Kind of a gross cat-related question

[Kim]

Hi all,

I recently adopted a wonderful cat from my vet’s office. While I have had cats for my entire life, this is my first of the long-haired variety. Anyway, I brush him every day, but have noticed lately that the fur in his “nether regions” seems to be getting sticky and gross after he uses the litter box. Is this common with long-haired cats? Of course, he won’t let me clean him off…so I’ve left a message with the vet to see if perhaps they can do a “trim” back there.

Sorry if this is gross…anyone? Do you have your long-haired cats trimmed by a vet, or is it better to take him to a groomer?

Thanks.

[VaqueroToro]

I have a female DLH so the problems might be a little different, but yes, occasionally she has technical difficulties with all the extra fluff.

I’ve found that litter level plays a key role in the messy situation – if the box has too deep footing, she sinks in which puts her fur right up against the litter when she squats (she’s also a chunk, weighing in at 10lbs, so that might be part of her problem). The worst that happens at this point is she gets feces caught in her fur – it makes for real fun times at 2am when she jumps up on my bed. :o If I can’t get it out with a baby wipe, I have to give her a bath. This might happen about once every three months or so, so it’s not a huge issue.

Remove some of your litter (or just don’t put so much in next time) and see if that helps the cleanliness issue any. Other wise, a bit of a feline bikini wax might be in order.

[oliverreed]

Yup. Proud and loving owner of 3 Persians here. It is an ongoing problem. Either get her shaved back there, or, on an as needed basis either try and clean it off with baby wipes or clip it off with you soon-to-be “dedicated” pair of scissors. Enjoy!

[oliverreed]

Oh - and God help you if he gets diarhhea… then it’s time for a bath. Sink with little hose attachment works best.

[Kim]

Thanks!! Off to the vet’s tomorrow for what they call a “sanitary trim.” LOL!

[PaintPony]

[QUOTE=oliverreed;6568307]
Oh - and God help you if he gets diarhhea… then it’s time for a bath. Sink with little hose attachment works best.:)[/QUOTE]

I used to be a long term sitter for a friend of the family who has 3 Persians. I wish to God that she would have trimmed their asses!

Her giant male cat always had crap stuck to him. The worst was one night when I smelled something awful and then realized he was on the couch next to me covered in diarrhea. :eek::eek::eek: (maybe that’s why all the couches were leather?)

I kept gagging while I was trying to clean him off because at first all the water did was spread it around. :no:

I’ve always had short haired cats and have never tried bathing one before - that was fun. The sprayer hose does really come in handy.

God that was SO nasty I feel gross just talking about it.
I will NEVER own a long haired cat!! :yes:

[oliverreed]

I can’t help it, I just love Persians. Usually they’re fine. It’s only once in a while we have a problem. Heeeey - Leather couches! Great idea! :lol:

[candyappy]

My mom takes her long haired female to a groomer and they actually do a lion cut on her. She just can’t keep herself clean with all the hair she has. It also helps with hair balls and throwing up associated with ingesting all that hair when they groom themselves.

[vixen]

My sister is a professional pet (mostly dog) groomer and she does sanitary cuts on a fair number of long-haired cats, including my parents’ Himalayan. I think it depends on the breed a bit too – we had “mutt cats” and Maine Coons growing up and they were fine without the cut, but the Himalayan’s fur is so FINE and SOFT (like down, I guess?) that there are more problems. More hairballs too, ick.

[Kim]

This guy is gorgeous - all black and fluffy, with green eyes. I have no idea what breed he is (if any), as he was found on the street by someone in the vet’s office, but he looks like he could be a purebred of some type.

Hopefully he won’t mind his “bikini trim”! LOL

[cnvh]

“Sanitary cuts,” lol… We had a fat chunk of a short-haired cat who couldn’t groom herself back there, and our vet had us come in regularly for what he called a “Brazilian.” :lol:

[PaintPony]

[QUOTE=oliverreed;6568463]
I can’t help it, I just love Persians. Usually they’re fine. It’s only once in a while we have a problem. Heeeey - Leather couches! Great idea! :lol:[/QUOTE]

I actually love those cats. The huge (but poopy) red flame male is one of the best cats I’ve ever met - and he is SOO cute. (He also smelled like urine sometimes because he peed on himself too :eek:)

But the grooming - ugh! Do you do all 3 every day? That’s what I had to do. Plus all the eye and nose cleaning! I am definitely a crazy cat lady (it’s genetic), but I prefer my cats to be self-cleaning. :lol:

I’m pretty sure my current cat has OCD. She grooms constantly and if you touch her after she does it she will have to groom that spot all over again - like she’s annoyed that I messed up her fur.

[oliverreed]

I do all three once a week. The kitten (9 mos old) HATES it and I am regularly covered in scratches afterwards. I also take kitten and one other cat to the groomers every 3 months - bath, grooming, and tummy/armpit shaves. The old lady would love it if I groomed her all day, every day.

[paulaedwina]

Groomers call the butt trim a sanitary cut or a potty trim.

Paula

[Bacardi1]

[QUOTE=cnvh;6568538]
“Sanitary cuts,” lol… We had a fat chunk of a short-haired cat who couldn’t groom herself back there, and our vet had us come in regularly for what he called a “Brazilian.” :lol:[/QUOTE]

Ditto for our “Fat Olivia”, who we adopted this past Spring.

[VaqueroToro]

[QUOTE=Kim;6568536]
This guy is gorgeous - all black and fluffy, with green eyes. I have no idea what breed he is (if any), as he was found on the street by someone in the vet’s office, but he looks like he could be a purebred of some type.

Hopefully he won’t mind his “bikini trim”! LOL[/QUOTE]

Sounds like my girl – she’s a black puffball on four legs with a huge bottle brush tail! Does he have hairy toes – tufts of longer fur growing between his toes?

[Hippolyta]

I do lion cuts on my big fluffies. I have had a groomer do it & they came back looking fantastic, all finished around the edges, rounded face.

Now I just have at the poor things with the clippers. I am not horrible, but I am not great either. There is a window of time when they aren’t exactly fashion plates, but after a few weeks all is good. I can’t afford groomer these days.

no hair balls and less vacuuming. I don’t mind brushing, but one of the two HATES it & makes noises like I am killing her. Rather than disturb my neighbors, I opt for clippers.

Mine do have the tufted toes. I love it. I refer to one of them as “Plume Toe”

It is important to keep an eye on the hinterlands with long haired cats. They can get physically blocked if it isn’t taken care of