long haired elderly cat not keeping herself clean. advice please.

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

Sometimes I bath her. I am sure you can imagine this does not make me popular.

Sometimes, if the poo stuck to the fur round her arse is hard I can cut it away.

But she stinks again.

What is best? regular baths? vet do it?

She hates it when I brush round her back end too.

She's 16.

[girlywhirly]

My old shorthair cat used to get matted fur where he had been lying down, usually on the outsides of his thighs. The vet suggested his lack of flexibility due to his great age made it difficult to twist around to groom himself, which may be the case with your cat.

I found I had to cut away the worst mats, and just try to comb him every day to keep it all under control.

I think you can get wet wipes for cats from Pets at Home for wiping over the fur, a sort of waterless bathing.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Is cat too fat to clean? Mine was (and frankly she just couldn't be arsed either). Regular showers worked for us. Alas she died of it in the end - fly strike. Any animal that lies out in the sun stinking to high heaven is prone to fly strike.

One good tip though - buy an electric groomer of the sort men use to cut their sideburns and trim off most of the hair. Helps keep it clean. They don't miss it.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Most of the hair round her bum obviously!

[rockinhippy]

My old L/H girl went this way too, though she did pick up & started cleaning herself better after diagnosis & treatment for thyroid....not sure it was related, but worth bearing inmind with an older cat

Apart from occasional baths, regular brushing & keeping the fur near her bum short, I found using sensitive baby wipes a big help for in between & to help with the smell too

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

thanks guys.

No, she's not fat. In fact, she's getting increasingly bony, poor old gal.

[rockinhippy]

I'd definitely recommend getting her thyroid checked then Hectate the boniness is a sign she might need treatment,

its VERY common in older Cats, & it definitely makes them more bedraggled & a bit lazy with their grooming, it can sometimes make them a bit jumpy too,

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

Really? I'd just put it down to extreme old age. 16 is good going for a cat! She's bony and doesn't really clean herself but she's not jumpy. The opposite in fact!

I'll take her to the vet, see what they say.

[rockinhippy]

I would if I were you, as I say its VERY common

my old L/H Cat had it, but her jumpiness might of been more obvious down to her also been epileptic, she really picked up after starting treatment though & she was 19 at the time & lasted for more than a year after that :)

my parents Cat also has it, she started with it at 14 & was like a Kitten again after treatment

good luck

[Jux]

I'd take her to the vet. At that age she is most likely suffering from arthritis which makes it harder for her to bend around and reach. Also, if she's getting skinnier she could have something like hypothyroidism - can be treated with pills so don't panic - but you need to know.

Poor old thing; she really is doing very well. The oldest cat I've had was 19 when she died and really I should have insisted on her going a bit earlier as her last 6m-1yr were not great for her.

We had a lovely longish haired one who got diarrhoea, boy her arse was something delightful. We tried to bath her but dh couldn't hold her so I took her off to the vet who quite happily cleaned her up. He said they didn't mind doing it and of course I was paying, but it wasn't his favourite job clearly! Quite common though.