Experience with Ruptured Anal Glands?

My Callie, whose anal gland recently ruptured, is doing great too!  Gosh, I can only imagine how painful that must be!  I can see why your girl is having to wear a collar, since she's got a drainage string.  Don't know exactly what that is, but can only imagine that she would be pulling it out if she could reach it.  that all goes well

I hope your Callie gets better very soon.  We went last night to the vet and she got out her string and is now left with a very small wound.  They said 5 more days on the collar but my Trixie was so miserable and while they are family, they still do not understand so I decided to take it off and let her be free.  She is doing very well and not bothering it at all.  I hope the worst is behind me.  This was an expensive experience and I pray it doesn't happen again but if it does, I am going to a different vet I think.  I can't afford it again.  Wiped me out and according to all the other posts on here, it should have never cost so much.  Here is hoping your Callie has a speedy recovery <3 

Leah 

OMG!!! MY POOR POOKUMS OOKUMS (POOKIE). HE RUPTURED THE ANAL GLAND AT 18 MOS OLD AND IS GOING ON HIS 2ND DAY IN THE ANIMAL HOSPITAL AS WELL AS UPWARDS OF $600 FOR THE CARE TO GET HIM WELL. I CANT WAIT TO GET HIM HOME!! WE ALL MISS HIM SO MUCH! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN AFFORD EITHER.

HE MUST BE LOST IN THAT PLACE AS HE KNOWS HOW MUCH WE LOVE HIM!!

ANNJ40 said:

OMG!!! MY POOR POOKUMS OOKUMS (POOKIE). HE RUPTURED THE ANAL GLAND AT 18 MOS OLD AND IS GOING ON HIS 2ND DAY IN THE ANIMAL HOSPITAL AS WELL AS UPWARDS OF $600 FOR THE CARE TO GET HIM WELL. I CANT WAIT TO GET HIM HOME!! WE ALL MISS HIM SO MUCH! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN AFFORD EITHER.

HE MUST BE LOST IN THAT PLACE AS HE KNOWS HOW MUCH WE LOVE HIM!!

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Gosh, why does he have to stay in the animal hospital for this issue?  My Callie just went in and they cleaned out the abcess from the rupture, gave her a pain shot, and an antibiotic shot and sent us him with instructions for care.  I think our total bill was around $100

for Pookie

Hey there! Yes things do get better as long as you are disciplined in giving the meds at the right time consistantly til they are done. I have a 7 year old Seal point Siamese. Sadly ours wasnt noticed until he stopped eating/drinking one evening which is rare cuz Buddha loves food. He was cleaning his butt a lot & I noticed the hole & thought maybe it was a cut. We noticed hed been going to the washroom less as well. I know the dangers of their urine being toxic if they dont pee plus the not eating/drinking so we used milk that night to encourage him to eat something which he did. The next day we rushed him to the vet they said his anal sac ruptured & he had the antibiotics, the cream stuff you put through his anal gland hole, some liquid thing he absolutely hated getting shoved down his throat & another med too. I was so proud of my cat being so good with us constantly shoving things down his throat or in his anal gland & forcing him to eat plus the stool softner too. He didnt bite or scratch once to us or the vet. He has been good for a year or so now (they go back to normal a few weeks after treatment) but i noticed his other anal gland tonite has a very small puncture in it & is starting the same thing. It was the other anal gland last time so i guess we go back to the vets. Hopefully after this time he wont get it anymore but I dont know if there is any way to avoid it. Our cat is on a special digestive food cuz others have made him puke. Its also to watch his weight. We take good care of him, he drinks lots of water & is an indoor cat. He has lots of toys & we give him temptations once in awhile but honestly I dont know how these start. Its hard to watch though cuz you feel so bad for them. Keep strong, he will heal soon.

Amsycat1 said:

