Experience with Ruptured Anal Glands?

mrskittles · Feb 7, 2015

Leah W said:
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

mrskittles · Feb 7, 2015

can anyone tell us if we can use neosporin for the ointment

mrsgreenjeens · Feb 8, 2015

MrSkittles said:
can anyone tell us if we can use neosporin for the ointment

As long as it's the PLAIN neosporin and doesn't include any pain killers in it, it is ok to use it on an open wound, but use it sparingly, as a little goes a long way.

reflex62 · Feb 14, 2015

I am totally about natural care. There are natural antibiotics that don't kill the good bacteria and they work. Although it looks scary, my 16 year old cat had the same kind of situation. I rinsed the area with cool water...she was not happy. In the ensuing days I rinsed with warm water. I put hydrogen peroxide on it...this was not food grade so I combed her hair to keep her preoccupied and then wiped the peroxide residue off. I sprinkled one eigth of a teaspon of organic tumeric on that area. I know she will lick at the area. Internal ingestion of tumeric is good. The wound looks clean. It is healing. I can tell by her demeanor that she is feeling better. Nutrition is so important. Nothing good can come of kibble. I feed and rotate with sardines, cod fish, flounder, chicken and grass fed beef. I add in greens - my cats love green beens and lentil beans, mung beans and lima beans...all great foods for the system but must be cooked well. I add coconut oil, fennel seed and basil Research. There is a lot of good information. Google ottowa valley dog whisperer for some of the best natural information. Give the body what it needs naturally and it will heal!!

onlygirl73 · Mar 11, 2015

I just noticed a sore on my cats anal area this morning. She is 8 years old and very healthy otherwise. I am not in the position to afford any more vet bills (my other kitty cost $3000! in vet bills last year due to a mega colon) so looking for details on dosing her with amoxicillan and using neosporin on the wound.

reflex62 · Mar 11, 2015

I believe in simple healthy approaches. You just have to be diligent with the routine. Attend to the wond three times a day.

Antibiotics destroy the good bacteria. Your cat needs all the natural ammunition it can get. My 16 year old cat had the same kind of issue about a month ago. It was an ugly, open wound. I cleaned it with warm water. I sprinkled natural turmeric powder on it which has vitamin C and is a natural inflammatory. When she licked at it, it would benefit her internally as well. Feed quality food to your cat. A teaspoon of lemon juice daily from an organic lemon is very helpful. Give your cat sardines in water. Do your own research regarding natural care. A great website is ottowavalleydogwhisperer.

At the end of the week the sore was healing beautifully. She is good to go at this time.

mrsgreenjeens · Mar 11, 2015

Onlygirl73 said:
I just noticed a sore on my cats anal area this morning. She is 8 years old and very healthy otherwise. I am not in the position to afford any more vet bills (my other kitty cost $3000! in vet bills last year due to a mega colon) so looking for details on dosing her with amoxicillan and using neosporin on the wound.

If you have a good repore with your Vet, then perhaps you could call them and simply ASK if amoxicillan would be good for this type of wound. Warm compresses can help draw out any puss that might be in there, after cleaning out the wound as best as possible, which might be pretty uncomfortable for her

When my girl went in for this, her wound started out fairly small, but by the time they got it all cleaned out, it was much larger, as they had to try to squeeze out all the gunk in the wound

, then rinse it all out with antiseptic cleaner. they she got antibiotics, then we were to apply the warm compresses 2 - 3 times daily, I think,for a few days, and apply an ointment. I've read that neosporin IS ok to use, just don't use the Neosporin Plus. Or you could try Bag Balm, if you've got some around.

mrsgreenjeens · Mar 11, 2015

reflex62 said:
I believe in simple healthy approaches. You just have to be diligent with the routine. Attend to the wond three times a day.

Antibiotics destroy the good bacteria. Your cat needs all the natural ammunition it can get. My 16 year old cat had the same kind of issue about a month ago. It was an ugly, open wound. I cleaned it with warm water. I sprinkled natural turmeric powder on it which has vitamin C and is a natural inflammatory. When she licked at it, it would benefit her internally as well. Feed quality food to your cat. A teaspoon of lemon juice daily from an organic lemon is very helpful. Give your cat sardines in water. Do your own research regarding natural care. A great website is ottowavalleydogwhisperer.

