Cat Drags Butt on Floor after Pooping: Causes & Solutions

A veterinarian explains the many causes, and solutions behind why a cat drags its butt on the floor after pooping.

It’s not uncommon for a cat to drag its butt across a floor after having a bowel movement.

Cat Drags Butt on Floor after Pooping: Causes

“There are a surprising number and variety of reasons for this behavior, which we vets technically refer to as scooting,” begins Jean Hofve, DVM, who has 20+ years’ experience in both conventional and alternative veterinary medicine, and author of the eBook, “What Cats Should Eat.”

“Potential causes, from more to less common (depending on who you ask), include:

–   Anal sac inflammation, infection or impaction

–   Diarrhea

–   Fleabite allergy

–   Food allergy

–   Atopy (inhalant allergy)

–   Environmental allergy

–   Pyoderma (bacterial skin infection)

–   Yeast infection

–   Tapeworms/coccidian/pinworms/other intestinal parasites

–   Changes in gut flora (may occur after antibiotic treatment)

–   Obesity (cat too fat to clean itself, leading to urine scald and skin irritation)

–   Urethritis or vaginitis

–   Vaginal hairball or foreign body

–   Urinary tract infection

–   Proctitis (inflammation of the anus/rectum)

–   Inflammatory bowel disease

–   Constipation

–   Ringworm (a fungal skin infection)

So, though a few of these causes probably made you scrunch your face, the good news is that cancer is not among them.

It goes without saying — if your cat is scooting its butt across the floor, it really would be a smart idea to take your pet to the veterinarian.

Don’t take the chance that the butt dragging is being caused by something as very benign as constipation as opposed to a tapeworm infiltration.

If your cat is fat, don’t assume that this is the only reason for the dragging.

It’s always possible that dragging the butt across the floor can have more than one cause. Only a veterinarian can make this determination.

Now retired from veterinary medicine, Dr. Hofve has researched pet nutrition and the pet food industry since the early 1990s. She has written dozens of articles and has been interviewed for print, radio and television around the world. She is author of the eBook, “What Cats Should Eat.”

Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.