Hey there! Yes things do get better as long as you are disciplined in giving the meds at the right time consistantly til they are done. I have a 7 year old Seal point Siamese. Sadly ours wasnt noticed until he stopped eating/drinking one evening which is rare cuz Buddha loves food. He was cleaning his butt a lot & I noticed the hole & thought maybe it was a cut. We noticed hed been going to the washroom less as well. I know the dangers of their urine being toxic if they dont pee plus the not eating/drinking so we used milk that night to encourage him to eat something which he did. The next day we rushed him to the vet they said his anal sac ruptured & he had the antibiotics, the cream stuff you put through his anal gland hole, some liquid thing he absolutely hated getting shoved down his throat & another med too. I was so proud of my cat being so good with us constantly shoving things down his throat or in his anal gland & forcing him to eat plus the stool softner too. He didnt bite or scratch once to us or the vet. He has been good for a year or so now (they go back to normal a few weeks after treatment) but i noticed his other anal gland tonite has a very small puncture in it & is starting the same thing. It was the other anal gland last time so i guess we go back to the vets. Hopefully after this time he wont get it anymore but I dont know if there is any way to avoid it. Our cat is on a special digestive food cuz others have made him puke. Its also to watch his weight. We take good care of him, he drinks lots of water & is an indoor cat. He has lots of toys & we give him temptations once in awhile but honestly I dont know how these start. Its hard to watch though cuz you feel so bad for them. Keep strong, he will heal soon.

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Hopefully you've caught this 2nd one before it actually ruptured and the "cure" won't be as bad as that first one.  for your dear little Buddha. 

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum in hopes that I can get some help. I discovered that my cat Briscoe has a ruptured anal gland and now has an abscess. The vet gave her a shot of anti-biotics that will last two weeks an ointment for us to put on twice a day. I'm confident that it will be okay but I have never put ointment on her, especially in such a sensitive area. Also, it looks pretty gross and I'm a but freaked out. Any suggestions??? I'm a nervous wreck. She's also licking it a bunch. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Did your Vet also tell you to do warm compresses on it?  That is exactly what happened to our girl back last October, and exactly the same "cure".  She didn't like the ointment part, and I'm sure she licked it off within just a few minutes, but we applied it anyway.  Since you said "us", I'm assuming there are at least two of you at home?  That helps, because it took two of us to get the ointment on.  one of held her with her head under an arm with her back end facing the other person, then the "free" person had the ointment on a Q-tip and just quickly lifted her tail and rolled the q-tip over the area. 

If you are to do warm compresses, that part was easy.  We just got a washrag and wet it with warm water, wrung it out, folded it into about a 4 inch square and just quickly stuck it on her behind while cuddling her.  She actually seemed to enjoy that...I think it felt good to her. 

By the end of 5 days, she was completely scabbed over and no more ministrations were required on our part!  But  right after we got home from the Vet, her abcess was the size of a quarter .  ouch!

.  I'm sure Briscoe will be fine.  The antibiotic will do it's thing, and she'll keep it clean

Today, our 13 year old Siamese cat Vinny wasn't feeling well. He is the most loving kitty you will ever meet. He would let us touch him. Some I took him to the vet. While I was caring him in he let out a scream! He pooped all over me. So I thought. They gave me a towel to wrap him in until the vet could see him. When we got into the room the tech noticed Vinny was bleeding . His gland burst! My poor baby! She shave him cleaned, him up & cauterized the bleed. He is on pain meds and antibiotic. He has on a cone! (Which he will not keep on) Vinny seem to be feeling better. He purring!

meezer lover said:

Today, our 13 year old Siamese cat Vinny wasn't feeling well. He is the most loving kitty you will ever meet. He would let us touch him. Some I took him to the vet. While I was caring him in he let out a scream! He pooped all over me. So I thought. They gave me a towel to wrap him in until the vet could see him. When we got into the room the tech noticed Vinny was bleeding . His gland burst! My poor baby! She shave him cleaned, him up & cauterized the bleed. He is on pain meds and antibiotic. He has on a cone! (Which he will not keep on) Vinny seem to be feeling better. He purring!

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Glad he is feeling better. 

I have been reading all the replys to this and have figured out that each vet must have their own idea of how and what is best.  Makes you seriously wonder doesn't it?

My himalayan, Jules, anal gland ruptured 07/02/13.  When I saw it it was a large white shiny thing on his bum that he wouldn't get me look at.  I didn't know what it was.  I have had cats all my life and have never seen this before.   I rushed him to the emergency vet.  They told me and my friend to leave for about an hour and when we got back he would be awake and I could take him home.  They wanted to do sedate him and do something?? I told them no, he was 10 years old and would need blood work.  I really didn't want him to go through immediate surgery if it wasn't NEEDED.  They ended up cleaning it, gave him a shot of antibiotics and sent him home (no cone) and told me to take him to my vet the next day.  

I was there before the vet arrived 8:30am. He was busy and didn't really look at him until after lunch.  He gave me two medicines to give him twice a day and put a collar on him.  No ointment and was not told to do anything to the site itself unless it needed cleaned.  Jules went into the bathroom so he wouldn't get the collar hung up and puppy pads to avoid litter.  He won't use anything but scoopable litter. 

