My new raggie baby is totally awesome except for one minor detail - he plays in his poop! I've never had a kitten or cat do this before so I need some advice. It seems that he's OCD about covering the poop and ends up getting it and a bunch of litter all over his back paws.
He's 14 weeks old and has been with us for a little over a week. His breeder warned us that he is a "messy boy" who likes to play in the litter box and he hasn't stopped yet.
We are using the same litter his breeder used (World's Best). We have three boxes for two cats and I scoop them every time I walk by (minimum of two times a day).
He is eating the same diet that he was getting at the breeders - Iams and Eukanuba dry kitten along with Authority (Petsmart brand) canned food. He has been eating a can per day divided among three meals. He's been vet checked, so he is healthy.
One advantage of all this is that he's getting used to baths
, but I'd rather not have to do this EVERY day. Also, his poop is VERY stinky. I'm not used to that either. My other Ragdoll has never liked canned food and has eaten Eukanuba dry his entire life, so we haven't had to deal with the smell before either.
My questions are -
1. Have you ever experienced this? If so, please tell me he'll grow out of it!
2. Should I think about switching to a different canned food or possibly weaning him off of it completely in favor of the dry?
3. And finally, Can you recommend a good gentle cat shampoo? I bought one at the Pet Store called Smelly Cat
, but I don't know if I should look for something better since it's nearly a daily event.
(12-25-2009 08:30 AM)spiritedcharm Wrote: [ -> ]My new raggie baby is totally awesome except for one minor detail - he plays in his poop! I've never had a kitten or cat do this before so I need some advice. It seems that he's OCD about covering the poop and ends up getting it and a bunch of litter all over his back paws.
He's 14 weeks old and has been with us for a little over a week. His breeder warned us that he is a "messy boy" who likes to play in the litter box and he hasn't stopped yet.
We are using the same litter his breeder used (World's Best). We have three boxes for two cats and I scoop them every time I walk by (minimum of two times a day).
He is eating the same diet that he was getting at the breeders - Iams and Eukanuba dry kitten along with Authority (Petsmart brand) canned food. He has been eating a can per day divided among three meals. He's been vet checked, so he is healthy.
One advantage of all this is that he's getting used to baths , but I'd rather not have to do this EVERY day. Also, his poop is VERY stinky. I'm not used to that either. My other Ragdoll has never liked canned food and has eaten Eukanuba dry his entire life, so we haven't had to deal with the smell before either.
My questions are -
1. Have you ever experienced this? If so, please tell me he'll grow out of it!
2. Should I think about switching to a different canned food or possibly weaning him off of it completely in favor of the dry?
3. And finally, Can you recommend a good gentle cat shampoo? I bought one at the Pet Store called Smelly Cat , but I don't know if I should look for something better since it's nearly a daily event.
Hi, your post is hilarious. lol......I have a raggie that I brought home early November nameed Simon,he was 14 weeks old then. He was very forceful about covering up his poop. cover cover cover until there was no litter at one end of the box. Litter litter everywhere.....He has calmed down a bit. Although he didn't get any poop on himself, but he was throwing litter all over the area. Now on the other hand his step brother Max was brought home same weekend but a couple of weeks younger. He tries to cover his business up but seems to go the wrong way in covering it up, never quite makes it...lol...sometimes Simon goes in and covers it for him... Hopefully he will calm down regarding the litter box as he gets older. As for the stinky poop I too would think it was the canned food. Maybe get some advice fromthe breeder on that or your vet. Slowly weaning off may be a good idea. They are such fun aren't they? I just sit back and laugh out loud watching them run around zipping up and down the hall chasing each other until they tire each other out then sleep for two hours. Geez I didn't mean to rattle on so much.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your furbaby.
Catherine
His technique should improve.
I would not adjust the food. That could cause looser stools and make matters worse. It is good to feed some wet food.
If all you need is some foot baths, then any cat or baby shampoo is fine - or even just a good rinse. You can even use Dawn dish washing liquid.
I feel for you, as Solo and I went through the SAME thing! Here is what helped:
1) Bigger litter box filled with less litter (just enough so there's maybe 1 inch). The bigger size box gave more digging room in "clean" areas, and the litter not being as deep helped keep him clean.
2) Shave the rear area. That helps poo not cling.
3) Try other foods and start supplementing with canned pumpkin. For example, start mixing in a new food to the old, after a week skip a day of pumpkin. If stool is horrible, either switch foods again or wait another week. For Solo I would feed 1 heaping spoon full a day. The pumpkin for him not only helped make his poo smell-less, it helps firm it up too. Do this until when off the pumpkin there is no more horrible stench or soft stool consistency.
Turns out the food Solo was on from the breeder just wasn't agreeing with him which only made the poo soft and easier to get stuck on little paws. Solo stayed on pumpkin from the time he came home just until last month (so from 13 weeks till 7 months old). Every week or so I would skip a day to see if his poo was any better, and if it wasn't he'd go back on it. Now he is 8 months old, hasn't had pumpkin for a few weeks now, and his poo doesn't smell and he is finally staying clean! It could be that as a younger kitten he was more sensitive.
There is light at the end of the tunnel I promise!
I think it's a baby thing and he will outgrow it. Mine play in the litter and throw it out of the box, they will also just sit in it from time to time like it's a bed. Can't wait to see updated photos of your new baby!
Thanks all for the suggestions and reassurance! I ended up emailing the breeder and she advised me to cut back to two feedings of canned per day which seems to have helped. She also suggested possibly adding a bit of dry hairball control food to his diet. The fiber in it should do the same thing as the pumpkin. He still occasionally gets dirty feet, but as Jan said, his technique is improving.
Deb, I just posted a couple of pics in the general discussion forum. It's so hard to get him to stay still long enough to get a good picture. By the time I fire up the camera and get ready to shoot, he's on the move again. I've got plenty of blury pics though :-)