Why is my cat losing weight, not eating, and scooting his butt?

This sounds suspicious that your cats anal glands may be full. The anal glands are located just inside the rectum at the 4 and 10 o'clock position and when they are full they can cause irritation resulting in the pet scooting across the carpet. So this is a common presentation. Typically the anal glands are expressed by pets when they go poop, but in obese or overweight pets this is difficult and can result in them not being expressed properly. So first thing is to get the anal glands checked by a veterinarian to avoid having them rupture because of over-filling. The second thing is to get your kitty on a low fat diet or weight loss routine, such as decreasing portions and limited extra calorie snacks. Here are my picks for weight loss foods if interested: 1) Hills Metabolic- by far the best product in my opinion for FAST (within 2 months approx. 79% of pets lose weight) weight loss and weight maintenance (prescription only) 2) Hill's W/D - effective and also can help regulate glucose to prevent diabetes (prescription only) 2) Hill's Low fat - over the counter, varying results

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Toots! I would bring a stool sample and have Toots examined by your Vet. I would recommend full blood work including Feline Leukemia and FIV. If that is normal then I would consider maldigeetion and malabsorption blood work (tests B12, folate and 2 pancreatic enzymes and consider an ultrasound of his belly to rule in or out underlying intestinal disease like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or small cell lymphoma. Most IBD cats are treated with a prescription diet and anti-inflammatories. Since he is getting worse I recommend starting a work up. I wish you and Toots the best!

The vomiting could be due to a GI illness, eating something rotten, a foreign body, or pancreatitis. BW could be scooting his butt because his anus is irritated. Feed him a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If the vomiting continues in the absence of food, he refuses to eat the bland diet, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Salem. Unfortunately, he sounds very ill. He will need to see a veterinarian. Start with the physical exam and office call. It is worth having him evaluated and seeing if something on his exam can tell the doctor what his problem may be or if it is potentially treatable or not. You can ask for a written estimate of cost prior to authorizing any diagnostics or treatment. This will give you the necessary information to make a decision. Extreme weight loss can be due to conditions such as an over active thyroid gland, diabetes or even cancer. I hope this information helps.

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I do not think you have too much to be concerned about. Sometimes a piece of litter will stick to the hair around the rectum or penis, & rather than groom it off, a cat will scoot. However, with the report that Pumpkin has had a loose stool in the past month, I would not be surprised if he had some intestinal parasites, possibly roundworms, or tapeworms. No emergency to have him seen by your veterinarian, just take him in at your convenience. Take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. The dragging you describe could be secondary to being very weak or possibly an actual condition leg or back condition such as a thrombus. I recommend that you have Mozart evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

I definitely think you should have Dahlia examined by your veterinarian. A few diseases that could cause an increased appetite with weight loss include intestinal parasites, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism. Your vet can examine Dahlia and her stool, and may recommend checking lab work if parasites seem unlikely. All of these diseases are very treatable, but it's important to get a diagnosis quickly.