Best food for Anal Gland issues

Hello everyone,

I know there was an old post on here about wet food possibly contributing to anal gland issues; I just wanted to start a new one to see if there have been any updates since then. 

My cat is 2 1/2 years old and I noticed a couple of weeks ago that she was licking herself more than normal in her rectal area.  I took her to the vet and they found through a urine sample that she has a UTI which she is on Clavamox for.  Also, they found that her anal glands needed to be expressed.  They did this and the vet advised me to add some canned pumpkin to her wet food to make sure she has firm stools which will help naturally express her anal glands.  Since finding out that she has a UTI, I have removed all dry food from her diet (she was only eating 1/8 cup dry daily before, either Nature's Variety or Orijen) and she is now eating Wellness grain free chicken canned food only. However, she has been having pretty firm stools anyway, so I don't know if maybe the canned pumpkin will bulk up the stool and make it larger? 

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about the best food for a cat with these issues.  Wellness chicken and turkey seems to be the only wet foods she will eat.  She tends to prefer the pate style, so I have bought Merrick Purrfect Pate in chicken & turkey flavors, as well as Spot's Pate Chicken.  I have tried to get her to eat Hounds & Gatos chicken in the past but no luck. 

I also want to avoid recurring UTI's, so I am adding some water to the canned food everyday as well as leaving an extra water bowl out.  She also has a water fountain to drink from, but I hardly ever see her drinking!

Any advice or suggestions will be welcomed.  Thanks!

In a healthy cat fed a species-appropriate diet with normal firm stools, the anal glands are expressed naturally. However, there are some cats who seem to have trouble with anal glands regardless of the diet. There is a member here who feeds her cat raw, and the resulting stools are raw stools which means they are very firm. Even so, this cat needs the anal glands expressed every 6 months. So while I am sure there is a diet component to it, there must be something else at play, maybe a genetic predisposition? I see you are feeding a good wet diet. If that does not resolve the anal gland issue, I am not sure what else you can do for preventative measure. She may just need regular manual expression.

It does sound like she got a related urinary infection from excessively licking herself with the anal gland issue. I think if you can prevent her from getting to that state, the UTI will not be recurring. It's good you have a water fountain for her, but most cats who eat all wet food rarely drink water since their moisture needs are met by the food which is natural for them anyway.

Thanks vball91 for your reply.  I think you are probably right.  My vet says that some cats just have issues with anal glands and others don't.  I will continue to feed her wet only and I have been considered trying to introduce her to raw; I may eventually head in that direction. 

What are your thoughts on cranberry supplements, or any supplement for urinary tract health?  The food that she is eating contains cranberries already.

Thanks again for your help! 

Cranberries actually contain benzoic acid which is toxic to cats. There probably isn't enough in cat foods that do contain them to reach toxic levels, but why take a risk? There actually isn't much research that cranberries help with UTIs. There is a substance called d-mannose which is a sugar derived from cranberries that has shown some efficacy against e.coli and klebsiella bacteria in the bladder, so if those bacteria are recurring, it may be helpful. I honestly think that the best preventative for all urinary issues is a wet meaty diet. Moisture to keep the system flushed out and meat to provide a naturally acidic urine pH environment.

Thanks so much!  I am glad I asked!  I wasn't aware of that.  I will continue with her wet diet and hopefully this will keep the UTI from coming back.

I appreciate your reply and the information!