The wound was about the size of a quarter and after a couple days did start to get a scab but wasn't told to take this off.  My vet thoought this was a good thing.  Jules was on pain medicine for the first two weeks and antibiotics for about 20 days. The scab stayed on for about two weeks and the morning Jules was to go for follow up he managed to pull it off.  There was still a small opening toward the center that hadn't healed.  The vet then seemed to think it should have healed faster and was thinking of doing surgery ... but said I now could put neosporin on it but leave the cone on. (He has had the cone on since 07/02. The vet doesn't want him to lick the area.  

Since putting the neosporin on it has seemed to heal over and to me is looking a little better.   When I was there on the 29th it was a little pink but the scab had just come off so I thought this wasn't too bad.    He has an appointment on Friday and I am hoping all is well.  No surgery and he can get the cone off .... finally after over a month.   The vet did expel both and said I may have to keep an eye on this as no one is certain why this happens. 

If anyone has any ideas ... please let me know.   I don't want him to have surgery if it isn't needed.  And from reading the other posts not certain that it is.    Thanks!

This thread seems to have perpetuated through several cat episodes.  My cat Lewis has been treated for an anal gland issue over the years, and treated by several vets.  Please note that he has no problem pooping, everything firm and timely.  He never scoots beforehand or shows any sign of discomfort. 

The first time he erupted, we took him to the emergency vet because we discovered it late at night.  They said it would be several hundreds of dollars for them to "perform surgery" to clean the gland, pack it with meds, and prescribe antibiotics.  They recommended instead he be given an antibiotic for the night and see the regular vet in the AM.  About a hundred dollars later at the regular vet, he was cleaned out (without anesthesia), packed with meds, prescribed antibiotic pills for a couple weeks, and placed in the Cone of Shame for a few days.

A couple years later, he erupted again.    This time, new vet, spent around $300 to do a similar treatment - clean out, pack with meds, antibiotics.  Lewis took it like the man he is.  We did not make him wear the cone, just kept watch.  He pretty much left it alone. 

Not wanting a third eruption, Lewis now gets checked and squeezed every few months.  He goes in for a tech appointment only (no vet), they charge me $26 to squish his glands.  They say what comes out is hard, dry, and cakey.  Often there is wet stuff behind the dry stuff.  Clearly Lewis has a gland elimination problem, but not a bowel problem.  They aren't sure why it's not eliminating properly.  They aren't offering a permanent solution, at this point they want me to bring him in every couple months for a squeeze.  It usually ends up being more like every three months; time flies when you're having fun. 

In general, I'm not sure what the surgery is that needs to happen.  I suppose many cats wouldn't let the vet squeeze and clean the glands without putting up a fuss so anesthesia might be required, and I guess going under is considered surgery.  Lewis is pretty compliant.  For future protection, I would probably take your cat in every once in awhile and have the glands checked, to make sure they aren't building up too much fluid or drying out.   The vet offered to teach me how to do it.  Somehow $26 every few months doesn't seem so bad.    Good Luck!

omgosh, we are about to have our kitty have the surgery and we are only paying 300.00!!  you got robbed!!

Late one night, I noticed blood all over the floor. It appeared to be coming from my 11 year old cat. He was born outside my house and I have raised inside with me. He has never had health problems before so I had to race him to a 24 hour animal hospital. They said he will be fine if I keep him on medication for the next 5 days. So far he is doing better i hope my story helped   

rascalthestray said:

 

Late one night, I noticed blood all over the floor. It appeared to be coming from my 11 year old cat. He was born outside my house and I have raised inside with me. He has never had health problems before so I had to race him to a 24 hour animal hospital. They said he will be fine if I keep him on medication for the next 5 days. So far he is doing better

i hope my story helped 

 

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Glad he's doing better.  It's always scary when something like that happens and they have to be rushed to emergency .  If only they could tell us there is a problem BEFORE it gets to that point

debbie&van said:

Hi All! I am new to this board and would like to know if anyone has had experience with their cat's anal gland rupturing.

