Adult cat sccoting butt on carpet

Question
My cat has been having ongoing problems now scooting her butt across the carpet.  This has now been going on for almost two months.  We first took her to the vet in September, and they said it was her anal glands impacted, and they expressed them.  Prior to this visit, we were also occasionally seeing small spots of blood on the floor as well.  

After a few days, she was still scooting and licking, and we were still seeing blood spots on the floor, so we took her back to the vet.  This time, they said the anal gland impaction had caused a UTI, so they gave her a 10 day cycle of antibiotics.  She seemed to do okay, no more blood, but still occasionally butt scooting...and still having stinky stuff around her anal area, despite us wiping her with baby wipes.  So, we took her back yet again.  Now, they said she has atopic dermatitis, and they gave her an injection of steroids.

This was about two weeks ago.  She seemed to do okay for a few days, but now she's scooting her butt again.  Not quite as often as before, but we catch her at least once or twice a day.  She still has the awful smelling stuff around her anal area.  We haven't seen any more blood, though.  

What on earth is going on???  Could this be something more serious?  What should we ask for at the vet tomorrow?


Answer
Moreso dogs than cats have problems with their anal glands.  These are their scent glands inside the rectum that should naturally release when they have a BM, or when they are scared or nervous.  Overweight pets have more of a problem.   Some pets will scoot to help empty the glands, to mark their territory or to satisfy an itch.  I would try to avoid steroid injections as that can lead to other issues such as diabetes especially if your cat is overweight.  I would recommend clipping the hair around the rectal area, and continue to use a baby wipe to clean her on a daily basis.  I would also recommend a diet change to a hypoallergenic diet such as that made by Nature's Recipe Rabbit & Rice in case their is an underlying allergy.  You may consider an x-ray to make sure that everything looks okay internally.