Did Your Cat Scoot Across Your Floor?

Did your cat just scoot across your floor or across your couch? This is a question that is usually answered by a dog owner, but cat owners may witness this behavior by their beloved pet. Did you know scooting is a symptom of another health or grooming problem that the cat is probably trying to deal with? Scooting is usually caused by something irritating the cat in the area under its tail, thus it is trying to scratch the area by scooting.

What can be causing your cat to scoot? There are several things that can cause a cat to scoot. These causes are anal gland diseases, perennial fistulas, skin parasites such as fleas or ticks, internal parasites such as tape worms, abnormal materials stuck to the cat's anal region including fecal matter or hair mats, acute moist dermatitis or hot spots, anal gland tumors, infected anal glands, abscessed anal gland or anal gland disease.

What to watch for when you notice your cat scooting. Watch for a discharge or for swelling in the cat's anal region. There may be a foul odor coming from the anal region. The cat may lick the air while it is sitting down. The cat may circle quickly while it tries to lick the itching area. The can may actually lick the anal region and the cat will drag its rear end on the floor, ground or furniture.

So next time you see your cat scoot across the room, pay attention to it. Examine it and see if you can figure out why it is acting this way. Scooting is not a common activity for cats and if you can simply clean the anus are up and stop the itching, the scooting will stop. If you can not find any reason for this behavior, then either a call to the vet or a trip to the vet will have to be the next errand you have to tend to. Preventing this from happening is as simple as keeping the cat wormed, cleaned and groomed. Even though cats do a good job of grooming themselves, they can always use some help, especially when they are going through the shedding season. Remember, scooting is a symptom of something that needs to be tended to. Your cat will be glad you helped and you will not have to be embarrassed the next time your friends come over and the cat shows them its newest "trick".