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Anal gland problem or just a stinky boy?

post #1 of 11
7/19/11 at 4:49pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all! My 5 yr old neutered boy Louie has a stinky problem. Every now and then he omits a horrendous stink from his rear end. I have never seen any discharge or anything wrong with his bum, but I've still nicknamed whatever it is "butt juice."

When he has some butt juice, it seems he wants to share it with me. He doesn't scare easily, and every time he has the juice, he's VERY lovey and will not leave me alone. It's only then I realize I've been ambushed with butt juice!

I have never seen him scoot his butt on the floor, he's never had litter box issues, he just STINKS every now and again and ALWAYS wants me to love him when he does.

Could this be his anal glands needing to be expressed, or is he just a stinky boy? Or is he trying to tell me I'm not smelly enough for HIM?
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post #2 of 11
7/22/11 at 7:01pm
Thread Starter 
Lots of readers, but no responses? Did I post in the wrong forum? Has no one else had this experience? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :-)
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post #3 of 11
7/23/11 at 8:49am
My advice - call the vet and ask for an appointment to check anal glands and express, if necessary. My cats have had anal gland issues - the check and expression was about $15-20, as I remember. If he doesn't have full anal glands (and mine never ever scoot either), at least you've eliminated one issue and the vet can pursue other causes.

How is his poo? And, just checking, not just a horrendous passing of gas? Although that is worth asking the vet about as well - maybe his food doesn't agree with him.

And, yeah, the vets are really used to appointments for anal glands. Most time they'll offer to teach you how to express them yourself, but as I understand it, most lay people, including myself, are more than happy to pay the $20! In fact, I have to take my boy in around Labor Day as his glands were slightly full in early July, and the vet thought by September he'd need a little help.

You don't want it to go too long, though - anal glands can become infected, etc.

Good luck!
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post #4 of 11
7/23/11 at 9:31pm
It is just a common anal gland problem. What is his diet? Does he have solid poops? Solid poops help release those glands with a bowel movement. If your cat has loose poops this is not happening and the gland get over-filled and will express at the most inopportune times. I would have your vet take care of it as you don't want an infection to arise. The vet can teach you how to manually do this at home, but most cats and their owners, for that matter, are not willing candidates for the procedure, understandably so. It is fairly simple though if you know how, just terribly stinky .
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post #5 of 11
7/24/11 at 4:10am
I was thinking gas. I've had dogs, and I've had cats-both had occasional gas. Cats smell far worse.

They also seem to enjoy it more.
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post #6 of 11
7/24/11 at 8:04am
I'll second the vet check, but it sounds a bit like anal glads to me. Wendel used to have a slight issue with stench. Until we got his food sorted out, he was having softer poops that weren't expressing his glands regularly. Diet sems to have sorted that out.
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post #7 of 11
7/24/11 at 12:01pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestions all!

His poops seem to be fine. Nothing soft, all well formed. I recently and gradually changed everyone's food to a new brand, but it doesn't seem to have given anyone digestive problems, and he had butt juice long before this.

resqchick: I agree, cat farts are far worse. Wee One is the farty one of my group, and it's very different from Louie's butt juice. So it's not gas, since he ends up rubbing it on my arm or my clothes - blech!

I will have the vet take a look at him, and I will happily pay the money if his anal glands need expressing, I won't be doing that myself! ;-)

Here is a pic of the stinky boy. He doesn't look like he's in too much distress, does he? ;-)
LL
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post #8 of 11
7/24/11 at 1:04pm
I love that picture! Nope, looks pretty comfy to me!

My girl's poops have always been nice and firm - yet she's the one who had an anal gland infection (and never once scooted or licked herself more than average). Sometimes it just is, but I'm glad you're taking him in just to make sure smelly butt is nothing serious. And, yeah, I'll eat ramen for a month as long as I don't have to express the glands myself.
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post #9 of 11
7/24/11 at 3:32pm
my boy used to have stinky scent as well. It didn't go away until I switched to a higher quality food. He was on Friskies before.. now he's on Soulistic and he hasn't make a stink since then.

Try a better brand of food?
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post #10 of 11
7/25/11 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Update: Yuck!! I was just sitting at my computer and Louie jumps up for some love. At first he flopped over on the desk (see posted picture) for some belly rubs, but I know he loves to be held over the shoulder so he can give me kisses on my nose and I can kiss the top of his head.

I'm holding him and giving him pets and he's purring as loud as a freight train, when all of a sudden, my left forearm feels wet. I put him down and see two wet lines on my arm and then it hits me - the stench of butt juice!!!

Is this normal for a cat with anal glands that need expressing? That they just leak like that? Or is this some kind of really gross marking behavior, as he only seems to do this when he's particularly affectionate?

I was gone overnight working, and I know he has a bit of separation anxiety (he is very vocal and clingy when you come home after a prolonged absence), could this be a part of that?

Just trying to gather some information before he goes to the vet. If it turns out he doesn't need his glands expressed, then the vet will probably want to know the specifics of "butt juice attacks."
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post #11 of 11
7/25/11 at 8:32am
A thing I found useful was to write up a little 'calendar of events' for the vet - times, situation, anything different happening, etc. Sometimes there are patterns we can't see til we rights things down. Good luck
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