My youngest kitty, Ozzy (Singapura, almost 2) has a problem my other two cats don’t share: he builds hard little dingleberries that tenaciously hang out of his bum and don’t go away on their own. At one point when one got particularly bad (it was hanging out of there about a quarter of an inch and I didn’t want our friends to think we didn’t take care of him) I grabbed it between two fingers and pulled gently. The dingleberry came away, but it made his bum bleed a little bit and I felt awful (even though it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest except for the initial jump and healed up almost immediately).
I don’t want to make him bleed again, but these things are gross and I’d like to get rid of them when they form. Any suggestions? Note that he doesn’t like to sit still very long and my being able to grab them usually results from a “drive-by” where I get him while he’s sitting still for two seconds. So holding him down and doing anything slowly probably isn’t an option (especially since he tends to “clench” and make it difficult if he knows it’s coming).
First off, definitely talk to your vet about this.
It’s dangerous to pull anything from your cat’s rectum. If these were truly “dingleberries” (sidebar: I think that’s the grossest thing I’ve ever said here) and NOT merely protruding but actually completely out and hanging from his fur, then it’s okay to remove them. If there are parts still INSIDE his butt at all, DO NOT pull them out. See a vet right away. If they’re not coming out on their own, there’s a reason for it. A vet needs to find out why.
It’s also possible he’s not getting enough water and fiber. What do you feed him? Have you tried giving him a spoonful of canned pumpkin (the plain unflavored kind - not the kind with sugar added) every day? Pumpkin is great for kitties.
You should really talk to a vet first though. Especially if this is a new condition.
I don’t think he’s dehydrated–he drinks plenty of water. As for fiber, right now he eats Solid Gold “Katz n Flocken,” a premium dry cat food (same as my other two, who aren’t having any…uh…Klingon problems).
He’s healthy and happy and energetic, so I truly doubt that there’s anything wrong with him (it’s not a new condition–this has been going on for quite awhile now) but I will mention this to the vet next time we take him in for a checkup. In the meantime, I’ll see if he likes the canned pumpkin. He likes everything, so he’ll probably love it.
I won’t try to pull on it anymore–it’s really tempting, but the last thing I want to do is hurt my little guy.
Is there hair in these dingleberries? If there’s hair still on the inside the poop won’t um … pinch off like it should. If there is hair, is he licking himself or the other cats a lot? Is it cat hair or human hair (some cats like to chew on their human’s hair)? If it’s cat hair you can try giving him something like laxatone or cat lax on a regular basis to help grease it on through.
Yes, pulling on things hanging out the rectum can be a bad idea, especially if it’s attached by a long thread, string, dental floss, ribbon, long hair … etc. If it’s very long it can cause a sawing motion on the intestines if there’s more stuff further up the GI tract.
And here I thought I had problems with my cats (another TMI poop issue, on the floor, though).
Question: Is your kitty long-haired? I suppose I could understand that scenario, but if he’s a short-hair, I think a vet visit is in order. Good luck, Ozzy!
I believe Singapuras are short-haired, however I have seen plenty of short-haired cats with hairy poops - especially if they occasionally eat longer human hairs. (This has happened occasionally with a couple of my 8 cats.)
He’s definitely a shorthair (in fact, we say he has a crewcut–his fur is very short and sleek). Haven’t seen any indication of hair/fur in the poop, and like I said before, it doesn’t seem to bother him at all; he’s just got this little “tab” hanging out of his butt.
I got some pumpkin today to see if he’d like it. I should have known–Ozzy’s never met a food he didn’t like. He lapped it up like it was candy. We’ll see if that doesn’t help things come out a little better.
