Cat wiping her bum on carpet!

[Dunnsdale]

My 12 yr old slightly overweight cat has recently taken to wiping her bum,after visiting her litter tray, on my beige carpet(at least it's easier to spot lol)leaving a very unpleasant 4/5 inch smear(3 today).Any idea why and how I can help her stop please?

[doodlebug]

More than likely she has an impacted anal gland...she needs to see the vet to have it expressed.

[Heidi n Q]

Welcome, and I agree with Doodlebug about the anal gland-thing.

Kitties do this for a few reasons, the #1 reason being an impacted anal gland. I often wondered if *fat* cats did this because they couldn't really bend around and clean themselves properly but then I had a thin/fit cat do it, too. However, her problem was one of loose stool that were not expressing the fluid and/or perhaps she just felt she wasn't getting everything 'out' in the litterbox.
When a cat poops, as the waste passes through the anus the size/firmness of the stool causes the anal glands to release some fluid to help ease the passage through the opening. If the cat has diarrhea, there isn't anything solid enough to help squeeze fluid out of those glands and in fat cats, well, they just can't *clean* back there....

So, you're probably looking at a vet or pet-groomer's visit to have the kitty's anal glands expressed and then possibly a diet/exercise change to help her get fit, lose weight and get her bowels into a better working order with a bit more attention to 'fiber'. Though I feel a diet change should be undertaken slowly to not upset her digestive tract and please do some research about it; there is quite a bit of good information here in the Health/Nutrition forums if you'd take a peek and/or ask. If an owner adds fiber willy-nilly it could cause problems in the other direction (constipation and impaction) too.
heidi

[Dunnsdale]

Hi guys....thanks for your prompt and helpful responses.I'll take her to the vets tomorrow.

On the food front,I give her one bowl of Purina One in the morning and a Whiskas pouch about 3pm.Do you reckon thats too much?

[Stacykins]

Definitely good you are taking her to the vet. My parents old dog needs his anal glands expressed periodically too. The vet has offered to teach us how to do it, but since it is a bit icky, we'd rather pay a little bit and just bring him in, heh.

Purina One's ingredients aren't the best. Diet changes, if you are up for it, should definitely be taken very slowly as Heidi said. Learning what to look for in ingredient labels is key to finding a quality cat food (just like with human foods). Corn, by products, soybean hulls, are just some of the not very good ingredients. And unfortunately, those are all in purina one. There are a lot of great resources here when it comes to researching cat foods.

[Dunnsdale]

Just back from the vet,Poppys anal glands expelled a fair bit of solid matter.Hopefully that should do the trick.Many thanks for your guidance!

[doodlebug]

Cool. You'll need to keep an eye on this, seems that once it happens it tends to happen again. Learning to express them yourself may be in your future...

[zippy96444]

When I first got Mango, I had to get his anal gland cleared. I did this for a while, but now, every once in a while they will express themselves when he is in my bed!! Boy does it stink and wake you up. Nothing like changing sheets and cleaning cat butt at 3 am!

[Dunnsdale]

The vet must have loosened a landslide....Sometime during the night, what I hope was the final deluge was expressed on my office chair.I had shut her in their for the night after moving her off my bed.Lucky escape!

[Heidi n Q]

Originally Posted by Dunnsdale

Lucky escape!

Ha! You aren't kidding!