Butt Scooting?

[catalinacat]

My 4 month old kitten has been butt scooting from time to time.

I gave her revolution once a few weeks back-which also is suppose to be a dewormer but I'm not sure if this is a sign that she still has them? Her stools don't have any visible worms anymore though (she seemed to have expelled them the first few days after taking Revolution). Or is it something else causing this behavior?
She is not spayed yet if that is a needed information.

Is a vet checkup needed?

 

[Brian007]

I'd take her to the vet and ask for veterinary prescription dewormer as over-the-counter preparations are seldom as effective. It would be an idea to get roundworm AND tapeworm medicines, which come separately. Revolution and other 'flea and parasite' medicines do not treat tapeworm. I'd be on the lookout for fleas also as tapeworm are often an integral part of the flea life-cycle.



And, you could ask about having her spayed whilst you're at the vet to save pennies.

 

[catalinacat]

I see. The vet did check her stool a while back and said she only has roundworms and said no mention of tapeworms and then gave me the Revolution to use for that purpose along with her fleas/earmites since she was a stray. Fleas have been long gone since she was given a bath not too long after I found her at 2 months (with lots of vacuuming and combing to boot).

I guess it is possible that the tapeworms just didn't show in her first stool test, though. I will make sure to have that checked.

 

[Brian007]

A tapeworm can live for years undetected inside a tummy. And testing for parasites can show false negatives. I'd just ask for tapeworm and roundworm/other parasite medicine without paying for more expensive tests, if it were me. Regardless, another vet trip is needed.

 

[LTS3]

The anal glands may need to be expressed. Sometimes they get full of super stinky goo which gets uncomfortable so the cat scoots its butt along the floor to try to ease the discomfort. The vet can express the glands for you and check to make sure they aren't infected.

 

[catalinacat]

Update:

She went to the vet, had her little butt checked. They said it looks normal from the outside but did have one anal gland that did need to be expressed. She was also given drontal for worms.

However, it's been almost a week and I still see her butt scooting! I actually feel as if she's doing it just a tad bit more frequently?

Are there any other potential causes? Is it her diet? Her litter?

For her diet I have been feeding her a mix of Freshpet roasted Chicken and vegetable (which is refrigerated food) and Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten dry food. I sometimes put a bit of water into the mix and give it to her. I use to feed her Authority kitten canned food but it gave her diarrhea along with a terrible smell so I've been a bit afraid to reintroduce wet food into her diet even though I know wet food is generally preferred. Her poops on the diet now seem to be very solid-to the point where it's a bit rabbit poop like and maybe a bit too dry now that I think about it. Is she constipated? I see poo in her litter box everyday though. I don't know. What do you think?

Her litter I use Purina Tidy Cats Clumping Cat Litter 24/7 Performance. It has scented pellets for odor control, but could she be allergic to it?

 

[LTS3]

Was your cat fine after the vet visit? If she was and the butt scooting just started up again, the anal glands are probably full again. It happens Some cats need their glands expressed pretty frequently. You can do this at home yourself. It can be messy and you may need an extra pair of hands to hold the cat. There are videos and articles that explain how to express the glands.

Did the vet say anything about a follow up deworming treatment?

 

[Neo_23]

I’m not sure why she’s scooting, but wet food shouldn’t cause diarrhea unless there is an ingredient that doesn’t sit well with her. Poops should be healthier on wet food.

If you put on a pair of gloves and pick up her poop and try to squish it does it squish easily? If it looks like rabbit poo and it’s hard then she may be constipated.

 

[maggiedemi]

It sounds like she might be constipated. Maggie does the butt scooting thing when she can't get a piece of hard poop out. I would try adding canned food to her diet and maybe a hairball paste a couple times a week or every other day.

 

[Columbine]

It sounds like constipation may be an issue here. Cat poop shouldn't look like rabbit poop! Your vet is the best person to talk to about constipation, and will be able to prescribe a laxative if necessary.

When feeding dry food, you need to pay extra attention to fluid intake to make sure kitty stays well hydrated. This article has some great tips

It's actually not uncommon for wet food to cause a runny tummy if kitty isn't used to it. Both the smell and consistency usually resolve themselves as kitty's tummy gets used to the new food. Introducing wet food gradually can help too, as can sticking to a protein that kitty is used to (as your girl is on chicken based dry foods, I'd start with a chicken based wet food). Once used to wet food, you can change up the flavours/brands relatively freely, as wet foods tend to be more similar in composition than dry foods are (mostly, I'm guessing, because they have fewer ingredients ). Checking the labels can help too - some cats are sensitive to the thickeners that are sometimes used in wet food (eg carageenan, guar gum, xanthan gum etc). Higher fat foods are more likely to cause upset than lower fat foods too; at least, until kitty's stomach is used to them.

Hope at least some of this helps Do let us know what the vet says