anal gland issues

My cat has had anal gland issues for a long time and I don't know how to help her. Is there any type of diet that people can recommended that would help? There seem to be two contradictory schools of thought on this.  One says you need to increase the bulk by adding grains like whole oats and the other says the problem is caused by too much fiber from a grain based diet.  I would be willing to try anything, including a raw diet if it would help. I feed her both canned and dry food that my other two cats have had no problem with.  One other thing I've noticed with her is her coat is very thick but feels brittle.  I don't know if it's just a natural difference in her coat or a deficiency of some sort.  I have had her to the vet several times for her anal gland problems and haven't had any satisfactory answers.  The anal gland issue in cats doesn't seem to be a priority with vets.

What kind of anal gland issues? Impaction? Do they need to be expressed manually? Any infection or rupturing? What is her stool quality like?

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? Trying a raw diet is certainly worth a shot. If that does not resolve the anal gland issue, I am not sure what else you can do for preventative measures. She may just need regular manual expression.
 

Here's a fairly recently updated thread with some other people's experiences with anal gland issues that may be helpful to you.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/187139/feeding-wet-food-anal-gland-issues