At the end of the week the sore was healing beautifully. She is good to go at this time.

Yes, it's true that antibiotics destroy bacteria, but sometimes they are needed. When anyone in my family truly NEEDS them (humans or cats) then we make sure to take Pro-biotics as well. Actually, we all take probiotics all the time to make sure our guts are working well

. When my cat had a ruptured anal gland, she was on a nutritionally complete raw diet, so I'm not convinced diet really has anything to do with whether or not a cat can have anal gland issues. This has been a debate for quite some time.

Glad your cat healed beautifully. I will say that my old girl healed very quickly, and I did attribute her diet to that

samus · Mar 12, 2015

reflex62 said:
I am totally about natural care. There are natural antibiotics that don't kill the good bacteria and they work. Although it looks scary, my 16 year old cat had the same kind of situation. I rinsed the area with cool water...she was not happy. In the ensuing days I rinsed with warm water. I put hydrogen peroxide on it...this was not food grade so I combed her hair to keep her preoccupied and then wiped the peroxide residue off. I sprinkled one eigth of a teaspon of organic tumeric on that area. I know she will lick at the area. Internal ingestion of tumeric is good. The wound looks clean. It is healing. I can tell by her demeanor that she is feeling better. Nutrition is so important. Nothing good can come of kibble. I feed and rotate with sardines, cod fish, flounder, chicken and grass fed beef. I add in greens - my cats love green beens and lentil beans, mung beans and lima beans...all great foods for the system but must be cooked well. I add coconut oil, fennel seed and basil Research. There is a lot of good information. Google ottowa valley dog whisperer for some of the best natural information. Give the body what it needs naturally and it will heal!!

What natural antibiotics are you talking about? All the natural antibiotics I know of (garlic and oregano, for example) aren't very specific and will kill a pretty wide variety of bacteria, including good bacteria, and you'll end up with similar issues (gut and other flora wise) if you take high enough doses and don't replace your flora with probiotics.

mrskittles · Mar 14, 2015

It could be an abscess like Mr. Skittles. I had to have it cleaned out. They did NOT have to put him under. Still costs $$ though. I found a local dog groomer shop that expressed the anal glands for me for $10! Vets want $20. I used a cloth soaked in the hottest water possible to draw out the infection. ( I say "Hot" cuz by the time you squeeze it out and get it to the cat, it's border line warm/hot). I was given the go ahead from my vet that I could use Neosporin, and made sure he had his E-Collar on.

mrskittles · Mar 14, 2015

My vet gave Skittles a sedative, and proceeded to clean out the abscess. Then they injected an ointment to prevent infection, gave him a shot and put an E-collar on him. Had to keep it on for 2 weeks! About a week after he was rechecked, I noticed it looked sore again. The vet said I could use Neosporin and had to put the E-Collar back on. I also tore up an old cotton t-shirt, soaked it in really warm water and used that as a compress. Then instead of paying the vet to keep expressing the glands, ($20), I found a local dog groomer who only charged me $10. I brought him in first thing in the morning so it was quiet with no dogs.

markvs · Apr 29, 2015

OMG! I just found this topic and I had to sign up to post my experience. I have a female cat around 11 to 12 yrs old. Her name is Shadow. This cat has always been obsessed with me. She constantly wants my attention or to lay on me or around me.....She is strictly indoor. We already use pine litter anyway and have for years........Anyway, I noticed she wasn't acting like her normal self the past couple of days. When I cleaned the litter box, there was almost non-existent bm's in there. Very small. I thought she was constipated, which has never happened before. She's rarely ever sick or anything. I have these cat shelves along the wall and she likes to get up high and stay up there. She stayed up there all day and slept. I kept hearing occasional licking. Finally, she slowly makes her way down to go to the food bowl. I looked at her but and OH MY GOD, it was this wet slimy stinky mess and I immediately took her to the 24 hr vet and she had a ruptured anal gland which he said is very common in cats??. Now she has to wear a cone and I have to giver her antibiotics.......This is the first time in the 11 yrs I've had her that we have had to deal with anything like this, although I do remember at some point a long time ago I had to give her pills when we first got her because she had worms. We got her from the human society back in 2005. She is the sweetest cat! I hope we can get her through this. She is GONNA hate this cone for 2 weeks. I'm so dreading this for her.

