Because of comments in my earlier article on Cats' Anal Glands, and a few questions from readers, I decided this article was in order.
Question: My cat is 6 years old and every now and then she smells fishy. I do not see that she has any type of anal drainage or needs to be cleaned as she is constantly cleaning there. I do use a wet wipe and clean her up anyways and it seems to taken care of the smell for about a day. I just read about anal sac expression and how it smells fishy and her anal sacs need to be drained. Any idea of the vet cost to have this done? Can I do it myself; if so, how?
Answer: Because my answer is so detailed, I suggest you read the full article.
Other Suggest Reading on Cats' Anal Glands
Pardon the "Expression"
Please help with my butt-dragging cat!
Just the Facts: Anal Sacs
Comments
Be careful when trying the do it yourself method of expressing your cats anal sacs. I googled how to do this simple procedure so that I wouldn’t have to pay a vet to do it. Yeah, I was trying to save some $$$$! When I entered Tempie, she made SUCH a fuss. I should have used some sort of lubricant. Since I’ve seen my vet do this plenty of times, I figured I could pull it off successfully. Wrong. I managed to get one side expressed, but could not for the life of me get the other one done. To make matters worse, I had a cut on my finger and ended up getting a bad infection. I will not hurt Tempie again in the future for the sake of saving a few dollars.
Kelson, I agree with the first part of your comments about using caution with this procedure. That’s why my article is filled with caveats about having the cat examined by the vet.
However, I was a bit concerned about your “entered Tempie” remark. Expressing the anal gland is strictly an *external* process. Although veterinarians may insert a finger into the rectum when performing exams or in extreme cases of blockage, that is NOT the procedure to be used at home.
Your experiences are also a good example why I suggested having a friend help with the procedure.
I fished around for what seemed like hours since it was so uncomfortable. I wasn’t even sure if it worked so I ended up having the groomer at PetSmart do it. Like Kelson, I’m through trying this myself.
Hi
Sorry about writing here…but I didn’t know where else to write…I just wanted to know how I could get my blog listed on the blog directory about cats?
Cheers
expressing dog or cats anal glands is almost like popping a big zit. DO NOT try to express them from the inside. Do it from the outside and have someone help you hold the pet the first time or 2 that you do it. Just be sure to (duck) when you do it. Actually, best time to express them is when you are bathing them and use a paper towel to cover the butt hole as you express them so that it does not squirt on you, your walls etc. They can either squirt out real fast or be slow and globby but they are actually pretty easy to do. Maybe the first time you try to do it, you might take your pet to a professional groomer and have her show you how. Just remember, be quick about it when you do it because your pet will learn real fast what you are up to when you start messing around back there and will definately object to it. Good luck.
I have to agree that the secretions smell like a putrid infection and not “fishy”…… I mean, if you mean fishy as in a rotting fish left out in the sun for a month during a heat wave, then yeah….. otherwise, I’d sooner wear a fish as a breathing mask than compare feline anal secretions to an actual fish… sorry, I never comment on random pages but I needed to say this….
I agree with Franny. Kelson’s comment on “entering Tempie” is deeply disturbing.
Seriously? The last name didn’t give it away?
Stephany,
I made a slight edit to your comment. (No real need to add further emphasis to that particular subject.)
OK…. I have a question about these anal sacs! I took my cat to the vet because he seemed to be nipping and running from something under his skin. When I took him to the vet she did a lot of bloodwork on him and told me that nothing was wrong with him besides that his anal sacs were “empty”… when I asked what this means… she told me that his nipping and running away were “little siezures” he could be having because his sacs were empty… Now since this I have done a lot of my own research and I can find nothing stating what the vet told me! What does it mean; my cat’s anal sacs are “empty”, is there anything I can do for him? Is this a bad thing? Can anyone help me answer this? My cat does not seem to be in any real PAIN but I would like to know if he is in pain and if there is anything I should be doing for him. Ne-help or suggestions will be appretiated! Thanks
Jody, You should really talk to your vet some more and if you don’t feel like you can communicate well with them you should find a new one. I work as support staff at a veterinary clinic, and as far as I know empty anal sacs are a good thing. They are supposed to empty on their own when the pet poops. Seizures should not be related to this at all. The problem is if they fill up and won’t empty–then the pet messes around in back a lot because it bothers them. Talk to your vet. you want to make sure you take the best care you can of your cat.
