STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

TexasGal · Kenneth Cole

Cat tracking poop everwhere!!!

jacL · Coach

HAHAHA!

This is so funny, because I have the same problem, only my cat has such long hair that he gets--WARNING THIS IS GROSS--tiny turds on the fur around his posterior then tracks it over the house. This happens about once a month. I never thought I would tell anyone besdies my BF and my vet student friend. I think I am going to start shaving him, I only hope it doesn't traumatize him.

For your problem, do you have a rug in front of the litter box? If you already do and that fails to work, try investing in one of those litter-trapping rugs. They are kinda ugly, but most people try to keep the litter box out of the way anyhow. They look like they would work well, but I hope it doesn't hurt your kitten's little feet (I am thinking of those plastic spiky ones I see at Target and Walmart). If you have a normal-size litter pan, that should be okay. I am sure he will get the hang of this litter-box-thing soon though. He probably doesn't like having "stuff" stuck to his paws and might figure out where it is coming from.

-- Edited by jacL at 11:47, 2005-06-25

TexasGal · Kenneth Cole

Hahahaha...jacL, I love your story. I'm a first time cat owner so I wasn't sure if I was doing something wrong. Plus, it's nice to know there are others out there with these embarrassing problems. It's such a joy to wake up in the mornings and find poo smears all over the tile floor.

Anyways, I'm definitely going to look into one of those litter-trapping rugs. Thanks for the advice and story!!!

lsubatgirl · Gucci

DO NOT SHAVE YOUR CAT!!! (or any other pet) It will ruin their hair and it will never grow out to be as nice as it is now. Just take some scissors and cut the hair around his rear short (like an inch to an inch and a half long) so that it doesn't stick to their hair. I have a long hair ragdoll and that is what we have done with him for years and it helps a bunch.

What kind of litter are you using? Maybe that is the problem?

luckylily · Gucci

Ick! My cat Phoebe used to do that when he was a kitten. It was so distgusting. I had to wash his feet everytime he got out of the litterbox. I never really tried to solve it and he grew out of it quickly.

Our long haired girl also occasionally gets a poo caught in her long hair. Fortunately, it happens so rarely that it doesn't bother me that much.

RyanJ · Coach

lsubatgirl wrote:

DO NOT SHAVE YOUR CAT!!! (or any other pet) It will ruin their hair and it will never grow out to be as nice as it is now. Just take some scissors and cut the hair around his rear short (like an inch to an inch and a half long) so that it doesn't stick to their hair. I have a long hair ragdoll and that is what we have done with him for years and it helps a bunch.
What kind of litter are you using? Maybe that is the problem?

It depends on the cat or the animal. We shave cats and dogs all the time at work and usually never have a problem. I had a Maine Coon and every summer I would shave him so it wouldn't be too hot and his coat would grow back beautifully. Also, when my cat was spayed (she is a moggie) her belly fur was shaved and grew back fine too. My brother has to shave his dog in the summer because he has a skin problem and he has really coarse hair, but now that it is shaved it grows back really healthy and shiny.

Cats that have Siamese in them, like yours lsubatgirl, have a tendecy not to grow back as nice. It can sometimes grow in darker or not at all. So you have to be careful, but most animals there is not a problem w/ it. Many show animals their owners shave them before their competions so they will have thick prett hair.

To help with your question Texas girl, maybe a bigger litter box would help. Also you could butt it up to a wall so he could only walk out on ttwo sides. He also just might like to play in it (gross I know). Maybe something like a litterbox enclosure would help, so he can't walk all through the box. Liek I mentioned in my previous post- messing w/ a cats litterbox can cause problems so be careful.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

RyanJ wrote:

It depends on the cat or the animal. We shave cats and dogs all the time at work and usually never have a problem.

You probably have a point. I just know with my 2 animals my groomer strongly recommends against shaving them because of their hair type.

My cat's litter box is in a corner and has just a little rug like thing underneath it that my cat steps on and it traps the litter on his paws. You could just put a welcome mat under the litter box and see if that helps. The enclosed area might be good too.

