As someone who's had cats my whole life, I know a thing or two about butts on counters. My family doesn't take it nearly as seriously as I do, but they haven't had to cut poop out of the fur of our long-haired cat, or clean up clumps of litter and poop that our flighty cat drags up with her once in a while. I know what's on these cats and I don't want it where I eat, thank you. This doesn't even begin to cover how their paws are in a poop box, too!
Even though cats typically clean themselves up, their stools normally don't leave much behind, so if it's not attributed to sticking to cat fur, a cat might also be too overweight to reach around and clean itself up. It might also be an issue with the cat's health, a height problem regarding the litter box or another issue. Yes, you can help your cat wipe if you need to, obviously.
Does your cat ever have issues like this? Share them in the chat.