Is routine cat anal gland expression a chronic issue or minor problem?

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This appears to be a possible anal gland abscess rupture. This is a spontaneous thing that can happen in pets with anal gland problems, where the anal glands fill up and are not able to express normally. We think this is caused by an underlying allergy, which can be discussed with your vet. Sometimes giving your pet a high fiber diet can help prevent reoccurence. Peanut Butter needs to see your vet for a short course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine to help this wound heal properly. He may also need the anal gland to be flushed thoroughly while under a mild sedative. I would recommend scheduling an appt for him soon to get this taken care of. In the meantime, you can purchase an e-collar from your local pet store and place it on him to deter him from licking the area and making the inflammation/irritation worse. Poor guy. I hope he gets this resolved soon and is able to go back to his normal self. Best of luck and take care.

Hello and thank you for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! First question: It really does not matter when she eats but a matter of how much (how many calories per day). Eating twice a day is better than once a day so Misty does not get too hungry during the day and she can have a better blood glucose balance during the day. If you request a consult with me, we can go over calculating how many calories Misty should have in a day based on what food you are feeding her. A 4 pound increase in weight in a cat is like a human gaining 40 pounds. Second question: Anal gland impaction can be caused by the anal sacs not emptying their contents normal and regularly. Typically, both dogs and cats express their anal glands when they defecate. If the diet does not contain a lot of fiber or the animals is dehydrated this can cause a back up and can lead to impaction. Sometimes animals are genetically predisposed for this problem. Sometimes owner may have to express their cat's or dog's anal glands manually every few weeks to prevent an impaction from happening. Adding extra fiber to the diet can help (plain canned pumpkin works very well). I hope I have helped answer your question and if you wanted to chat further about the calories and food, I look forward to 'meeting' with you during a consult. Best wishes and thanks again!

I'm sorry but I'm not 100% sure what your question is so I hope I appropriately address you issue. If not, you are welcome to post again. If the anal glands have been expressed it is irritating to the animal so they will often scoot for a couple days after expression. Since it is irritating, they will sometimes poop small amounts like that. The URI should have nothing to do with this issue. They are two separate problems. I do not know what her diet is but I would strongly recommend you use Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I have had great luck with this food and issues like this. She is very young to already have anal gland problems and this food may help. You should be able to easily find this food locally. ( https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/cats/sensitive-stomach-skin-cat-food ) Change the diet slowly over about a week's time so that you cause he any GI upset. Start with mostly her old food and a tiny amount of new food and then each day increase the amount of new food and decrease the amount of old food. After 7 days she should be eating all the new food. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I am so sorry Bella is having issues with her anal glands. You can always add some canned pumpkin to Bella's food to see if that helps bulk up her stool a little bit so she can express her anal glands easier. Some dogs do need frequent expressions every 1-2 weeks. I would discuss doing an anal gland infusion with antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory to help with some inflammation in her anal glands. She may or may not need to be sedated for the infusion. Some dogs can tolerate it very well while others (typically when there is an infection) cannot tolerate it well and will need to be sedated. I hope her anal gland issues resolve soon and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

It sounds like the odor you are describing is discharge from Ed's anal glands. Anal glands are a scent marking gland (as you could guess) since they produce a very strong odor. It is normal to animals to express anal gland material when very stimulated or startled. I have attached an article below that describes anal glands. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=625 I had this occur with one of my cats when he was young, but it no longer is a problem. However, I would recommend having your vet examine Ed's anal glands to make sure they are not overly full. Sometimes cats will need their anal glands expressed intermittently to prevent them from expressing them. Good luck! Please let me know if that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Yes, that is considered expressing the anal sacs. I would only do them as needed. If you notice that Lolli is sniffing around her anus or scooting her bottom, then they may need to be expressed again. Best of luck.

KitKat May have full anal glands. These are scent glands at the end of her rectum. I would recommend bringing her to your veterinarian to have them express her glands to make herself comfortable. If they are not expressed they can sometimes develop into an abscess that can break open. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.