Gettng Ready to Take Bridget to the Vet

Bridget began scooting her rear end across the carpet last week. The first time I saw her doing it, I checked her rear end and found a small klingon. I figured that was the end of it. Saw her scooting again last night and, with the help of DH, held her down to check her. (she's a wild woman and hates to be held) Apparently she's been doing a lot more scooting than I just the time or 2 I saw, because she's got the fur rubbed off her rear and it looks swolen. I'm assuming she needs her anal glands expressed, so we're off to the vet's in a few minutes. The poor baby is going to totally freak out (as is her Meowmy). Thankfully, DH is off today and call help hold her.
We could use some vibes that it's nothing more serious than getting those glands squeezed out.

I've had cats most of my life. I know absolutely nothing about anal glands. Can someone enlighten me?

Sometimes cats anal glads can get plugged, and fill with a very foul fluid. Normally a daily bowel movement sufficiently keeps them clear but some cats are prone to problems.

My Bibbs (rb 3/05) had a real difficult time, needing her glands expressed periodically. Some cats have it so bad they have to have the anal glands removed. It's called Anal Sac Gland Disease, I think.

Cats can have an on going problem, or a once in a while thing. Constipation, stool that is too soft, and obesity can make the problem more likely, but those things do not have to be present for a cat to have the problem. sometimes it just is.

Scooting, spotting, or a foul odor from a cat's hind quarters can indicate that the anal glands are blocked.




Good luck with Bridget, let us know how things go!

If that's what it is, you may want to ask the vet to show you how to do this at home. It's not difficult.

My Tomas occasionally has his get a bit too full... when this happens if I pat him on the rear (around the tail) it will actually make them express a little. Usually on me, it's gross! So I have to check sometimes to make sure his are expressing themselves.
He has been having another problem lately that is causing him to drag his butt on the carpet. He's eating my hair! I'm not sure if he's getting it from the floor or off my head.

Just another possibility, sometimes your hair or even their own fur an cause a little problem.

Bridget did, indeed, have an anal gland that needed to be expressed----from the inside. gag It appears she also has tape worms, and possibly allergies that are causing an itching around her rear. The vet gave her an injection of antibiotics, some meds for the tape worms for all 6 cats, and some flea meds (since tape worms are caused by fleas). He has high hopes that this is a one time problem, as it just doesn't happen all that often with cats.
Thanks for the well wishes.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

He has been having another problem lately that is causing him to drag his butt on the carpet. He's eating my hair! I'm not sure if he's getting it from the floor or off my head.

Just another possibility, sometimes your hair or even their own fur an cause a little problem.

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Yeah, I've had a cat with anal gland issues, fortunately mild... And Aya likes to eat my hair, I catch her doing it all the time. It chains her poo together so that when she leaves the box she still has some dangling from her butt, and tries to scoot it off on my kitchen floor -yuck!

I've tried talking to her about the hair consumption to no avail.

Thanks for the update on Bridget.

My vet taught me how to express Bibbs's anal glands but I was never very good at it and usually had to bring her in to have it done eventually.

The hair eating worries me, as long strings (think dental floss, thread, tinsel) can cause serious problems. For those of you who mentioned that, have you spoken with your vet about it? Is hair fragile enough to break and not cause tie-ups in the intestines?

Both my cats have had their anal glands expressed - my boy was mildly overweight at the time, but my girl is a perfect weight, per the vet, poos every day like a champ, and she was the one who needed an anal gland infusion to take care of a small infection that was starting. And she never ever scooted or complained while in the box.

My vet said sometimes it does just happen, although sometimes you can link it to overweight or other elimination problems. My vet offered to show me how to do it, but, we looked at each other....based on the price, I decided much better to have the vet's office do it!

Glad Bridget did well!