My 10 week old kitten does not seem to clean herself properly?

Question

She is 10 weeks old and very long haired but never seems to clean herself and often has pooh stuck to her fur after going to the loo! any advice on why she is not cleaning?

I do have a brush and groom her.

Iunderstand that you can cut off hair that it gets attached to but i don't think it would be right to cut off her tail!

Answer 1

because she is 10 weeks old. you should cleanse her more often.

Answer 2

How old was she when you got her? Kittens still learn social behaviour from their mother until they are twelve weeks old. If you got her early, chances are she never had the chance to be taught how to clean herself. IMO, you should never take kittens from their mother until they are at least twelve weeks old, unless you absolutely have to (because of medical reasons, for example).

No one has (I hope O.o) suggested cutting off her tail, but the fur on her tail is just like the fur elsewhere, and can be trimmed short.

I don't know if this might work, but one possible way of helping her learn how to wash herself is to trim her fur short all over, letting her get used to cleaning herself with short fur (in the beginning she might lick herself because hair tends to itch when it grows ;p not to mention she might actually NOTICE that she's dirty when it's not just further out in the fur). As the fur gradually grows, she'll get used to the longer and longer fur, and hopefully when it's back to "normal", she'll be comfortable with it.
But even if you don't want to try that, it can often be a good idea to keep her a little less extremely long-haired, especially as she is so young. Kittens DO tend to be more clumsy than adult cats, and her fur might cause her even more problems with that.

Answer 3

Clip some of the hair around her anus, this makes rear end cleanups a snap! Just a few wipes ( you can use baby wipes for this job) and she is clean! Just continue to brush her. It will not take very long before she is able to clean herself. I gave my domestic long hair canned food a well known dry food. She never had pooh stuck on her. I believe her diet took care of that.

Answer 4

You need to by a bush, and you need to take her to a groomer. They will shave the back of hinie for you. Long haired cats cannot keep themselves clean -- too much hair. They were bred that way, but in nature, no cat -- lion, leopard, cheetah, etc. have long hair so it is not a problem. You, hon, must help if you don't want her to: stink, have bowel probem, have hairball problems. Got to a place like Petco, and get a little book on long haired cats....

Answer 5

its pretty common for such young pets as someone said before triming the hair around the anal area might help for now

this might have been a cause of her being taken away from her mother too quicky.. if she was then she might have not observered her mother licking herself and other kittens to know how to do it herself

brushing your little furry friend should help her stay clean and teach her how to do it herself :)

good luck

Answer 6

Most people with long-haired cats will trim the area around the anus to minimize the problems of the poo sticking to the fur throughout the cat's lifetime.

Answer 7

Cut the hair around the area where she gets poop stuck. Also she is small give her time.

Answer 8

Give her time. Kittens are not very thorough. Just comb her backside a couple of times a day.

Answer 9

only 10 weeks?? give her some time! you cant expect her to start grooming herself perfectly. i'd br more worried if she were 10 months old. After all, i bet your parents didnt expect you to keep yourself clean when you were 10 weeks old =)