Cat is too fat to clean hindparts--worried about UTI (weight, vomit, feline)
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I have a female cat, aged 6 years. She's only a little overweight, but has a large abdominal fat pooch that prevents her from properly cleaning her hindparts. Her rear is always seems to have some stool on it, and it also seems to be getting on her vaginal area at times. I notice her scooting her butt on the carpet after every bowel movement. This is really gross, I know. But I'm not sure what to do. I have been cleaning her off with a damp washcloth, and this helps, but I'm worried she is going to get a UTI. I have watched her attempt to clean herself, but the abdominal pooch gets in the way. She seems to be frustrated that she can't clean herself. Previously, she was very fastidious. This has been going on for about 8 months or so.
Is there anything I can do in this situation? Even if she loses weight, I'm not sure if the big abdominal pooch will shrink in size.
Get a sanitary clip and put her on a diet. If she doesn't lose weight you might be looking at diabetes in the future and other issues beyond problems with the backend.
I have a female cat, aged 6 years. She's only a little overweight, but has a large abdominal fat pooch that prevents her from properly cleaning her hindparts. Her rear is always seems to have some stool on it, and it also seems to be getting on her vaginal area at times. I notice her scooting her butt on the carpet after every bowel movement. This is really gross, I know. But I'm not sure what to do. I have been cleaning her off with a damp washcloth, and this helps, but I'm worried she is going to get a UTI. I have watched her attempt to clean herself, but the abdominal pooch gets in the way. She seems to be frustrated that she can't clean herself. Previously, she was very fastidious. This has been going on for about 8 months or so.
Is there anything I can do in this situation? Even if she loses weight, I'm not sure if the big abdominal pooch will shrink in size.
Mine's 12. Same story. She's a fat pig. We just wipe her up after she goes. It works fine. Don't over-think it.
I'd try changing up the diet...what are you currently feeding her? Raw diets are best IMO, and if she doesn't like it a high-quality, grain-free canned food is the next best choice. My female was on dry food for years until I learned it wasn't the best thing to be feeding her, and she made the switch to a combo. of raw (morning) and canned (evening) with no problems. The canned we use around here is either Wellness, Wellness Core, or Pinnacle and the raw is called "Prowl" from a company called the Honest Kitchen...you just mix it with warm water and let it sit for a few minutes. I know preparing the raw yourself is the better way to do it, but I'm a vegetarian & dealing that closely with raw meat really grosses me out, so this product was a blessing when I finally found it! Good luck!!!
A few of my cats are chubby but i have cut down the amount of food i feed them. Hopefully they loose weight. A fat cat is not healthy & can lead to all sorts of health problems. Many people think a fat cat is cute but it isnt when they die. I do have one cat that can eat & eat & not gain a lb. Shes over 13.
This cat is only slightly overweight--not round but just slightly rounded. She eats a high quality all-protein dry diet (Wellness Core and another protein food) supplemented with a can of wet food every day. We have another cat too who is of perfect body weight so changing feeding patterns will be tough to do without affecting him.
This cat is only slightly overweight--not round but just slightly rounded. She eats a high quality all-protein dry diet (Wellness Core and another protein food) supplemented with a can of wet food every day. We have another cat too who is of perfect body weight so changing feeding patterns will be tough to do without affecting him.
Hmmm...so if she's not so overweight, maybe there's something else going on here. Are her stools regular? Does it look like she's straining, or is it just that she's not able to reach over the pooch? I know when dogs scoot they're usually trying to express their anal glands...but do cats do this as well? Anyone? I'm baffled here!
In my experience, the single largest factor in feline obesity is dry food. Even high quality, grain-free dry foods need to contain a high amount of carbs to hold the food together as it is extruded into kibble. Cats don't really need those carbs. If you switch to canned or raw exclusively, her weight should naturally normalize. It's also much better for the kidneys and urinary tract for cats to eat wet food. Dry food saps their moisture and ruins their teeth.
I had the same thing happen with my tabby and she did get UTI's - twice. That was my wake up call. Not only was she grossly overweight, she would gorge herself on dry and vomit it back up. It wasn't her abdominal pouch - she was fat, and couldn't clean herself.
I took her off dry completely and put all three of my cats on a quality grain-free canned (and later raw, but that is a different story and must be researched fully first). It isn't that hard to feed them all separately - I have three cats, two eat in bedrooms, on place mats, with the door closed, and one eats in the office. That way I can control how much food each gets, and I can also tell who ate and who may be off their food. It also keeps my dog from their food.
I am happy to say it worked. She lost weight, and while she still has the swinging abdominal pouch, it is smaller. More importantly, she can clean herself back there and has had no more UTIs. It was slow, though, the weight didn't just fall off.
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Hmmm...so if she's not so overweight, maybe there's something else going on here. Are her stools regular? Does it look like she's straining, or is it just that she's not able to reach over the pooch? I know when dogs scoot they're usually trying to express their anal glands...but do cats do this as well? 
Anyone? 
