My kitten drags her bum sometimes. Is it worms or something serious?

She may be dragging her bum on the floor because she may have an impacted anal sac. This is not something that can be treated easily with medicine in her food (you could try giving her glandex, or add canned pumpkin, not pie filling in her food. It would be best to catch her and take her to the veterinarian for an exam and expressing the anal sacs. This should remedy the problem

If she does it one or two times, then it is likely a normal response to some feces or liquid stuck to her bum. However if she is doing this often, then this is a sign of full anal glands or intestinal parasites which cause irritation to the rectum as they exit, in particular tapeworms. I would take her in to your vet soon to have her checked for parasites and also have her anal glands checked if she is scooting often. Best wishes with your fur baby Oreo. Take care.

She could be scooting for several reasons. If she has a high worm burden then she may be passing them in her stool as they die off. Her anal gland could be irritating her (not common in such a young kitten), she could have pooo stuck to her rear end, or it could be itchy due to a scrape or injury. If externally it looks normal then I would wait and see if she is still scooting tomorrow. Best of luck and have fun with your new kitten!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This behaviour is usually related to worms or impacted anal glands. Please, de-worm Aldo (you can buy de-worming medications over the counter) but if there is no improvement after a few days, you should take her to your local vets to get her anal glands checked.

I would be more inclined to think that your kitty is obstipated (inability to defecate). As the pet gets backed up there is no where for the ingested food to go, so the cat vomits it back up. Also the stomach will be firm and distended with feces that collect in the colon. Cats that cannot poop for several days will also get full anal glands, this causes irritation of the bum and scooting. Your poor kitty needs to be take to the vet to likely have an enema placed to relieve the impacted feces right away. I would recommend taking kitty in to your local vet by tomorrow at the latest. I would caution against using over the counter enema's because most contain phosphate, and this component is toxic in cats. I would agree that intestinal parasites are still a possibility here, but obstipation would be my first concern. Your vet can easily distinguish which one is the cause of your cats current state by just feeling her belly and doing a rectal exam. I hope your kitty gets better soon!

The rectal protrusion may be from her straining to poop after the dewormer. Especially if you find worms in her stool, I recommend being super diligent about handwashing after petting her/cleaning her litterbox as most intestinal parasites in cats can be transmitted to people. If the anal protrusion does not return, then I would have her poop re-checked at the vet’s in 2-3 weeks for intestinal parasites. If it returns, then a prescription steroid/antibiotic ointment applied twice daily for a week or even preparation H cream may help. Good luck!

I think the clear discharge could be mucous that she has in her colon from the diarrhea. It sounds like you are doing all the best things for Phoebe, but I am concerned that she may have other intestinal parasites that are not treated by roundworm dewormer, like coccidia, tapeworms, whipworms, or giardia, or maybe a bacterial or viral infection. I would recommend a checkup with a vet. Take a fresh fecal sample with you to the appointment so the vet can test for other intestinal parasites (a little bit of litter on the feces is ok!). Until the appointment, you can clean her hind end with a warm wet wash cloth and apply a small amount of Neosporin to help with the irritation caused by diarrhea.