mrsgreenjeens · Apr 30, 2015

We didn't have to use a cone with our girl when she had an ruptured anal gland. We just had the abscess cleaned out at the Vet, got the antibiotic, and were told to do the warm compresses a couple of times a day, followed by an ointment (similar to neosporin probably, only for pets). Of course she licked it off after a few minutes, and the Vet told us she probably would, but just to try to keep her from doing that if possible...right!

She healed up within a week, and her open sore was at least the size of a quarter.

markvs · Apr 30, 2015

Well she seems to be doing good. I put my computer chair that she likes to lay in beside the sofa while I laid on the sofa. I put a white towel down on the chair and I do see some discharge on the towel. I took the cone off for a few hours and she did clean herself back there, but not continuously........I just wish she would EAT and drink. She doesn't act like she feels bad. I got some pill pockets and gave her the antibiotic and she LOVED those treats. She ate it no problem. So she totally went crazy for the treats.........But she had a BM last night at the vet, I think she pee'd at some point, but I'm pretty sure she hasn't been to the bathroom today or eaten any food other than the treat...she did drink a little water......I'm exhausted!

Oh, and get this - my other cat LEO, a beautiful male cat who scared of rain and storms or a loud truck going by, or the lawn mower, etc........Other than these things, he's usually big and bad with his tail up, but seeing Shadow with the cone on FREAKED him out........It's almost like he thinks there's a different cat in the house or something......

mrsgreenjeens · Apr 30, 2015

Leo probably things she IS a different cat because she smells different from being at the Vet, plus she looks different. My biggest male growls and hisses whenever any of the other cats visit the Vet

As far as the "patient" not eating or drinking much, that could be a result of the antibiotic. Sometimes those make them feel nauseated. However, it is critical that she eat. If she doesn't eat something soon, you will need to force feed her and then discuss with the Vet about perhaps changing to a different antibiotic. Cats cannot go long without eating or they can get Hepatic Lipidosis, which is a very bad thing. It won't happen overnight, but don't let her go more then 36 hours at the most. Plus hydration is very important too. Maybe give her some water from canned tuna, or even the tuna itself to get some food into her. Even more of those treats if she'll take them. Eating was not an issue with my girl once she went to the Vet and got cleaned up and started feeling better. She ate like a pig when we got home.

markvs · Apr 30, 2015

Oh I had 2 cans of Starkist tuna in the cupboard that didn't expire until 2017. Thank you SO much! I had given her treats so at LEAST she was eating that. It was so strange to me that she went crazy for the treats as if she was starving, yet wouldn't eat food.....So I took her collar off, opened the tuna and poured all the juice over the food and she ate for a solid 5 minutes........and drank most of the tuna juice....She still has YET to go to the bathroom.........She seems fine frankly - definitely better than when I took her to the vet, but still her butt....I know it's only been a little over 24 hours but I just wish she wouldn't try to lick it when I take her cone off.....right now it's off and has been for 30 min's and she hasn't even tried to lick her but, then again, I just gave her pain med's an hour or two ago.....It's funny, at the vet she weighed 11 lbs. The last time I took her a few years ago, she weighed the SAME! I always thought she was getting fatter, but I'm glad to know she's not.........

Is it OK for me to feed them the actual tuna? The only thing they have EVER eaten is natural balance low calorie which they LOVE and they always drink lots of water.......I know you're not supposed to change a cats diet but I guess desperate times call for. Here's a pic of her sitting in the floor for the last 20 minutes letting her food digest I guess. This is very normal behavior for her.......I'm wondering, when she does have a BM - is it going to be painful for her?

shadow.jpg

markvs
Apr 30, 2015

mrsgreenjeens · May 1, 2015

I'm SO glad she ate

Yes, it's ok for them to eat a little bit of the canned tuna once in awhile. We give ours some every time we have a tuna sandwich, just as a treat. We drain off the tuna water into 3 little bowls, then add a few pieces of the tuna into each bowl and now every time we open a can of anything they come running

Don't know why, because when it's tuna time, I always yell out "TUNA?"

