Thank you for that, cat...

[lexin]

So, I notice that little Smokey has 'something' on her bum. I worry about this for a while (as I do) and then decide to investigate.

I pick up the cat slightly awkwardly in order to have a look at her bum (have you ever tried that with a cat? It does require a second person, really.) Almost totally fail, but decide that it looks like a bit of poo, and not, as I had worried, piles.

Cat escapes, looking a bit ruffled.

Immediately, cat cleans her bum and proves that it was a bit of poo, and I can stop worrying.

Cats.

I mean, really. I didn't want to get that close to your bum anyway.

Comments

[stranger]

Oh dear. The only time you need to concern yourself with the cat's bum is if:
(a) there is a large piece of excreted poo stuck to the nearby fur (the cat will be antsy-to-frantic, because Thing on Her Bum Won't Go Away), and the reason to remove it yourself is to forestall her from scraping it off on rugs or furnishings; or
(b) there is bleeding. The latter is extremely rare and probably calls for a vet.

Cat licking bum, even slightly dirty bum, is more or less normal. No wonder the poor things bring up hairballs now and then.

Sending you happy kitty thoughts. And good wishes to the conscientious human.

[lexin]

Smokey is normally a very clean cat, and I couldn't understand why she hadn't cleaned her bum of the bit of poo straight away, but she hadn't. Only when I drew her attention to it did she clean it off. But it was quite small - about the size of a few grains of sand.