Cat keeps licking and gassy

[Rshep]

My 4 year old male cat has been on wet food for almost a month now, I have noticed that he has been more gassy and he has been licking himself constantly around his bum area, he was scooting quite a bit across the carpet but that stopped for a week now. He is going to the litter normally as he would before the wet food though, his stools are normal as well, they are smaller I have noticed though, not diarrhea or anything. Any ideas as to why he keeps licking down there? He has a vet appointment next week but til then, anything I can try?

 

[Hellenww]

It seems a month is long enough if it were an adjustment to a new diet. Gassy could be as simple as eating too fast but nobody here could diagnose. Luna was very gassy when we adopted her. When she stopped gobbling her wet food the air bombs stopped.

Scooting again could be many things. Poop looks normal to you but to him might feel like it's leaving a residue. Worms are always the 1st thought. Itchy bottom. Why, who knows. Allergy of some sort also possible cause for the gassiness.

Make notes of the changes you've seen to take with you to the vet. The more info you have for the vet the better chance they can figure it out.

 

[Kflowers]

Among other things scooting can mean impacted anal glands. The vet can fix that up in an office visit.

 

[Rshep]

My 4 year old male cat has been on wet food for almost a month now, I have noticed that he has been more gassy and he has been licking himself constantly around his bum area, he was scooting quite a bit across the carpet but that stopped for a week now. He is going to the litter normally as he would before the wet food though, his stools are normal as well, they are smaller I have noticed though, not diarrhea or anything. Any ideas as to why he keeps licking down there? He has a vet appointment next week but til then, anything I can try?

Update: just got back from the vet, he had alot of feces stuck to his fur, around the bum area. There was never gas, we were just smelling the feces that were stuck there. They shaved him, he's all good now but they advised us he is overweight and needs to lose 7 lbs, so we will be cutting back on his food, just glad he's okay now.

 

[Kflowers]

So glad it wasn't anything terrible.

You might want to mark your calendar to check every other month to see if he needs another shave. I'm sure he's much more comfortable and happier now. Cat diets take a long time, you can't hurry them. There is a lot on this site that can help with the diet. Our cat just lost 1 pound 5 ounces over this past year and the vet said that was good and at the right speed. Makes it a little tricky, but doable.