Plugged Scent Sacks

xocats

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My furboy Dexter is almost 5 years old. His scent sacks get plugged up. When he was about 6 months old, I noticed a swelling in his anal area. I took him to his vet & this problem was diagnosed. He was treated for plugged scent sacks that were infected. He recovered & did fine.

Now I keep an eye on him & can tell when his scent sacks are getting uncomfortably full. Because I can't do it myself...his vet's tech., expresses the fluid, at no charge. She said that it is best to leave them alone as much as possible because...the more you mess with them, over time, the more problems he can have. We only do it when it becomes really necessary...about every 6 months.


A couple of years ago, I took Dexter to a cat specialist for a 2nd opinion. He told me that "plugged scent sack problems in cats" is considered an orphan disease. Because of that, not a lot of research is being done because there are not enough cats with the problem for researchers to study it.


Scent sacks can be removed, but I was told the surgery is dangerous & the recovery is long & very painful.

I would love to hear from others who are dealing with this problem & how you treat it.

We need your feedback.
Thanks,
 

kathryn41

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Abbie has recently developed this as well. I noticed her 'scooting' on the floor just before her annual check up (she is 4 1/2) and when I asked the vet to check he said she was full and instead of being runny, it was thick and pasty. He expressed the glands and said to bring her back in a month for a re-check. Well, it was 3 weeks later and I noticed she was scooting again so I took her in. The technician checked and her glands were again full and it was still pasty. So we are on a monthly schedule to check and see. She has no other problems than this, and it is definitely worse if they become impacted. It is a $12 fee to have them expressed and while the procedure is extremely uncomfortable for the cat, I think that unless the glands are dangerously impacted and infected, surgery is not really a viable option. It would be good to knkow why they become full and don't express the way they are supposed to, though, and yes, I can see why there is not a lot of research done into this area. There are a lot of cats with the problem - I think it is more a matter that you can't easily determine which cat is affected and you can't re-create the condition at will so it is much more difficult to conduct consistent research, and it isn't likely to return a high financial reward for the time and effort invested in the research.

Kathryn
 
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xocats

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Thanks for responding Kathryn...
I did not realize that there were a lot of cats with scent sack problems. After Dexter's first encounter, I became aware that when his glands become almost full, I should have them expressed. That had kept them from becoming re-infected. Let's hope both of our furbabies thrive in spite of this heath challange.



Originally Posted by Kathryn41

Abbie has recently developed this as well. I noticed her 'scooting' on the floor just before her annual check up (she is 4 1/2) and when I asked the vet to check he said she was full and instead of being runny, it was thick and pasty. He expressed the glands and said to bring her back in a month for a re-check. Well, it was 3 weeks later and I noticed she was scooting again so I took her in. The technician checked and her glands were again full and it was still pasty. So we are on a monthly schedule to check and see. She has no other problems than this, and it is definitely worse if they become impacted. It is a $12 fee to have them expressed and while the procedure is extremely uncomfortable for the cat, I think that unless the glands are dangerously impacted and infected, surgery is not really a viable option. It would be good to knkow why they become full and don't express the way they are supposed to, though, and yes, I can see why there is not a lot of research done into this area. There are a lot of cats with the problem - I think it is more a matter that you can't easily determine which cat is affected and you can't re-create the condition at will so it is much more difficult to conduct consistent research, and it isn't likely to return a high financial reward for the time and effort invested in the research.

Kathryn
 

joanne511

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I hope you don't mind me reviving this thread, but we are going through the same thing with both of our kitties. They are now almost 11 months old (very close in age, but different litters) and both are rescues. We just came back from the vet again today and are discouraged at the prospect of having to subject them to this for years and years to come. I hope they may be two of those cases where the problems clear up naturally! *fingers crossed*
The vets said that they don't know medically why this seems to happen and suggested that we could try to increase their fiber intake via plain, canned pumpkin to see if it would help. Also we found that just externally expressing them wasn't getting it all so our female vet - who has smaller fingers - internally expressed them and got a lot more out.

Our kitten Chloe was the most obviously symptomatic with her scooting (she did it right in front of me to get my attention), but it turned out that Iris had the most that needed to be expressed and she showed hardly any signs at all. The plan is to keep a close eye on them and see if the increased fiber helps any. We'll have them checked again on our next visit.

If anyone else has heard of possible ways to treat/lessen it I'd like to hear about it so I can run it past our vets.

Thanks!
 
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xocats

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Joanne...

Dexter still has the scent sack plugging problem. I recently considered having them removed but the surgery has many risks so at this point I am not going to do it.

Do a search on the main health forum about scent sacks & scent glands. There are several threads about this. If you discover new info. about how to treat this please PM me. I will do the same for you.

Right now Dexter is treated with diet...Nutro Natural Complete Care Wt. Mgmt. because of it's higher fiber & he has his glands expressed when he becomes uncomfortable. It can be very painful for him because sometimes the fluid becomes quite pasty.

I wish there were simple answers to this terrible problem, for our sweet kitties.
 

twofatcats

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I took little Sheba to the vet a couple of months ago because I saw her scooting on the carpet. The vet found her anal glands were empty, but she had a small growth on the anus which he thought was probably uncomfortable and that's why she was scooting. At her annual physical about a month later, I asked him to check again, as she had started scooting again, and this time he did have to express her anal glands. That was less than a month ago and, wouldn't you know it, I saw her scooting again yesterday. Guess I'll have to have her checked out again. Between my three furbabies, it seems I'm going to the vet almost every week!
 
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xocats

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Because this is a difficult condition to treat...let's keep each other informed about our kitties vet visits & treatments. Hopefully, someday a research person will discover what causes this & find a solution. In the meantime, I really appreciate info. & support about from other members.
It is helpful to know that I am now alone with this frustrating problem.

Here's a hug for your kitty.

Originally Posted by twofatcats

I asked him to check again, as she had started scooting again, and this time he did have to express her anal glands. That was less than a month ago and, wouldn't you know it, I saw her scooting again yesterday. Guess I'll have to have her checked out again.
 

rang_27

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Just to add my two cents in here. My Levi's Anal sacs don't get plugged, but they do get backed up. I can tell because he loves to stick his butt in my face in the morning & the smell is very distinct. It's not easy, but I have expressed them myself. I read in a news letter put out by one of the vet schools (I think Tuffts) that cats with known anal gland issues should have them exressed monthly. I also read somewhere that the surgery is actually very difficult.
 

joanne511

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Thanks for the info and updates all. xocats, I will definitely let you know if I find or hear about any vets in our area with expertise on this problem.
 

lisalee

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Sash has done the "scooting" on the carpet almost his entire life. Not all the time, he goes in phases where he will do it almost daily or at least that I see him (he usually goes potty overnight) and then I won't see him doing it for quite sometime. My vet drained his anal glands several times and she did mention surgery for this condition once, but that was it we never discussed it further. My vet also mentioned this could come from being overweight. She said she didn't see impacted anal glands often in cats, mostly in dogs.


He goes to the bathroom regularly though and doesn't seem to have a problem with it so I don't take him in anymore for this. My vet also told me they can be expressed at home, I tried it a few times but wasn't too successful at it. But, like I said Sash has done this for a very long time with no other problems from it.

 
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