An itchy or painful butt is a daily occurrence in any veterinary hospital. When irritated, dogs and cats itch it, scratch it, lick it and scoot on it.
The most common cause of an itchy butt in both dogs and cats are flea bites. Fleas are hard to spot unless you are patient and have really good light. Look for the fast-moving, dark specks at the tail head, along the back, neck and belly of dogs and cats. Fleas especially love to hang round the face, neck and ears of cats.
You may spot smaller, non-moving dark specks between the hairs and against the skin of lighter areas. These small specks may be either flea poop or dirt. Flea combs are a great way to look for fleas or “flea dirt” (which is really flea poop). Combing the back and tail area may harvest both fleas and “flea dirt.” When moistened on a paper towel, flea dirt will turn red (because fleas are blood suckers and poop blood). Real dirt will just be a brown smudge or black speck.
Even if you don’t see fleas, even a few bites can make a sensitive dog or cat very itchy, just like a mosquito bite is much worse for sensitive people. Rinsing a pet in a white bathtub or sink with the plug in will sometimes help you spot the pesky varmints.
To help an itchy pet, flea control products need to be used monthly on all pets for at least a few months. Depending on the number of fleas in your house and yard, the number carried by neighborhood cats and dogs in your area and the amount of shady, moist areas in your pet’s world, you may need to address fleas year round or just during “flea season” (warmer weather in the spring, summer and fall). You can use topical flea control such as Advantage, oral flea control such as Comfortis or Trifexis, or natural flea control (rinsing or bathing pets, diatomaceous earth on floors and carpets, nematodes in the yard to eat baby fleas, garlic in dog food, more healthy oils in the diet and lemon spray repellent). Some dogs and cats may be very sensitive to a topical chemical on their neck and back, or may become nauseous with oral flea control. You may have to try different products to find one that works best for your budget, lifestyle and your pet’s sensitivities.
Irritated or full anal glands may cause licking, scooting and straining. These glands may become inflamed and full from eating food, treats or chews containing wheat gluten or other well-known allergens like beef.
They also may be full because the plumbing is too small for proper drainage. Toy breeds often have easily plugged anal gland pipes, just like my garbage disposal outlet does with artichoke leaves. Too little fiber in the diet may make the poop too small to massage the stinky stuff out the small pipes of the gland. Adding one teaspoon to one tablespoon of pumpkin to the diet may help.
Restricting common allergens may help an irritated gland clear up. It may take one of the following meats (chicken, duck, fish, venison, rabbit or kangaroo) with potato if a pet is really allergic. Some glands need to be “expressed” monthly to prevent pain and abscesses.
A cat that strains in the box or won’t use the box may have sore anal glands that are really full. I wouldn’t want to use the box if it hurt every time I tried to use it. Cats that are straining may act like they have a bladder infection or urinary blockage, when it’s really a sore bottom from full and painful glands! (Caution: Straining in cats is often a sign of urinary blockage or irritation.) Feeding a “no grain” canned food with a teaspoon of pumpkin may encourage glands to work better. If a small amount of anal gland “juice” is released with each bowel movement, then it won’t thicken and cause a blockage.
Food allergies can also cause an itchy butt, scooting or a small amount of red blood in the stool. Biscuits, chews or food containing known allergens like wheat, beef, chicken, barley, corn or rice may cause soft stool, itchy butt, scooting and other medical problems (ear infections, skin infections and other chronic medical problems from bladder infections to seizures). Avoidance of known allergens may have nothing to do with an itchy butt, scooting or other chronic medical problems, but it is an easy step. In two to three months, you’ll know if avoidance of known allergens is helping.
Hot spots or painful rashes can cause excessive licking on the butt area. Minor rashes, as the pet licks an irritated area, can become a full-blown, oozy staph infection. (Bathing, cortisone ointment and antibiotic ointment give temporary relief.) Hot spots can start with flea bites or hives from allergic reactions to food, treats, biscuits, chews, pill pockets or any medications the pet is sensitive to.
If your pet is itching, scooting or has a painful “down there,” it could be due to fleas, anal gland issues, food allergies, hot spots or other medical problems. There are many causes, but these are a few of the most common ones. If your pet is really painful or has oozy sores, make sure to get it checked out.
Greg Martinez, DVM, has worked at Gilroy Veterinary Hospital with Dennis Harrigan, DVM, for more than 30 years, and with Marc Van Every, DVM, for three years. Over the last 10 years, he has become very interested in the natural role of nutrition in treating chronic medical problems and to prevent future ones.
