Cat Dragging Butt On Carpet...

Good morning. I am a very new member and I wanted to ask you all a question. I have a female cat, about 5 years old who after going to the litterbox, tends to drag her hind on the carpet....Needless to say, this sometimes requires some cleaning on my part. Can anyone shed some light on this subject for me please?? Thanks in advance for any help.

Has she been checked for worms?
I've heard that will cause a cat to drag it's butt like that, makes them itchy.

Your cat needs to go to a vet. Dragging their butt can indicate either parasitic invasion or impacted anal glands. Either way, vet intervention is needed. If the cat is a long hair, it could also be something minor, one of her hairs could be stuck to her anus, causing her discomfort, but more than likely it is impacted anal glands, and those need to be expressed by a qualified person.

I have a foster cat that is butt dragging too. A few months ago I took her in and they found her anal glands needed expressing. That helped for a bit but she started up again. I finally got the vet (at the shelter) to look at her again and this time she had only liquid in the glands. Yet she's scooting at least once a day. She did it the night she got home from the vet!

Could it possibly be parasites after it was once anal glands? I can have them check a sample. Do you have an idea of which parasites cause this? I have experience with lots of normal parasites as a foster mom but this butt dragging seems pretty unusual.

Thanks for any insights.

~Heather

Originally Posted by Artful Badger

I have a foster cat that is butt dragging too. A few months ago I took her in and they found her anal glands needed expressing. That helped for a bit but she started up again. I finally got the vet (at the shelter) to look at her again and this time she had only liquid in the glands. Yet she's scooting at least once a day. She did it the night she got home from the vet!

Could it possibly be parasites after it was once anal glands? I can have them check a sample. Do you have an idea of which parasites cause this? I have experience with lots of normal parasites as a foster mom but this butt dragging seems pretty unusual.

Thanks for any insights.

~Heather

Click to expand...

Yes, parasites could be the problem even though you got the anal glands expressed.

Just in case you wanted to know, anal glands are sacs that sit just under the skin near the anus. There is one on each side that is connected to the anus via canals or ducts. Since cats don't use these glands very often, fluid tends to build up and can overtime lead to bacterial infections, abscesses, or even ruptures if it is not expressed. These glands are rarely emptied by the cat because the gland's fluid is used to scare away enemies, similar to the way a skunk would, and indoor cats usually have very few enemies. When the sacs are full, they can cause discomfort and then lead to scooting and/or licking. Some cats require their anal glands to be expressed more often than others and cats will often scoot after the expression due to the irritation of the procedure. Should problems continue, despite efforts, the sacs can be surgically removed. As with any surgery, there are risks involved and possible side effects, many which are temporary, so you would want to consult your veterinarian if it came to this option.

Parasites are found in the intestines and can be passed in the stool as it travels through the rectum and exits the anus. Roundworms and tapeworms are the most common types of parasites that you can readily see. Others parasites like hookworms, coccidia, and giardia (just to name a few) are so small, that examination under a microscope is the only way to easily diagnose. Even though some of these parasites are more common in kittens and debilitated cats, I wouldn't rule them out without proper examination. Many parasites will cause discomfort and prompt scooting and/or licking and lead to other symptoms including loose stool and many others if left untreated.

So, I hope I helped to explain the difference between the two and show how, yes, you can have both. Personally, I would have a stool sample checked. Then, if it's free from parasites, I would talk to your veterinarian about having the anal glands expressed more frequently or any other ideas to try and help with the scooting. I hope I was able to help!

we have a cat that drags her bottom we think it is the anus gland can any one tell me if it is looked at at the vets will it have to be done again and some idea how much it cost I am on a pension

if u have a steady low income see if there is a lowcost clinic like anti-cruelty by you and try as long as you have to to get her in as a patient. once getting off the waiting list and in the care (ALL) will be practically free for life! there are videos to show how to express the glands but at first have the vet do it...the longer you wait the harder it is for even a vet to do

I hope I'm not too late with this information for those of you whose cats are suffering this uncomfortable situation. The last cat I adopted, which I took off the streets on Super Bowl Sunday of 2013 had this problem. She somehow developed it right after I took her home and started feeding her "good" cat food instead of whatever she was having on the streets. I was using Blue Buffalo at the time for my 4 other cats. A few days after, she started dragging her but and licking all the time. Sadly, this went on for over a year. I even kept her butt shaved to get it aired (a suggestion from a vet to alleviate the skin irritation), and this helped, but didn't solve it and kept on happening. I changed food types within the Blue Buffalo brand, tried Purina, went back to Iams and nothing. After 3 or 4 unsuccessful doses of Clavamox, applying topical cream on her butt twice a day for months, even treating her with Cantharis, several trips to the vet, and trying different foods, I kept looking and reading seeking some help for my poor cat. One blessed day (really!!!), I read somewhere that this behavior was NOT due to a gland problem, but instead, it was caused by an UNBALANCE IN HER DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DUE TO THE LACK OF FIBER. I immediately decided to research all the brands that I had used on the PetSmart website, and to my surprise, they all fluctuate between 3% to maybe 6% crude fiber (max). However, Hill's Science Diet has several (two or three) types of food that have 9.5 or 10% crude fiber!!! Regardless of the super bad reviews that I have read about this brand, I went ahead and gave it a try. Long story short: within less than 5 days, my cat stopped dragging her but on the floor. It's now been about 4 months, and I'm a happy owner of a house with 5 cats and no streaks on the floor any longer. Her butt hair has been fully grown for a while, with no need to shave or anything. She's as happy and healthy as she can be, and so are my other 4 cats, all adults. From now on, only the high-fiber varieties on the Hill's Science Diet for my cats!

This thread is almost two years old. The OP may not even be an active member anymore.

Welcome to TCS, btw