I wondered what this stuff was until i now googled it. You can apparently stimulate your cat’s “anal sacks” but also rubbing your cats belly, if they will allow it. My cat likes me to rub his belly, softly but vigorously – he seems to find it pleasurable. However, I do it less often now. After a moment or two, he will let out a purr/meow, then SQUIRT! My cat is in great health, still rather young, he produces healthy stools – i would argue that cats will also secrete this odd goo when they are excited. Maybe rubbing their belly is like a tickle and they just lose control.
I have a three month old kitten. He poops regularly, and has no problem using the litter box. However, I have noticed that when he’s on me he smells poopy. I’ve checked his paws, fur, all over!! And there is definitely no poop on him. I have noticed that when I pet him while he’s on me he leaves little dots of brown liquid stuff (which I initially thought was diarrhea) on me (gross). Could this actually be from plugged anal glands? It does have a bad odor to it. He does not scoot on his bum. Is there anything else it could be??
I am also disturbed about this “entering Tempie” comment. I would never ‘enter’ Mayonnaise, but she had this same problem. Squirt, squirt squirt every month or so when I’m petting her while she’s purring/praying. Then all hell breaks loose. Droplets of liquid fear are all over my bed and the floor. A smell that no one should tolerate. I’ve had to throw away plenty of pillow cases, blankets and corduroy jackets.
the groomers at petsmart can express dog and cat anal glands. but if its too impacted they may explode…. bad thing… the vet can internally express them.
Hi my boy McCoy, is 3 Yr’s old this may 17, And is purbreed flatface Persian,and he’s about 13 ppd’s and every nite before I put him to bed, Yes I said put to bed, we go into the laundry room so I can see really good and I clean him up for the nite and it very much relaxes him so much that when were done I carry him to his own bedroom were he sleeps uppond the guest bed lights go out I say goodnite and off to bed I go and he actually stays till morning! Anyways when I brush him I did noticed that around his anal, I call it his wagon wheel I notice two pea size little bumps on each side of his anal and I remembered a friend of mines little dog smaller then McCoy groomed way squeezing it like zits soi went ahead and tried it my self and a bunch of Brownish and yellowish icky stuff came oozing out like snakes! That god he’s fixed or I heard he’d spray around the house if he wasn’t fixed, is that true? Well I’ve only done it three times so far, I would like to know How offen do I need to do this? Also as he lays there for me he doesn’t seem to bother him much at all, I think he likes it! Thanks for listening to my story! =^..^=
The lady who ‘entered’ her cat with her finger may have read or watched other tutorials online, so I wouldn’t exactly describe it as ‘deeply disturbing’. A lot of the tutorials do say to do it this way – in fact, most I read whilst looking for how to do it said this. Thankfully, I discovered the articles explaining the external method before I went for it!
My cat kicked up SUCH a fuss when I last tried to (externally) express her glands – in the end, we were both so stressed out that I gave up and thought i’ll take her to the vet. However, she came into her first heat today and when I got home from work and she was waving her bum in the air, I went for it and it was MUCH easier this time.
Oh my gosh, the smell is ungodly!! One of the worst stenches I have ever encountered. Definitely not fishy though. One little part of it was really dark brown / pretty much black and the rest was just kind of clear, mixed with ‘normal poo’ colour (kind of like oily, & reallyyyy runny diarrhea) – is this normal? Thanks!
My cat’s anal glands need regular expressing. I first noticed a few years ago that he often had little black scabs around his anus. At first, I thought they were poo, but one day, I picked one off, and it was like a giant blackhead with a black crust on one end and the rest being white and pasty. He then squirts out lots of brown liquid. I need to do his glands about once every three months. If you’re not sure, just check your cat’s anus for swelling and/or black dots that look like little round scabs. I strongly recommend the use of a paper towel or tissue, unless you want gloop spraying in your face (happened to me once) also, be sure to hold the paper towl to the anus for about a minute afterwards, as your cat will keep on spraying for a little while and is likely to drip everywhere if you let him walk off. As for a fishy smell, well I’d say more that it smells like very strong musc.