# How often does your cat scoot?



## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

Hi all. I've been having some issues now and again with Tutu scooting maybe once every day. I have a theory, though....

At first I thought she had some kind of medical issue. Sure enough, the first time since I had her when she got her glands expressed they were "SOOO FULL", said the vet. She was fine for another few months with no regular scooting. 

(Sometimes she swallows and passes one of my shed, LONG hairs and, well, has to scoot, and makes a mess doing it.....*ahem*)

Anyway, recently I came up with a theory that she tends to scoot when I am busy working and can't pay attention to her..... I think she does it for fun!

I swear I remember something about female dogs (and therefore maybe cats) doing this out of some sort of pleasure received, but I have no idea if that's true. 

My vet was no real help, and immediately went the route of "food allergy" or "anal gland issue" maybe requiring removal. (sigh).

Instead, I have her glands expressed maybe 2-3 times per year, which made a serious improvement and she no longer (to my knowledge) scoots more than once in a while (out of boredom?....)

Anyone have any thoughts on this?


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Over the years I've had many cats for a long time, and really didn't have many that scooted. I think if they do its usually plugged anal glands, tho cats that hunt and eat mice can have tape worm segments expelled from the anus which cause irritation and will make a cat scoot. At one time I did let a few of my cats go outside, but no longer now for many years since I had one mauled badly by a dog and eventually died as a result. My two Devons are strictly indoor cats now....so no tape worms to have to deal with. Neither one has scooted, but one of them does sometimes get the anal glands plugged, but I'm able to wash it out with an old rough textured wash cloth.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Never... my dog does once in a while.

It could be nothing, but it also could be worms, skin conditions (allergies) and anal gland problems. I'd be concerned if it's happening regularly.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Scooting on a regular basis is not normal. It indicates a problem. It sounds like the anal glands are a problem for her. Bulking up her stool a little could help (the anal glands should naturally express with a bowel movement, they get blocked when that doesn't happen). Add a little fiber...canned pumpkin is probably the first thing to try. I'd start with 1/2 tsp per day.


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

Thankfully it's not a regular occurrence now that she gets expressed every few months.

catloverami - you're really able to "ease the passage" of plugs with a washcloth? I've never tried. well, I've cleaned her bum before (sometimes it's just so dirty, like she didn't clean herself properly, but she DOES clean herself regularly).

we're almost certain it's not worms (had a dewormer recently anyway). food allergy,.... possibly, but she's never had any other signs of it, such as constant scratching or losing fur or anything like that. we did try to give her only one type of food for 4 weeks (no fish, just chicken-based) to no avail, and she wouldn't touch the Science Diet can't-possibly-be-allergic-to-it food...

like I said, I'm wondering if it's only out of boredom now that she's "unplugged" regularly. after all, girl's got other stuff down there as well.... (but she's also spayed, so I kind of doubt it.)


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

Oh, forgot to mention she's on fibre supplements, just in case the stools are too soft. This is also why I think the scooting is less of a problem now.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

The one and only time I've seen either of mine scoot was when Mowmow had eaten some of my hair (when it was long) and he had hair/poop hanging on and scooted it off.

They've never done it other than that, thank goodness.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I have a cat with anal gland issues. However, she does not scoot. I also have a cat, who every once in a while will scoot when she gets a dingleberry or if the stool is too soft or pasty for her to clean herself properly. Sometimes the rug is way more effective than her own tongue *shrugz*.

The cat with the anal gland issues gets expressed 3-4 times per year. Now, I have been feeding her canned pumpkin every other day for about 2 months now. I am hoping that this will at the very least spread out and decrease her expression appointments to maybe twice a year. But, it's still pretty early in the game.

My cat that scoots is VERY clean and cannot stand to have anything dangling off of her or soiling her fur, which is why she scoots in the first place. If I see her doing this, I know she either got something stuck she was trying to dislodge or the food is causing her stools to be too soft for her. I feed them raw so I can always increase of decrease the amount of bone in meals to alter the stool's consistency. But, this happens maybe once per year. It is not very often at all. As others have stated, if this happens on a pretty regular basis, I would be very concerned. I would also consider a 'regular basis' as more than 1-2 per year.

It could be that your cat has turned this action into a bad habit, and if that is the case, I wish you luck in breaking it unless they are trying to tell you something. But, it is unusual since cats are generally very clean and do not like to soil where they walk and live, or give away their location by marking it unless they are trying to tell you something. 

Judging by what you have described, it doesn't sound like a behavioral issue more than either managing her diet, managing the amount of hair she ingests to avoid it turning into huge hairballs which can break up when they pass, or even avoiding anal gland impaction. All of these really do come back to diet and since you mentioned in another post that your cat is overweight, she may be having issues reaching in order to clean herself when the stools are pasty. In this case, it is much easier to scoot to get the excess off.


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## Tutubean (Jun 11, 2012)

Well like I said, I've only seen her scoot lately when I ignore her, so I'm pretty sure it's out habit. She can definitely do proper kitty yoga and clean every inch of that area, but I think sometimes she doesn't. 

Did I mention she's extraordinarily lazy??....

I also have a suspicion that the food she was eating previous to now caused her poo to be too soft. But now, everything seems fine and she hasn't scooted in weeks (when I was ignoring her while working).


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