kitten gets very messy bottom

by charlotte
(Hull - UK)

Hi, i have just adopted 2 kittens - at a slightly earlier age than expected, as their mother was unfortunately hit by a car, and subsequently died. They are a boy and a girl, and have settled in very happily, and play beautifully together. However, the boy, is long haired, and as a consequence, we are having a terrible time keeping him clean after he uses the litter tray. His bottom ends up being lathered, as do the tops of his legs and tail, and today we had to quite literally give him a very gentle bath to clean him up. We are concerned that he now has a very sore bottom, and we would like to know if there is anything you could advise to put on this, that would be gentle enough to help him. Also, would it be wise to snip away any of his hair surrounding this area. He is a gorgeous little chap, and we just want to help him, so you're advice would be most welcome. Thank you

Reply
Hi
It sounds like his poop is a little softer than it should be as it should not be so soft that it can smear around so much as you describe.

It could be that he has a little diarrhea which is not unusual in small kittens especially when they are going through changes in diet etc.

It should clear up in a few days to a week but make sure you are not feeding him too much or any food too rich for his age group.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/kitten-food.html

As for what you can do to keep him clean, well yes it is difficult when this happens. All you can do is to keep helping him out by wiping him after he goes with just plain warm water. No suds etc are really needed unless it it goes hard and needs a little help to be removed, in which case a very mild baby shampoo should be fine.

You could clip away a little of his long fur while he is having these soft stools.

Sounds to me like you are doing very well (messy though it may be) we have all been there at some time during our lives as cat owners :)

best wishes kate


Ps don't be tempted to give him many baths as this can be bad for their fur and skin as it dries out the skin etc and should only be done in extreme messy circumstances.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/bathing-a-cat.html

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