Is This A Case Of Anal Sac Expressing On Its Own? Do I Need To See The Vet?

[haiitsvi]

My cat, Moody, has this on and off issue of a smelly bottom. However, it usually goes away after he uses the litterbox. Yesterday he leaked this smelly liquid onto my chair (while I was eating dinner nonetheless). But then he used the litterbox and now does not smell. I was reading a bit and thought it might be that he needs his anal sacs expressed but since it goes away and comes back i’m not sure. I made an appointment with a vet tech but i would like to avoid the trip if possible. Not willing to express them myself though.

 

[jen]

It is typical for them to express when they defecate. Sometimes if a cat gets startled they can accidentally express them. If they are leaking and you smell it when he is not in the box it could just mean they are filling up too fast and need expressed more often. Having the vet tech express them would probably be a good idea.

 

[LTS3]

Just a bit of anal gland leakage Sometimes they just leak out if the glands are full or if the cat just pooped. No need to see the vet unless you see butt scooting and constant licking back there. That could indicate impacted glands that does need vet treatment. The vet tech can check the glands for you and empty them if needed. It's really not hard to do at home but it can be a bit messy so do it in the bathroom where clean up is easy. I emptied my cat's glands the other day and brown smelly goo shot out My cat squirms a bit but is otherwise easy to mess with.

 

[haiitsvi]

Yeah I don’t see any scooting. He has had weird post-pooping behavior since I adopted him a few months ago but I’ve interpreted it as benign. Meowing before (I understand this as announcing) and running around after because he doesn’t like his poop. It might be a trauma-related behavior since he was rescued from a hoarder and may have had negative litterbox experiences previously. He does poop immediately after eating? And poops 2 maybe 3 times a day. I don’t know if that’s something to be concerned about. I’ve already dropped over $400 taking him to the vet for other issues so my cat funds are getting kinda low

 

[Jem]

How are his poops? Are they firm and formed or more on the soft side? If his poops are too soft they may not be putting enough pressure on the anal glands to express them well every time he uses the litter box.
You mention other issues, what are they?

 

[haiitsvi]

How are his poops? Are they firm and formed or more on the soft side? If his poops are too soft they may not be putting enough pressure on the anal glands to express them well every time he uses the litter box.
You mention other issues, what are they?

They are firm.

We went to the vet back in October because he was coughing/wheezing and I thought it could be asthma. We did bloodwork and everything and no diagnosis. The vet just said to keep an eye on him and see if anything in particular caused the coughing and I think it's over-excitement (food he really likes, toy he really likes). It used to be very frequent but I haven't seen him do it in about a month so I think it's a good sign. I reduced the grains in his diet and I think it helped.

I guess my question is if his sacs get filled and they do smell/leak but then he expresses them after pooping, do I need to get him checked out ASAP? Or can I wait until our regularly scheduled appointment in the Fall? The smell is obviously an annoyance and I don't want to be cleaning the couch etc. every few weeks but it's definitely less work than dragging him to the vet.

 

[jen]

So they aren't expressing when he poops like they should be, but then expressing randomly at other times is what you mean right? That could be an issue whether they just need manually expressed routinely or if there is an issue or infection going on.

 

[LTS3]

T

I guess my question is if his sacs get filled and they do smell/leak but then he expresses them after pooping, do I need to get him checked out ASAP? Or can I wait until our regularly scheduled appointment in the Fall? The smell is obviously an annoyance and I don't want to be cleaning the couch etc. every few weeks but it's definitely less work than dragging him to the vet.

No. The smell of the secretions is bad but no vet trip is needed. Just wipe your cat's butt to remove any goo that may be leaking out. You can attempt to express the glands yourself but it's best to have the vet show you how to do this. There are videos and articles online on how to do this if you want to avoid a vet visit.

When my cat's butt starts to smell bad and looks moist, it's time for his glands to be expressed. I probably do it once a month or so.