Ok, since I haven’t had an indoor cat since I was a little kid, I really don’t know what to expect. I’ve had Shadow for about 2 weeks now and I’ve figured out the food thing, I just haven’t been able to implement it because I’ll have to buy it without my hubby (he’ll protest at the cost I am sure). But besides that, I’m just not sure if he’s all healthy and whatnot.
He doesn’t seem to sit when he, um, takes a dump, nor does he seem to be covering it up, though he does with number one. He’s only 5 months, and I’ve heard that they learn these things from other cats, but he was with his bother until we got him, and it seems they were kept with their mom long enough. His poo absolutely reeks, and I assume it’s the food, but even with better food, what can we do about the smell? We got Arm and Hammer litter that seems to help a lot with the ammonia smell, but the other smell is just taking over our house, even though I clean it every day.
The other thing, besides not sitting or burying his poo, is that he doesn’t seem to clean up afterward. It’s not that I want to see it, but in the two weeks that we’ve had him, I’ve never seen Shadow lick/clean his butt. I keep having to do it for him so it doesn’t get all over. I read that if I did so, he would eventually figure it out and do it himself, but so far he’ll clean ever where else but there. I wouldn’t want to lick my own butt, so I don’t blame him, but isn’t it a cat thing to do? I’ve wondered if there was something wrong with it (his behind), but again, I don’t know much about it. It doesn’t seem to hurt him to go, and I don’t think his butt is red or swollen. I’ve read that kittens often have worms, but he doesn’t show any of the symptoms. Could he still have them, though, and would it hurt to give him meds just in case? I can’t just run off to the vet simply because I don’t know what a healthy cat’s butt looks like, so I’m trying to figure all this out. Sorry for the second long post. Thanks for helping us out!
