This is Milo, the love of my life.
He's the first cat I've owned and I'm am truly blown away by the experience. He's an absolute pleasure, playful and affectionate with a wonderful personality. In short he is everything I was led to believe that cat's weren't supposed to be. But he has one big problem that is absolutely breaking my heart and rapidly taking all the fun out of our time together: he cannot go to the toilet properly. People, it's going to get graphic, but I'm here seeking advice from other cat owners and it just can't be helped!
Basically, we adopted Milo when was about 3 months old and had just had his back leg amputated. From the second we got him home he knew how and when to use his litter tray, so toilet training him isn't the problem. The problem is that he doesn't seem to know how to position himself when going to the toilet, and he keeps coming out of his box with an awful lot of what is supposed to stay in the box... er, stuck to him
And I'm talking both kinds of stuff that you want in the box (and not on your floor, your sofa, your window sill, or any other place he makes it to before I have a chance to grab hold of him and tackle him with a packet of baby wipes) on his tail, his leg and sometimes his belly.
If anyone else has experienced this with a cat I'd really appreciate hearing about it. My boyfriend has owned several cats in his life and he has never seen this before. At first we thought it was a balance issue, but the more it goes on the more it seems that that isn't the case, and the worst thing of all is that he (the cat, not the boyfriend
) doesn't seem at all bothered about it. He makes no attempt to clean himself off, which strikes me as odd because I thought cats were supposed to be so clean! We want him to be an indoor cat because of his missing leg, but I swear if I have to spend one more evening on my hands and knees sniffing my way around the house with a sponge and an antibacterial spray I will scream!!! If anyone could make a suggestion as to what the frigging hell his problem is I'd be most grateful. Or, maybe I just have to accept the fact that I got a smelly cat and just deal with it?
Help!

Dimensione Danza
Lee
Prescriptives
Aw, I wish I could help...
Poor little guy.
He's so cute, what a beautiful kitty.
1Aw that's so sad...what a cute little kitty. It was so nice for you to open your heart and home to him
2Myabe try a ifferent kind of kitty litter...like the pellet kind. Even talk to someone at the pet store, they can usually recommend stuff...or the vet too
I have no tips but I just wanted to say that he is beautiful, and that you're an awesome mommy for taking such good care of him
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3'tis the season to be kinky falalalalah
I have 2 cats in my life which each have one of these problems.
Firstly, to make you feel better, my neighbour's cat is missing a back leg and he is an outdoor cat (though he sleeps many nights - and days - on my bed). He gets on their roof, into trees, over the fence, and back down on his own. (He also sits in their garage watching the door go down and then complains later that he's locked in, but that's another matter!) He does bob up and down a bit when moving slowly, (and his name is Bobby!)but he compensates for the lost leg by having his tail at an angle for balance. He gets into fights, and can duck into a hidey hole if he feels threatened.
As for the other matter, one of my own cats (I have 4), who has recently turned 6, has had a problem with the...ahem, excrement sticking to her fur. I don't know why, because she toilets as usual, and does clean herself. Her bottom is a bit damp, but there isn't a whole heap of stuff that she carts around with her to deposit elsewhere. I do have to clean her and shampoo the fur. I would ask for a vet's opinion, but cannot think what it might be unless the cat has extremely loose motions and finds cleaning it off unpleasant (don't we all). After all, this isn't just about smell, it's about stuff that's getting left where it shouldn't be. Your time together with this cat should be a pleasure, and I can see why frustration would build up. It could just be a case of the food he's eating disagreeing with him (IAM's food from the vet is meant to decrease output, but they might have other suggestions).
4Best of luck with Milo.
I'd definitely call the vet and tell them your problem. My vet has been fabulous about my little kitty problems and I'm sure yours will be too!
5Aw, Milo is cute
Don't really have any advice for your problem though
6awww that breaks my heart!!!
I don't know anything about cats but it seems like he can't control himself... I'll ask around here in the office to see if anyone has some sort of info I could give you about it ok!
Just don't lose it!
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS
7I would talk to the vet right away. I have 3 kitties, one outside and 2 inside. Maybe his litterbox is not big enough for him. I use a large
8shallow rubbermade container for my litterbox. It is like the type you would use for under the bed storage, without the lid! If you can watch him when
he goes and see what he is doing while he is in there. Is is a covered box?
Some kitties don't like that either. Either way call the vet and see what
they think.
He is a handsome kitty!
Hey guys, thanks for the compliments and good wishes! And the tips..
Ashcwebb, we've been experimenting with a few different types of litter alright, where the urine is concerned it is definitely less of a problem with the one we're using now, which is Cat's Best, a clumping wood pellet one. In fact now that i think of it the urine problem started with the last litter we tried and hasn't happened since we changed, so I guess you're on to something, but sadly it hasn't made any difference where the poop is concerned!
For everyone who suggested talking to the vet, we did already, a few motnhs back when he got his first injections, he'd never heard of it being a problem with any other cat and had no suggestion other than "maybe he'll grow out of it". He's not!
As for the litterbox Leopard, we thought of that too. We were using a standard litter tray inside of a bigger storage box, and we thought he might have outgrown it because he did grow really fast in the few weeks after we got him. So we've now got him a really huge covered litter box, which he seems perfectly happy with... but alas, he is still coming out with pieces of poop all over his hind quarters.
Thatnks for all your suggestions everyone!
* Friends don't let friends wear glitter before noon *
9I have two cats and can imagine how frustrated you are. The only thing that I can think of to help remedy it would be changing his food. I don't know if he eats soft food as well as hard, but if he eats soft food or drinks milk I would stop that for a little bit. If he eats only hard foods his stool should be harder and therefore not so smelly and wet. If he is only eating hard he may not be digesting it properly. My two cats eat the same hard food and one always passes "rock" like stool and the other one is softer but manageable. I would try different types till I found one that helped. Also, if you do go this route you will need to give them time to adjust to the new foods, b/c they may have softer stool in the interim.
I had a cat before that would occasionally get poop stuck in his fur, but he was a long hair cat. If he is really long back there you may need to shave/trim the hair around that area as well as part of the tail.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your kitty.
10One more thing...you said that he doesn't care to clean himself. He may be depressed or sick otherwise. I had a cat that I had to put down b/c of cancer. His entire demeanor changed and he stopped eating and he basically gave up even though I was feeding him via a syringe. Check with the vet and see if he has another sickness.
11Ims, thanks for the food tip! He eats dry food in the morning and then a sachet of wet kitten food in the evening. I think we'll cut that out for a few weeks and see if that makes any difference. As for the grooming, he does spend plenty of time grooming himself in general, I had ust found it odd that if he came out of his little toilet with something on him he wouldn't want to see to it immediately. I know I would! Other than this problem he's in great form and a very happy chappy
* Friends don't let friends wear glitter before noon *
12Aw poor thing.
13Hes adorable though.
I have 2 kitties, and one of mine, (She's a girl) is Milo. Your Milo is absolutely adorable!!! Like most everyone else here, I highly recommend speaking with your vet. Sometimes, when you love them, you have to love them enough to just deal with the flaws. Kinda like people I guess. Kudos to you for taken on a handicapped kitty. They require a little more work, but give back so much in return.
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