Healing time after anal sac expression?

My 3 year old Maine Coon Regent had to go to an urgent clinic yesterday for his anal glands. We are both working long hours and packing for a move, so when he started acting strange, we figured he was angry about being ignored. Yesterday he was very lethargic, and then we caught him scooting his bottom across the carpet. We got him to a clinic right away.

The vet at the clinic said his glands were overdue for attention. After the glands expressed, Regent started pooping all over the place from where he'd been clogged up. The clinic sprayed him with a little water and gave him back to us. When we got him home, he had poo on his legs, tail, stomach, everywhere. We cleaned his hair, so at least that part is better.

Last night he perked up a lot and wanted to play. But today he leaked poo on the floor a few times, and he is still licking his bottom a lot.

Is there a normal healing time for this? Is this common? 

When I've had my cat's anal glands expressed in the past, there wasn't really a recovery time.  I would get him to your regular vet for a check up just to be sure everything's okay.  For my kitty, we discovered that a solely dry food diet contributed to her problem.  We added wet food twice a day with a bit of plain canned pumpkin added in and that helped tremendously.

I would talk to your normal vet about it (or take him in if need be).

Recovery time from an anal gland expression doesn't take any real time. They should feel and do better by later in the day if not the next day.

I have one cat that goes in every 4 months to have her anal glands expressed as she is unable to do so very well on her own (she eats the right foods to help).

Perhaps there is something else going on as well.

Thanks for the advice. We actually spoke to a vet nurse today because we were scared he may have absessed.

His glands had swollen really bad and been that way for a few days, so it strained the muscles around his bottom. When he felt the need to poo, he would run to the litter box and he'd drop a bit of poo as he ran because he couldn't hold it.

Never heard of that happening to a cat, but there it is. There was never any blood or liquid drainage. He finally calmed down Sunday night which was basically 24-36 hours after the clinic. Today he was much better. The redness is gone from his bottom and he no longer flinches when you lift his tail. No more dropping poo either.

It looks like he will be okay. We are moving across town in Feb. Then I plan to find a good vet for cats and have them do lab work. We are going to monitor the glands for several months to see if this was a fluke or a chronic problem. He has lived with us since Sept and this is the first gland problem we ever saw in him.