Help... Can't find the answer anywhere.

Hi, I'm new.

I've looked all over the web for an answer to my kitty question and haven't been able to find it anywhere... I don't know how common this problem is, but I just want to make sure my kitty is okay.

This is kind of gross, but he likes to wipe his dirty bum on our floor. He scoots across the room doing this, leaving a trail (yuck). We used to have carpeting, and thought maybe he'd stop it when we moved to a place with hardwood floors. Nope. He's been doing this forever- we asked the vet if there was something wrong with him, and she said no. Of course, we're here in Tokyo, so I have no idea how qualified any vets (or human doctors, for that matter) are out here. But he definitely doesn't have worms. I tried changing to only dry food, but that didn't help, so we've since switched back to a dry morning/wet evening combination.

Our Kimutaku is a 4 year old neutered male, is in great health otherwise, and is very sweet and always full of kisses.

Does anybody have any advice?
Thanks in advance for any help!!

Btw, this site looks great!

Hi,

He might need his anal glands expressed by your vet. We had to have Tigger's glands expressed. Usually there is an odor on their butt, too. Or it may be just an irritation. I would have him checked out.

Thanks Tigger!

Could you explain to me what having his anal glands expressed means? The vet said there was nothing wrong with his bum, and there is no odour. Plus I'd have to try to explain this to the vet in Japanese (help!)

Perhaps he just prefers wiping his bum on the floor to cleaning up after himself the normal kitty way...???

Thanks so much!

Have you asked your vet to check for worms? Sometimes cats can have them and it'll go undetected. Also, he may have swallowed something and is try to get rid of it.

My cat Marina Mar ate thread last weekend and had 12" hanging from her butt. The vet had to remove it because I didn't want to hurt her. ALSO, is your cat long haired or short haired? Maybe there is poop stuck to her fur.

I don't know what else to tell you. Anybody else have any ideas?

Having anal glands expressed is yucky, but if you'll pardon my explanation, here goes.

Sometimes the oil in an animal's anal glands builds up and causes irritation, which is why they rub their butts on the floor. A vet can squeeze the oil out of the glands, and this will remove the problem for awhile, but it will usually have to be done periodically.

My parents' shih-tzu had this problem, and they opted for surgery.

This may not be your cat's problem, but I thought I'd answer your question!

Good luck with your cat!

I just threw away the paper the other day on anal glands. When I took Tigger in to have her spayed, the vet squeezed them while she was out. He said they were big.... and when he expressed them, he said they smelled so gross, even with his mask on! He told me that it should've taken care of the problem. A few days later she did it again! I called the vet and I was told that it could be an irritation and if it didn't stop to take her in. I'll look it up in my book that I just bought.

Wow! Thank you everybody for all the responses!

I think I'll have him re-checked for worms. Though it seems unlikely for him to have them for 4 years, (esp. never having been outdoors since being found in a park at age 2-3 weeks)? Or is this possible?

Tigger- could you tell me which book you've bought (or recommend)? Perhaps I should do some research, too. Maybe it _is_ his anal glands... (Thanks also to Meghan for the explanation).

Kimutaku's got short hair, and the frequency in which he cleans his bum on the floor would indicate to me that it's probably not some foreign object that he's eaten... But geez, poor Marina Mar!

Anyway, much thanks again to everyone! You're all so kind.

One more thing about anal glands - sometimes emptying them is all that is needed. Other times they could be infected and need to be treated with antibiotics.

As for the vet, can you try another vet for a second opinion? Can you find an English speaking vet in Tokyo? Are you a native speaker of Japanese of English (your English is excellent so it's hard to tell )

Hi Anne,

Thanks for that- yes, I think I'll be looking for an English-speaking vet here. Though everything is so difficult, even though I speak Japanese!! Good health care is so hard to come by out here- even for humans. Scary.

I'm Japanese American, but don't worry, people ask me that all the time. Even more confusing is that Kimutaku's daddy- who speaks better Japanese than I- is French!

for most cat and dog groomers. If they have been fully trained, everytime you take your animals in to be groomed, their anal glands will be expressed as well. We always used to leave them a BIG tip...=)

... but I wonder if this could be some kind of territorial behavior. Has someone new been introduced to the family, or did Kimutaku do this from the beginning? Did he start doing this after you moved? Does he seem like he's lonely?

Just thought I'd throw a psychological hypothesis out there.

Hi Laura PW,

Kimutaku's been doing this since... forever. At least since he was 6 months old. But I so think he is lonely. We also have a bunny- who he obviously wants to play with and gives kisses to- but the bunny basically ignores him!

I think he either has the gland issue- or that he just prefers to use our floor as toilet paper!

Thanks!