Anyway, as far as changing their food, if you feed kibble, you should not just switch out to another kibble immediately...you need to slowly introduce the new kibble. But if you feed canned, you can switch that up anytime, and if you feed kibble you an add wet food to that without issues (supposedly). the only issues you might have is if they have an allergy to a issue with a certain food, like chicken or beef or corn, etc.

As far as pain during a BM, I'm not sure. My girl also never even got any pain meds. How large is the wound on your girl??? She's a beauty, BTW. Reminds me so much of my angel,

Sven

.

markvs · May 1, 2015

Honestly, I don't think it's quarter sized (I could be wrong) it just doesn't look that big to me. Yes I understand kibble shouldn't be changed but if it is it should be slowly changed, that's why I rarely change it, and I also buy the small bags and put them into a large ziplock bag and take the air out because they don't like the food if it gets old.....Get this, this morning around 8 am I gave another antibiotic and pain med, only she didn't really want the treat, she had just ate not long before that, but this time I was able to relatively easily give it to her. I think giving a cat a pill just takes practice....She is the sweetest calmest cat for the most part. It amazes me that we have bonded so much over the years that even if I do something to make her angry, she doesn't hold it against me.....I mean, there are times when she's so obsessed with me it's annoying, and I get MAD at myself for getting annoyed with her. She wants to lay and rub around all over me and purr like crazy. I don't think it's possible for a cat to love someone more than she loves me, so when this happened, it upset me so much.....

If this were LEO, Oh God......I couldn't imagine. He walks around proud and tough and pretty and sometimes he will even jump on her and I have to stop it. Not often. The thing about him - he just gets freaked out by the DUMBEST things! A knock on the door, someone walking up to put an ad on my front door, raindrops hitting the roof, the trash trucks coming by to pick up trash. I've had him since he was very tiny, so I'm not sure why he's so freaked out by these things, so I could only imagine him going through a traumatic experience. I'm sure that would be a nightmare. But he's a very healthy and beautiful cat.

I don't think I could own more than 2 cats though.....

I got them both at the Humane society - Shadow Feb 2005 (she was 1 year old they said) And Leo was a very tiny kitten (got him Feb 2006)

LeotheLYON.JPG

markvs
May 1, 2015

markvs · May 2, 2015

Thanks - I'm not sure it's quarter size, maybe 1/2 that. I'm not good at gauging it. Maybe I can try to take a picture. She went and drank water for a bit just now. She is licking her butt but from what I can see, she's not licking the actual area, but more around it.....There is no smell. The thing about Shadow is nothing really freaks her out, unless Leo jumps on her, which he does sometimes because he's a bully but I always stop it immediately.......it doesn't happen often.......She's the sweetest, calmest cat even during a bad storm or loud noises and even this! Had something like this happened to LEO, Good LORD! Leo is very different from her....He's so cute and loving and walks around with his tail high and proud as long as he's not freaked out by something....Here he is

I just took a pic of her butt. She's eating and drinking and has had one soft bm........It's been just over 2 days........Based on looking at this pic, what do you think? Sorry it's kinda gross...She sure does act like she's feeling OK.......Here's a vid I made of her earlier tonight.

Thanks

20150502_082003_resized.jpg

markvs
May 2, 2015

mrsgreenjeens · May 2, 2015

hard to say from the pix or the video. What I'm wondering is why it appears there are more than ONE abscesses? Is that just excess drainage ? I see two distinct spots. But no matter. If she is eating and drinking and appears to feel good, which is apparent from the video

, then she should be okay. If things decline, then you'll want to get her back in to be seen by the Vet before her next schedule visit.

Experience with Ruptured Anal Glands?

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