Oh and I remember you were asking about the littermaid. One thing I do remember being said before was that some cats need to get use to the sound so you have to start them in it without it plugged in and then start turning it on after a week or two so you don't scare them.

jacL · Coach

RyanJ wrote:

I had a Maine Coon and every summer I would shave him so it wouldn't be too hot and his coat would grow back beautifully.

Hmmm, my cat is a mutt but looks like he has some Maine Coone heritage...if his fur would grow in nicely, I would like to shave him, but I don't know if I should take the chance...

RyanJ · Coach

jacL wrote:

RyanJ wrote:
I had a Maine Coon and every summer I would shave him so it wouldn't be too hot and his coat would grow back beautifully.
Hmmm, my cat is a mutt but looks like he has some Maine Coone heritage...if his fur would grow in nicely, I would like to shave him, but I don't know if I should take the chance...

HE would probably be okay, but I don't know for sure. I kind of "stole" my cat from this lady. She was basiclly a crazy cat lady and would never nueter or spay any of her animals, so it was this crazy baby making inbreed cat colony. The three orginal cats she had were Mainecoon that starting the whole mess. I and my vet are pretty sure he was full maine coon, but you can never be sure w/ out papers and all of that stuff. Anywho, the whole point of me telling you this was when I got my cat he was disgusting and covered in mats and smelled like gasoline. I knew I was never going to be able to brush him clean, so I just decided to shave him. It ended up working very well, but some breeds that is not always the case.

That was kind of a lot of extra info to get to my point. Oh, well I am not going back to edit now.

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

TexasGal, my kitten had this same problem. It was basically because A) she was still adjusting to her kitten food and her poop wasn't exactly "solid" and B) she hadn't yet learned how to properly bury it in the litter. We only had this problem with her for about three weeks and she just grew out of it. Her digestive system adjusted to the food and she learned how to bury everything.

There really wasn't much we could do about it, but wash her feet off after she used the litter box. When we weren't home to watch her, we would confine her to the bedroom with her litterpan. So, we only had one room to disinfect. Try not to worry to much, I'm sure your kitty will learn...they're just so cute and clueless when they're small!

PrincessPink · BCBG

"Cats that have Siamese in them, like yours lsubatgirl, have a tendecy not to grow back as nice. It can sometimes grow in darker or not at all. So you have to be careful, but most animals there is not a problem w/ it. Many show animals their owners shave them before their competions so they will have thick prett hair. "

I had no idea about Siamese! I have a Siamese and she's been shaved twice - both for operations on her belly. The first time her fur grew back beautifully, but this time its taking forever and its growing in a funny color - grey! What is particularly weird is that she had a narcotic patch on her side (administers painkillers through the skin so you don't have to pill them and traumatize them more...) - I removed it and now that the fur is growing in over it - its growing in jet black and in the same exact shape as the patch! My poor cat - she is going to be all brown with one weird black rectangular spot!!

PrincessPink · BCBG

gruiz wrote:

TexasGal, my kitten had this same problem. It was basically because A) she was still adjusting to her kitten food and her poop wasn't exactly "solid" and B) she hadn't yet learned how to properly bury it in the litter. We only had this problem with her for about three weeks and she just grew out of it. Her digestive system adjusted to the food and she learned how to bury everything.

There really wasn't much we could do about it, but wash her feet off after she used the litter box. When we weren't home to watch her, we would confine her to the bedroom with her litterpan. So, we only had one room to disinfect. Try not to worry to much, I'm sure your kitty will learn...they're just so cute and clueless when they're small!

Be careful! They don't always learn! My Siamese did, but my giant male tabby cat (18 lbs of solid muscle!!) never learned. It drives the Siamese crazy so she will get in and cover it for him! How funny. I also bury it with the little scoop right after he goes if she deson't beat me to it. I try to get him to watch and on occasion (rare) he'll do it if I am standing near by - probably b/c he knows he'll get a treat for it.

Try showing her how to do it and give her lots of positive praise and treats when she does it, but don't yell at her when she doesn't. Keep us posted!

PrincessPink · BCBG

Also, try getting her a bigger litter box as the other suggested. I get the under bed storage boxes from Target. They are great!! Cats really don't like small litter boxes - and also be sure to clean it after she goes (assuming you are home) - cats can't stand dirty litter loxes. Its kind of like a port-a-potty - if you think about it. yuck!