Messy Cat

Question
Dear Ms. Schiavone-Brensinger

  We just recently began letting the cat outside and he is a long haired cat. Could his recent outdoor excursions be leading to an anxiety that would cause this problem. The cat is also dewormed and when we adopted him, his medical records said that he was in the best of health. Hopefully, it is just stress.
  Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Ethan


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Followup To
Question -
Dear Ms. Schiavone-Brensinger

 My girlfriend has a year old cat who has a bit of a problem using his litter box. It seems he is unable to use it without getting a large quantity of his own feces stuck to the fur beneath his tail and around his anus. Also, his stool tends to be a bit soft and yellowish with a very strong odor. Is this an indication of a health problem with the cat?

Sincerely,
Ethan Duty
Answer -
Hi Ethan.  Is this a long haired cat?  Long haired cats often have this problem with feces getting stuck to their fur, and usually shaving the area helps decrease this problem.  As for the stool itself, has this cat been dewormed?  There could be an intestinal parasite present which is causing the soft stool.  Soft stool can also be caused by gastro-intestinal problems, like Irritable Bowel Disease, changing foods abruptly, stress, ect.  If the kitty has not been dewormed, doing so would prove to be beneficial.  If he has been dewormed, a vet visit may be in order to figure out what is causing the soft stools.
I hope this has been helpful,
Hilary

Answer
Hi there!  Since the kitty has recently began going outside, he may have contracted an intestinal parasite and may need to be dewormed again.  He also may have eaten some grass or something that has caused an intestinal upset.  Try feeding him boiled hamburger for a few days.  This is very, very easy for their stomachs to digest and may help the problem if this is just a GI upset.
Please let me know how he does!
Hilary