two rescue kittens that are now about eight months old. I don't know if this is a behavioral problem or a health problem but neither kitty will clean their bottom properly. I'm at my wits end. One is a short hair and despite my best efforts always have tiny bits of poo stuck near his rectum. The other has fur that is medium length and has a tendency to get disgusting dingleberries. I live alone so it's difficult for me to wrangle him to hold still long enough to cut them out of his fur. I considered getting a sanitary shave for him but I can't even get him to hold still for scissors let alone have a stranger take a razor to his behind. Has anyone else had this problem? They tend to sit right on the litter when they use the cat box which is probably part of the problem with it getting stuck to their behinds so I try to be meticulous about keeping the litter scooped but it doesn't seem to help. I was planning on stopping at the store to get kitty rear end wipes but I don't feel I should have to clean their bottoms for them as that's something typical cats would do themselves. Does anyone have any suggestions?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

My girls' groomer used to give my girls potty patches, just took her a few seconds. But my girls usually have perfect butts, which is amazing with their long fur. 

Maybe your cats were taken from their mom too soon and weren't taught that well. I have to admit, it took the twins a while to learn to groom themselves properly. 

For your own peace of mind, I would take them to a professional groomer for now and get them little potty patches, and buy unscented baby wipes (WAY cheaper than cat wipes). They may catch on as they get a little older, they're still kittens.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I agree with Marie's suggestions. Your kittens will likely improve with age. My two, both long-haired, got more adept at grooming as they got older. Even now they sometimes get "dangleberries", although they're the type that can be cut off with one quick snip. I also live alone, so when I see a "berry", I grab the scissors, put a few treats in front of the cat and while she's eating I do the quick snip.


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

This might be a weird question, but what is there stool consistency like? My kitties' behinds are always perfectly tidy except for when their stool is mushy (or diarrhea) from a tummy upset. I think they almost "sit" in the litter like you explained whenever their stomaches hurt to keep from making a mess on their paws. Also, uncover your litterbox if it is covered because that could also cause them to crouch.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Like Marie and Susan said, it should hopefully improve with age. Athena was terrible at grooming herself as a kitten (I or Apollo had to do it for her) but as she got older, she figured it out.

The stool consistency is a good point too. If they frequently have very soft, mushy stools, that could be a sign of some kind of digestive upset. I think a _lot_ of cats deal with this and people just assume that it's normal for cats to have horribly stinky, really soft poo, which I did too until several people told me otherwise, and once I adjusted my cats' diets, their poos became far more solid and less messy/stinky.


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## Julz (Feb 17, 2011)

thank you for all of your suggestions.
it is a distinct possibility that i need to change their food. when i got them, they were eating chicken soup for the kitten lovers soul, hard and soft. but their stool is really, REALLY stinky which i read is a side effect from this particular food. i haven't changed it yet because it was suggested to me to keep them on kitten food until they are a year old. i was going to wait until they were ready to go to big kitty food and do the transition then. do you guys have any suggestions for a good food that isn't too expensive? i know that quality is often related to cost but it needs to be reasonable lol. i got two free sample bags of this EVO stuff that they really seem to like when i mix it into their current food but their tiny bags are twice the cost of what i'm paying for their food now.
i do have two rather large covered litter boxes. i didn't think about it causing them to crouch when they use the litter but they got so... ENTHUSIASTIC with their digging (for lack of a better term) with the uncovered one i'd end up with the whole room covered in litter.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Reducing the amount of dry vs. wet in their diet may help. I found my cats had worse stool the more kibble they ate.

Evo is a great brand, unfortunately their dry food still results in stinky soft stools for my cats. They do fine on EVO canned food though, which I feed occasionally as part of their rotating diet.


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

As for the litter scattering, I've heard good things about actually taking a plastic storage bin and cutting a hole in the side. It's so tall, even if they are super crazy, not too much will get out. And especially since they are kittens, you can cut the hole small for now.


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