Why is my cat still scooting?

November 4, 2015 1:18 PM

My cat has been scooting his butt for months. We've tried all of the usual suspects, but he still scoots! Our vet has no idea and wants us to see a specialist. I was hoping one of you has solved a similar scooting mystery.

Our cat Milo is a 4 year old neutered male domestic shorthair. He is indoor only. In July we noticed him scooting his butt on the carpet and brought him to the vet. He was treated for worms. Alas, he continued scooting and returned to the vet, where he had his anal sacs drained. One of them actually burst on its own, so the vest was concerned about an infection. Milo received antibiotics and another course of dewormer. But the scooting continued! And he added a new symptom - aggressive licking of his junk. We went back to the vet and discovered that he had actually bruised his penis. So the vet suspected a UTI. She gave us something for pain and something for the infection. Milo's urine test, however, revealed that he is dehydrated but otherwise has no signs of any infection. That was last Friday. Since then I have caught him scooting and licking again.
I spoke to the vet today and she told me that she's concerned about a bladder blockage, but we checked the box and he is peeing. Other than that, she is stumped.
So what do you think? Do any of you know what is up with Milo's butt?

posted by Biblio to Pets & Animals (12 answers total)

This is incredibly unlikely given his past history, but I've had cats scoot when their butts are unpleasantly (to them) scented -- is he sitting in something scented for humans? Can you try unscented litter and unscented dryer sheets?
posted by jeather at 1:29 PM on November 4, 2015

We had some butt scooting and upset stomach, including the odd vomit, when our cat Peter had a fairly bad case of constipation. Turned out he was so backed up that only liquidish crap could make it through his system. It was also causing him to go off his food and eat a bit less, and vomit more (which made him dehydrated and feel worse...). We only found out that's what it was when we X-rayed him in a panic to find out whether he had a twisted bowel after the vet palpated his colon and found it to be hard.

Is he pooping regularly? Like, you said he's peeing in the box, but is there normal stool there too? One thing that should have cued us in about Peter was the presence of super liquidy, loose cat poops in his box.
posted by sciatrix at 1:38 PM on November 4, 2015

Best answer: Is it possible that he developed an allergy to his food? One of the relatively common reasons for overgrooming in cats is if they're mildly allergic to something - not allergic enough to make them sick, but allergic enough to be uncomfortable and try and fix it with grooming (or perhaps scooting as well in this case?). I haven't heard of an allergy issue being localized to the butt/junk area, but it seems possible. You could try a hypoallergenic diet to see if it helps - I believe the most common cat allergens are chicken and fish.

One of our cats had an overgrooming problem for a while that resulted in some bald patches. It started because of fleas (which were quickly treated), but the grooming didn't stop when the fleas were gone. A couple months of Prozac helped immensely - she recently went off the meds, and it seems that the excessive grooming hasn't restarted (knock on wood!). I'd probably keep looking for a physical cause at this point, but Prozac is an option if you can't find one.

Also, whem googling for a source for the allergies-cause-grooming, I found this page, which discusses the symptoms of feline lower urinary tract disease. Overgrooming of the genital area is a symptom. The cause varies, and could be something like bladder stones. If your vet hasn't done an xray, I'd consider that.
posted by insectosaurus at 1:46 PM on November 4, 2015 [3 favorites]

When your regular vet says they have no idea, it's time for a specialist. If your location in your profile is correct, you've got a number of excellent options. Look for a board certified Internal Medicine specialist with focus in urinary issues, but any Internal Medicine specialist would be a good choice.
posted by Rock Steady at 2:09 PM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Our cat, also a four-year-old neutered indoor-only male, has been scooting periodically since we got him a few months back. After the first couple of times that he scooted, my wife took him to the vet, who treated him for a blocked anal gland. A couple of weeks ago he was scooting again and was taken back to the vet. Anal glands were okay this time and the vet conjectured that he may be scooting because of itchiness related to allergies. (He's a pretty sneezy and snuffly cat, so this seems a reasonable guess to us.) We're giving him allergy medication (well, trying to, at least) and switching his litter to see if that helps.
posted by dashdash at 2:33 PM on November 4, 2015

Did he have any sign that the anal sacs were infected when they were drained (apart from the fear of infection post-bursting-sac)? Obviously dogs and cats are different, but my dog had a butt-scooting issue that turned out to be an infected anal sac. The vet said these infections are notoriously hard to get rid of, even with antibiotics. Our pup ended up clearing it with several rounds of antibiotics and weekly manual draining over the course of a few months. But the vet said that normally doesn't work, and when it doesn't the next step is for the dog to be put under anesthesia and the sacs to be flushed/filled with an antibiotic liquid solution.

So, maybe worth examining the anal sac infection/blockage route again.
posted by melissasaurus at 2:37 PM on November 4, 2015

Response by poster: He has been having loose stools, now that you mention it. My previous cat had megacolon, so I REALLY hope Milo isn't constipated.
We haven't done an xray yet. I will bring it up with the vet tomorrow when I check in.
posted by Biblio at 2:40 PM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: melissasaurus - that sounds nasty! Another possibility to add to my list.
posted by Biblio at 2:41 PM on November 4, 2015

If he's already known to be a bit dehydrated, it could be very likely that he is having difficult or hard bowel movements. This can be very irritating, and can cause minute fissures or cracks in the anus. Is there any way to encourage more fluids, or add more fiber? Change the drinking water more often, maybe? Or, possibly rub an appropriate moisturizing lotion around the outside of the anus semi-regularly?
posted by itsflyable at 2:46 PM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you think he maybe constipated, try feeding some pureed pumpkin. (or squash from the infant section) Not pumpkin pie filling or toddler stage food, as both will have spices- just the plain pureed kind. Pumpkin works for both loose or hard stools.
posted by TenaciousB at 4:27 PM on November 4, 2015 [2 favorites]

Maybe he just likes doing it? I got my cat Taco when he was maybe 4 weeks old back in 2009. I noticed him scooting (and leaving schmears behind) very early on. After treating him for fleas and worms he has continued to scoot. His butt always looks clean. I noticed that he will slide down on an elevated scratcher or sometimes just something with texture. I think he enjoys the sensation. Or that's what I tell myself.
posted by mokeydraws at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2015

Response by poster: We ended up going the Prozac route and gave him the pills for 2 weeks. He's been off it about a week and there is no more scooting! Thanks!
posted by Biblio at 10:39 AM on November 28, 2015 [3 favorites]