Trimming long haired cats

bluestarlight

Both our cats have very loose poos, we are working on that at the moment with sensitive food. They have been to the vets many times but nothing really seems to help.

One of our cats has started dragging his bum along the carpet. It seems he gets a little bit of poo stuck sometimes, it falls out in random places after he has been to the litter tray (little gifts for me! ) and his fur on his tail and legs gets stained. He is semi long haired to add to the fun.

I've tried cutting the hair back, following him out of the tray and giving him a wipe but unfortunately can't be there all the time to do this. He is difficult to hold and cut the fur with scissors, he gets a bit stressed and bites and claws me. Im scared of cutting him so never get enough of the hair off him to fully help.

Am I best going back to the vet and asking them to help me with this, or should I go to a cat groomer person? I think he is a bit miserable hence the bum dragging to try and get clean. Both cats are wormed and up to date with jabs etc.

Thanks for any advice, I didnt want to take them back to the vets again if they would just tell me to go and get them groomed.

krlyr

Scooting can be a sign of anal gland problems in dogs, not sure about cats but might be worth having checked out

paddypaws101

With 2 long haired white cats of my own I can sympathise with these issues. I found unscented baby wipes to be the best for immediate clean ups, and a metal comb(gently!) to the affected area if matters are more, err, dried up.
I can heartily recommend Protexin Enterogenic powder to settle the tummy and bowels if they have become inflammed. After that my personal vote is for a balanced raw diet rather than anything the vet can sell you.

bluestarlight

Thanks both. I have been trying that powder, but it doesnt seem to help unfortunately.
I have been feeding them royal canin sensitivity which doesseem to work to a point. I would love to try raw food but im worried aboutintroducing another new food after some of the previous reactions! They tend toignore raw chicken wings if i offer them.

paddypaws101

Raw chicken wings are quite a challenge for most cats, try some chunks of chicken breast or supermarket mince such as beef or turkey to see if they go for it.
I have found dry food to be a big No-no for any of my cats prone to runny bums so would advise cutting out all dry and also wet food containing grains of any kind.
The Scratching Post Rescue where 2 of mine came from has started feeding Natural Instinct raw food to any cats that present with digestive problems and they have so far had a 100% success rate.

dizziblonde

We used to have a long-haired cat that was too dense/fat/lazy (god-knows which) to clean his own backside very well at all... after years of delicate scissor snipping manouvers we finally just resorted to him having a permanently clipped back end. Yes, he looked utterly ridiculous but it was better than the poo baubles he used to be festooned with which probably dented his street cred a bit more.

bluestarlight

They eat mostly wet but have a bowl of sensitivity dry food to nibble on. I think next weekend I'm going to travel over to our nearest natural instinct supplier. Do I need to slowly introduce it, or can I feed it right away?

Dizziblonde who clipped the cat? Does a vet need to do it?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I have a longhaired madam who occasionally has diarrhoea. Judging by the pong and secretions I see when cleaning her up _pale_, I think it's partly to do with the anal glands filling up and emptying en masse.

Simply enough, I get the cat, pick her up, wrap the pointy corners in a towel if she's not in the mood, lift her tail and, using one hand to put between her and the scissors, just cut it to about 1cm, trying to keep her feathers (she's allegedly a MC), all around the essential area.

Haven't amputated any limbs (or digits) yet, she forgives me readily enough, as she'd have to clean it with her tongue otherwise, and everybody's happy.

ladylouise62

I don't feed raw, but did look into it, and you do need to slowly work them into it. The NI website explains it well, and also supplies it. If a friend recommends you they get £10 and you get £10.. so it's worth checking if anyone you know uses their site to get supplies

I also have a cat with sensitive stomach who throws up regulalrly (well, threw up until I changed the food). I use mainly wet food, but none of it has grain (incl corn), and no beef or pork which can be anm issue for some cats. I see that Royal Canin has both corn and pork products, so you may be able to sort it by changing that.

bluestarlight

ladylouise62 wrote: »

I don't feed raw, but did look into it, and you do need to slowly work them into it. The NI website explains it well, and also supplies it. If a friend recommends you they get £10 and you get £10.. so it's worth checking if anyone you know uses their site to get supplies

I also have a cat with sensitive stomach who throws up regulalrly (well, threw up until I changed the food). I use mainly wet food, but none of it has grain (incl corn), and no beef or pork which can be anm issue for some cats. I see that Royal Canin has both corn and pork products, so you may be able to sort it by changing that.

Thank you. The royal canin sensitivity food is the only thing that helps to be honest. It's just eye wateringly expensive as well!

valk_scot

I have a long haired cat who occasionally gets these clinkers stuck in the fur round his back end. If they're dry a comb gets them out fast enough, if they're still sticky I use a baby wipe. The only time I ever have to clip his back end is when he's shedding and I can't comb him fast enough to stop him matting. (I comb him every day, it's just not enough during the spring moult!)

He eats dry and wet cat food, about 50:50. Nothing fancy, just Purina One and Butchers Classic. I find if I run out of wet cat food and my cats eat just dry food for a couple of days their poo becomes far more formed, if I've been feeding them lots of wet cat food they get runny bums. Might be worth reducing the % of their current wet food and see how that goes?