Some History: Van is a ten year old gray domestic with medium hair who has been healthy everyday of her life. On Saturday morning I noticed that wherever she sat down she was leaving a spot from her behind. At first I thought she had had diarrhea and she couldn't clean it off. Well, she wouldn't let me go anywhere near her behind so I tried to wipe off what I could and then left her alone. A little while later I noticed that she kept licking her legs and tail and that she was really wet on her backside. I got her to roll over and I noticed an area to the left of her anus that looked like a blister had popped. That's when I got scared and called the vet. Lucikly I got her in right away and the doctor discovered that one of her anal glands had ruptured! She had to stay the night so the vet could shave her behind, get everything cleaned up and get her on antibiotics. It turns out that this is the worst infection that the doctor has ever seen. I brought her home Sunday and am currently giving her antibiotics twice a day (a joy for both of us) and putting a cream into the hole that is in her bum from the ruptured gland. We go back for a follow-up tomorrow morning.

She seems pretty much back to normal except she has not had a bowel movement since before the rupture on Saturday. She has eaten and urniated but nothing else. Now the doctor may put her on a stool softener if she hasn't gone before our appointment tomorrow.

Now that all that is out I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through this with their cat and what the end result was. Did kitty get back to "normal"? Did this turn into a chronic problem? Any advice/experience/stories are appreciated.

Thank You!

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debbie&van said:

Hi All! I am new to this board and would like to know if anyone has had experience with their cat's anal gland rupturing.

Some History: Van is a ten year old gray domestic with medium hair who has been healthy everyday of her life. On Saturday morning I noticed that wherever she sat down she was leaving a spot from her behind. At first I thought she had had diarrhea and she couldn't clean it off. Well, she wouldn't let me go anywhere near her behind so I tried to wipe off what I could and then left her alone. A little while later I noticed that she kept licking her legs and tail and that she was really wet on her backside. I got her to roll over and I noticed an area to the left of her anus that looked like a blister had popped. That's when I got scared and called the vet. Lucikly I got her in right away and the doctor discovered that one of her anal glands had ruptured! She had to stay the night so the vet could shave her behind, get everything cleaned up and get her on antibiotics. It turns out that this is the worst infection that the doctor has ever seen. I brought her home Sunday and am currently giving her antibiotics twice a day (a joy for both of us) and putting a cream into the hole that is in her bum from the ruptured gland. We go back for a follow-up tomorrow morning.

She seems pretty much back to normal except she has not had a bowel movement since before the rupture on Saturday. She has eaten and urniated but nothing else. Now the doctor may put her on a stool softener if she hasn't gone before our appointment tomorrow.

Now that all that is out I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through this with their cat and what the end result was. Did kitty get back to "normal"? Did this turn into a chronic problem? Any advice/experience/stories are appreciated.

Thank You!

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What is the name and dose of the antibiotic? What is the name of the cream you were given?

Jakey said:

 
I've had cats for years and never this problem. Once a vet showed me how to "express" anal glands. Very unpleasant for person and cat and I don't think anyone should try it. I have little money and can treat a lot of things myself, but I would have gone right to the vet, like you did. Maybe the risks from that sort of infection justify the extensive treatment. I think most people don't even know cats have anal glands. You are a champ for treating her!

So glad she's recovering. I would guess it's not the sort of thing that recurs. Hopefully.

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How do you "express" the glands yourself?

KD4815 said:

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum in hopes that I can get some help. I discovered that my cat Briscoe has a ruptured anal gland and now has an abscess. The vet gave her a shot of anti-biotics that will last two weeks an ointment for us to put on twice a day. I'm confident that it will be okay but I have never put ointment on her, especially in such a sensitive area. Also, it looks pretty gross and I'm a but freaked out. Any suggestions??? I'm a nervous wreck. She's also licking it a bunch. Any help is greatly appreciated.

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What was the name of the ointments please?

I took my plum in today bc of a ruptured gland and I keep seeing that you are supposed to do some kind of compress and ointment.  My vet did not say anything about ointments or compresses or about her licking. I am so confused and wondering if I should just do them any way. Help! 

Allie Phillip said:

 
I took my plum in today bc of a ruptured gland and I keep seeing that you are supposed to do some kind of compress and ointment.  My vet did not say anything about ointments or compresses or about her licking. I am so confused and wondering if I should just do them any way. Help! 

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What exactly did your Vet do?  Did they give Plum antibiotics?  Did they clean out the abscess and now is there an open "wound"?  The reason for the warm compress is to draw out any puss (infection) that might still be accumulating in there.  Maybe your little one doesn't have an open wound?  When we did the compress, BTW, we just used a warm washrag for about 5 minutes maybe 3 times a day. 

As far as the ointment goes, Callie licked it off as soon as we put it on, which our Vet warned us about, so she told us it probably wouldn't do much good, but we could try it and see what happened.