Um, this kinda puts a whole new light on those ‘funny animal videos’ I’ve seen on television, especially the one where the kid is holding the small monkey and it is industriously digging in his mouth with its ‘hands’. I don’t know about any of you, but I’ve watched monkeys pick at their asses frequently, which was why I cringed when I observed that video.
Another difference between human excretion and animals process is that we don’t have a thick layer of fur back there. That helps protect the animal from feces sticking there and causing irritations.
Lucky: But what do Indians do when they eat stuff that requires both hands, like crab legs or lobster. Does that gross them out? If I used my hand to wipe my butt, I don’t think I’d ever be able to use that hand for anything again (maybe except for preparing sushi for my mother-in-law).
Lucky, thank you for the clarification, and the travel tips. While I’m not quite cringing, I think I’ll avoid that continent, just the same.
Major, might your problem have something to do with your diet? Do you eat lots of pork, for instance? Conversely, are you deficient in beef and fruits? Or maybe you’re just eating too much? Or, are you currently taking medication? I got the same, um, bonus mess when I had to take antibiotics. Eating yogurt was the solution to that.
I have a pretty good diet. Not too fat or junky. I think it’s partly to do with age, lack of exercise, a tight belt (which increases intraabdominal pressure), and hemmorhoids. It was interesting that aha had somewhat the same problems. If it wasn’t this message board I never would have found out. I mean, you don’t share this stuff with your drinking buddies or friends.
oh, and one follow-up comment - the very first time I saw/heard of the Straight Dope was the tv program on A&E. The bluish bald guy was just going to a commercial break, and as a teaser, said: “Our next question: what did they do before toilet paper? We’ll go into it in more detail after the commercials, but I leave you with one word: CORNCOBS!”
Lucky: But what do Indians do when they eat stuff that requires both hands, like crab legs or lobster.
Well, Major, one BIG no-no in India is to eat with your left hand. You would be amazed at how easily one can master one-handed eating with a bit of practise.
“I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal
I’ve seen both dogs and cats perform what is called in the parlance “scooting”. In my cat’s case, it’s because she didn’t quite finish what she started out to do, so there’s some cleanup involved.
She’s also had an inflamed anus, which required a topical solution to be applied to it.
I really hope she appreciated that.
aha, thank you for that most descriptive message that is now permanently etched in my brain.
jts, yes if your canine gets the anal gland thing, YOU have to squeeze them, at least we did. You put on a glove, put your finger in there, squeeze all the messy crud stinky liquidy stuff out of the glands.
The hole-in-the-floor style toilets are not just an Asian phenomenon. I have seen them in public toilets in Morocco, and even in Portugal (though they seem to be the exception there rather than the rule).
Re the OP, I think it has a lot to do with diet. Animal feces usually seems to be more…self-contained, if you know what I mean. You get pellets or globs, but if it’s actually goopy you might want to take fluffy to the vet. Maybe I’m off-base, here, but humans seem to have a wider range of consistencies, I suspect because we don’t get as much fiber as our ancestors typically did. Most of the pets I’m familiar with get food specifically designed for their needs, and wild animals are specifically designed for the food they get. People, on the other hand, eat the most amazing variety of garbage.
Major Feelgud, it is possible you have what is called a “prolapsed colon”. That means part of your colon has come loose from the abdominal wall. When you excrete wastes, you push part of the colon out, exposing it to the air and wiping, causing inflamation. The inflamation leads to accumulation of a yellowish fluid that leaks.
This is caused by excessive straining while taking a dump. (Straining is also a contributing factor to hemmorhoids.)
Make sure you are not constipated, eat lots of fiber and drink plenty of fluids. If it’s really bad you can see a doctor and get surgery, but if it’s mild you might not want surgery.
from spoke-
I believe that would be the common Arabic culture.
In Europe it is very common to wash. They even have a special toilet just for that. It’s called a bidet. I hear it’s also useful for women.
In older bars and places like that in Spain you still can find the hole-in-the-floor flush toilet. As reported before, they’re ceramic, about three feet square, and with blocks to stand on on either side of the 9-inch radius hole over which you squat to send your depth charge plummeting. After having obeyed the commands of the digestive tract gods, you pull a chain to weakly flush the ceramic square which you just stepped off, after wiping somewhat less than after pooping in a butt-cheeks-together sitting position.
Yikes, a third visit to this repulsive, yet strangely compelling, topic :rolleyes:
I have a co-worker who is originally from India and we chat almost every day. Today I asked him about his birth country’s toilet habits. (We talk about everything!) He confirms Lucky’s reply, that Indians use their left hands to wash back there, WITH WATER AND SOAP. He said that this is done in other countries also. It is considered more sanitary than our t.p. method. they do not go around with do-do on their hands, but traditionally they do not use the left hand for eating or shaking hands. He commented that many countries, including Canada, use little spouts in the toilets with water for folks to wash (I took this to mean the bidet, which is becoming more popular in the USA I think). He said when he took his two daughters to India to visit, he had to take t.p. because of course that’s what they are used to, but the girls eventually preferred the Indian washing method. Sounds to me like they are more civilized than we when it comes to hygiene.
Irishman: The colon is too far up to be prolapsed down past the sphincter. You got the rectum and then the transverse colon which is perpendicular to the rectum
Scyofax: Actually, it’s not that gross. We all wipe our ani with soap and water when we shower, right? Interestingly, now that I think about it, I use my left hand also. Is this a universal tendency? And we still eat with our left hands, and I’ve licked BBQ sauce off it many times. So Indians are cleaner than us!
After reading what “should” be done for pets with butthole problems, I feel justified in not having pets. There are certainly enough problems involved with the simple possession of an asshole!
Being the father and step-father of teenaged humans, I’ll take my chances with assholes.
Dogs and cats, and their associated problems, be damned!
I don’t know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free…
