Scooting And Pooping In Dining Room?!

[Kaj5275]

Hello!
My kitten Penguin has been having some itchy bum issues as well as not always using hid litterbox. He's nearly one, and this started about 2 months ago. Basically, he acts completely normal but in the living room (ONLY in the living room, never seen him do it anywhere else in the house) he'll randomly start scooting and licking his butt. He also started randomly pooping in the dining room. He started the dining room thing a few months prior if I didn't clean out the litterbox often enough. It got better once I cleaned it more often but he started doing it again recently whether I'd cleaned it or changed the litter completely or not.

Now at first I thought it was the litter. In October I switched from the clumping 24/7 tidy cats litter to the non clumping. That's when he started pooping in the dining room. I decided to try going back to the non clumping in January to see if it would help. I haven't changed his food. I took him to the vet 3 weeks ago and they examined him. They said his glands were fine and that it was highly unlikely he has some kind of parasite or worm. He does have a tendency to eat random things so we thought maybe it was irritation from eating something he wasn't supposed to or just allergies (which are really bad right now for everyone). So after the vet visit he seemed to improve. Then 2 days ago he started up again and has been constantly licking his butt and scooting.

His stools and urine seem normal and he's eating and drinking just fine. I'm really hoping it's just a seasonal allergy thing or that the air is too dry, which I've been running my humidifier constantly to try to combat. I just don't know what to do. Should I feed him occasional wet food and/or coconut oil or something? He and Victoria are currently on Purina Indoor Health dry food and I can't change their food because this food is the only kind that Victoria's sensitive stomach can tolerate and she will try to eat his new food. That happened when I adopted Penguin and when she ate the Meow Mix she got very ill. Penguin has been on the Purina food since I brought him home in July.

Please help!

 

[duckpond]

Very pretty cat!

Did the vet treat for parasites, even if he said it is unlikely he has them? Even totally indoor cats can get them from a bug or flea. My guys are indoors but they still get profender a few times a year, and i use advantage multi that i get from the vet during the warm parts of the year, in case i bring a flea in from outside. If the vet did not treat for parasites i would ask him too anyway, get the drops that go on the back of the neck and you shouldn't need to take him back in, treat all cats.

Cats dont normally poop outside the litter box unless something is going on. We just have to figure out what it is. could be the litter too. cats like large, uncovered litter boxes. with soft unscented litter. Maybe try one of the newer grass litters on the market? there are several on the market now, petco and petsmart has several, i like the Abound brand from our kroger grocery store. I also like Litter maid walnut litter that you can get from walmart, this may be my cats fav right now, other than a coconut litter i am testing I would recommend a non clay litter, even something like swheat scoop if you cant find a grass or the walnut. Corn litters like worlds best i have always found to be dusty. If you must stay with a clay litter at least try a different brand, maybe something in the tidy cat that bothers him. I dont use clay but i think fresh step has an unscented?

Wet food is always good, maybe pick up a few cans of fancy feast or Friskies and see how it goes, i would sugest non fish flavors.

The main thing that concerns me is the scooting, could be a litter allergy, could be parasites, or something else, i dont know. But it definitely indicates some kind of problem. If you change the litter and add wet but he still has the problem i would definitely take him back to the vet. maybe get a second opinion? As far as eating something he shouldn't, that would have only affected him a few days, unless something is lodged in there. Only way to tell would be x ray i think. If he stops pooping or has problems i would get to the vet immediately. It can become life threatening if something is lodged in his digestive tract.

Best of luck to the little guy, keep us updated.

 

[mservant]

How are things going Kaj5275 ? I agree that the scooting indicates a problem. The most common reason for it is where an animal has worms and is feeling itchy. Other causes can be other causes of irritation around the bottom, or a blocked anal gland, like your vet has checked for before. It is best to have a vet have a good look at your cat to determine what the cause is. If your cat is behaving in the way it is likely they are in quite a bit of discomfort. You say your kitten tends to eat random things - is there any way he could have eaten some live prey, like a mouse, or even an insect, as these can carry worms and cause an infection or re-infection. It is also possible for worms to survive a treatment and need further doses.

 

[Kaj5275]

Hi, sorry it's taken me so long to reply but I wanted to monitor him for a bit. I blocked off the dining room, bought some wet food, and changed the litter right after I made this thread. He's gradually stopped scooting and I haven't seen him do it in a few days but I don't know for sure if he's stopped completely. He's liking the wet food a lot! I've been giving him some Fancy Feast in small doses. I changed the litter to Arm & Hammer Multi-Cat, that's the only other litter my Wal-Mart had other than Tidy Cats but I'm going to look for a more natural kind from Petco or Petsmart. He's using the litterbox great but I've noticed that he's still licking his butt a lot. I'm going to order the Advantage duckpond suggested. It's entirely possible that he ate a bug and got something from it but my vet didn't de-worm him. My vet also suggested bringing in a fecal sample to test for parasites just in case and I'm thinking about getting that done this week since he's still having some issues.

 

[duckpond]

Glad he is doing better. and i would get him treated for parasites. the vet should be able to help you with that. for parasites our vet normally gives us Profender, it takes care of most all parasites, you can pick it up from the vet without taking him in, you just squirt it behind his neck, where he cant lick it.

 

[Timmer]

My experience has always been when a cat scoots its butt it is constipated. But you said the stool is normal. What is normal for this cat?
If you have two cats, you should have two litter boxes. I've often found that sometimes they like to poop in one and pee in the other one! You should scoop the cat box once a day, particularly with two cats! If the cat liked the clumping litter go back to it. The non-clumping might hurt the paw pads when he scratches.
Another thing, if you introduce some "natural" litters do it gradually. In fact, any time you change cat litters, even the brands, it should be done gradually. Don't dump the old brand out completely and then add in the new. Also, I find unscented is best. Target has their brand of unscented clumping litter and the prices is decent.