Butt Scooching...yuk

[kzee]

My 17 yr old cat recently started scooching his butt on the carpet after using the litter box to defecate. I've read that could indicate worms or impacted anal glands. He only does it once every few weeks. Wouldn't he be scooching more often if it were one of those problems? AND, btw, can an inside cat with no exposure to other animals get worms?

 

[verna davies]

According to my vet it does not indicate worms, that is a fallacy. It is the non emptying of the anal glands. If your cat has diarrhoea or soft poops that could be the reason.

 

[sabian]

When I first got Manny he would do that a good bit. When I took him to the vet for his normal check up and shots his anal glands were fine. I had really forgot about it until I seen this post. I haven't seen him do it in months so I guess he just got over it. He use to have problems with hard stools until I started feeding him wet food. Don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. Wish I could give you a better answer, just glad he stopped. With my luck he'll probably start back tomorrow!

 

[lavishsqualor]

At seventeen, you really should get this checked out. It's most likely something very simple, such as anal gland issues, but a seventeen he's too old to have to deal with something so irritating that could be fixed so easily and economically. I absolutely vote V E T V I S I T.

 

[Sandy Beach]

My guess is anal glands. If this were my cat, I’d take him to the vet. Good luck! I hope he feels better and you get some answers from his vet!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Feeby has done the same thing on occasion, maybe because she had poop debris on her butt when she left the litter box. So, I do think it is feasible that nothing else is going on. But, at his age, better to be 'safe than sorry' with a vet visit.

This last time Feeby did it, it turned out to be the beginnings of her anal glands clogging. A simple vet visit where he/she expresses the glands (squeezes the gunk out) will solve it if it hasn't gone too far. This is also a practice any pet owner can learn to do by watching the vet. I am sure Feeby wasn't 'impressed' with the procedure, but I don't think it hurt her.

Then, the next question is why are them becoming clogged - a fluke, too soft BMs (the stool is what naturally helps to expresses the glands), not cleaning as well (also an express stimulant), or what?

In my case with Feeby, her age (14+) combined with being overweight and having some arthritis has nearly stopped her cleaning her own booty. No other issues were found - other than recent UTIs, also for the same reason. So, I now clean her behind every day - with simple hypoallergenic cat wipes. So far, so good!