Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My cat is chewing her back raw and lethargic. What could be wrong?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Oriental | Female | spayed | 7 years and 4 months old | 10 lbs

My cat has been chewing her back for weeks and now has a raw bloody spot on her back. It's not fleas as we've already tested and looked for that. We haven't switched food either. She's also been lethargic and sleeping more then normal. She's not fevery and hasn't been throwing up or anything and we cant afford to rake her to the vet at the moment. Hoping its something we can treat with a store bought or home remedy. Please help im worried about my cat. Thank you

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 20th, 2017

She could have a problem with her anal glands. She could have an infection in her glands or just need them expressed. She really should be checked by a vet, especially since she seems lethargic. Your vet can do an examination to determine the exact cause and then recommend treatment. She might just need an expression and an antibiotic. Without having a diagnosis, it is hard to recommend a treatment.

Vote icon

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 18th, 2020

    Hi, and thanks for your question. This is a quite generic but concerning presentation. Differentials are many, from gastrointestinal diseases (infection/inflammations often dietary related) to any disease that can spread systemically (causing lethargy for example) like infection, and anything that can cause pain/discomfort. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is immediately essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics and possibly further investigations (like abdominal imaging as ultrasound or radiographs) may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat is eating properly but it is not moving and sleeping in a corner it is not moving even for food as it is going away when we go near it is is not moving fast and have skin allergy white rashes or like something are forming and it is using legs
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! The scratching is possibly due to allergies. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. She may not be moving much due to discomfort or there may be something else going on causing the lethargy. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental al
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hey, I have a 14-16 year old cat that has started to lick herself raw, she's seen a vet and they haven't found anything wrong. Is there anything I can do to help her?
This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. Abnormal overgrooming due to behavioural disorders (usually related to stress) should be considered as well as a possibility but all the other causes need to be ruled out first. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if y
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
my cat HAD bad fleas, they've been gone for a month but still gnaws around her tail and butt area so bad shes chewing her hair off or shes losing it and its 2 different things.
Besides having a flea allergy, she could have a problem with her anal glands and need them expressed. Have her examined by a vet to check her glands. If her glands are normal then your vet can prescribe a corticosteroid and/or anti-histamine to help with the itching.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, my cat seems to be have some behind troubles. She is 9 years old small mainecoon mix and I believe she may have an infection of some sort but I'm unsure. I can't afford to take her to the vet unless it is dire circumstances as I'm unemployed a
It looks like Karma may have an infection or dermatitis back there. It could also be due to an anal gland problem or even fleas. That can happen when they aren't able to groom themselves well. If she will let you I would try to help clean her back there as best you can with either just water or a gentle pet shampoo. If that does not help or you cannot safely clean her back end, you may need to take her to a vet. They will be able to clip and clean any wounds and she may need systemic antibiotics in order for it to heal.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Good Day, Our cat is around 14 years old and has been vomiting at least once a day for the last 10 days, he has also started over grooming around 4 weeks ago on paws . We started changing his diet for the past 3 weeks from j/d(Science diet) and Hai
I wold be concerned about the lethargy and the vomiting, although vomiting may be related to the change in diet it may also be related to kidney disease. More lab tests would be required in order to investigate the elevated urea and elevated red blood count which may be related to a degree of dehydration at the time of sampling also. A urine (especially specific gravity) and repeat blood panel (fasting at least 12hours) with a view to repeat assessment of urea, creatinine and electrolytes would be important to assess kidney function
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, my name is Clementina and my cat has got eczema, dandruff, and bad breathe. Her eczema is all around her tail, back, and head. She has got dry blood all near her head, back and tail as well. Her breathe smells terrible. She vomits, and has got
Oh my. Chewy sounds like she has a skin infection and advanced dental disease. These conditions unfortuantely require a vet visit to get a handle of with prescription medication and then you should schedule a dental cleaning with your vet. Bad breathe is also often a sign of infected teeth, so teeth extractions may be needed as well. I do hope that you can get Chewy in to your vet soon for a much needed exam and treatment plan. Best of luck moving forward. Take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat only ate half her dinner of wet food. Last night, she only ate 80% of her dinner. This has never happened before. I feel like she is more lethargic than usual. 2 wks ago, I brought her to the vet cause she had been acting strange for 3 wks. Le
I think you are right to be concerned. Something is making her feel rather bad right now and making her eat less. She is likely nauseous, which can happen in many different disease processes. Since she is on a raw food diet, I would be suspicious of an infection affecting the stomach or intestines. Raw food has been linked to a few different bacteria and parasites that can cause gastrointestinal infections, which is a big reason I don't reccomend feeding it. If the stool is loose or more frequently, then she would need to be tested for some of these diseases. Other causes can be pancreatitis, hepatitis, kidney disease and gall bladder disease. Routine blood tests can help to identify these potential causes. I think the pain response in the leg is unrelated, but worth exploring also. Overall, I reccomend scheduling a recheck exam with your vet. They will likely come to a similar conclusion and can better evaluate Sansa for any of these conditions. I hope that helps and Sans
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Found sore (raw) next to my cats anus today. Has been acting normal. Size: maybe of a quarter? Vet can't get me in til Wed. What 2 do until then???
Your cat could have a ruptured anal gland. She should be seen before Wed as she would need an antibiotic. If your vet can't see her then you should call around and see if you can find one that will. She shouldnt have to wait 6 days before treatment is started.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My feline Blu had fleas. Now she won't leave my chair except to eat and use her litter box. What do you suggest. he has been to a vet.
I would start by treating the fleas. Fleas can be extremely aggravating and cause some pets to have weird changes in behavior. With large infestations of fleas, they can also cause anemia, which can cause profound lethargy. Other causes of lethargy can range from internal medical illness (diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease), infection, pain from arthritis, etc. I would recommend that you have Blu rechecked by her vet to look into these possible causes. The vet may recommend bloodwork to see how things are going inside of her body.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 1 year old, healthy cat had a minor anal prolapse two days ago (red, raw anus, but nothing hanging out). She didn’t show any signs of discomfort about it and I didn’t notice her straining to poop. Today it looks almost back to normal but still a
Hello. Most often, impaction of the anal glands can cause intense irritation & once the glands emptied, the inflammation calmed quickly. Allergies can also cause this much irritation, too. I would have her seen by your vet if she has another episode, but since everything looks quiet, there is no need to rush her in. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored