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Question:

Greetings: I have tried to get a thread going about anal glands a couple times here with little success. I think a pet owner needs to have an "experience" with them a time or two before their interest is stimulated……. I have, and must say that those particular secretions are some of Nature’s most  awesome…….Right up there with decaying flesh and Here is my opinion: You are not doing anything wrong. Periodically, anal glands get plugged up and that’s when it gets hard…….I had a boy who was very plugged up and when the vet "expressed" it ( squeezed liked the dickens ), his gloved palm was filled with what looked like dirty string. The poor guy howled like a banshee. The vet said it felt somewhat like squeezing a huge pimple or boil and that it was probably about six months worth. Not a fun thing, to put it mildly. They can indeed get infected. Not a fun thing either, but very treatable. I have had to poke a pointy-nosed tube into a large, gaping abscess "back there." Sometimes the problems get so bad, the glands are removed.   I have cat–sat for a sweet kitty who, when I picked her up, squirted some on me.                  ( Everything immediately went into the washing machine ! )  I found out on the internet that it can happen when they get excited….. But IMHO, when it comes out any other time but when they poop, there is too much in there……and should be expressed. I routinely have my vet check. Sometimes very little comes out, but it helps keep the momentum going…….I would definitely get a second opinion, even if only calling a few vets offices and asking what they think…… And finally, what for me is most important:  I firmly believe that if anal glands get impacted and are not dealt with, major problems like megacolon can begin. My vet said that when they get plugged, it hurts to squeeze while evacuating, so they don’t as much as they need to, thereby creating a backup that leads to constipation that leads to problems galore. I am firmly convinced this is what happened to my beloved boy and made the last year of his life an absolute nightmare because he could no longer poop on his own…..I won’t go into the gory details, but it was horrible….. So: don’t think you have to live with this….. Don’t think it is your "fault."  Get other opinions. Get those anal glands "expressed."  Do a Power Search at www.dejanews.com   I know there is a bit from this ng in their archives. And Good Luck !!    Regards—mc

Response:

>You both have to hit the shower?  Lately, it has been liquid?   >Sounds like you are putting your cat under an extreme amount of >stress.

I’m not sure exactly what kind of extreme pressure I’m putting K2 under. Are you refering to the content of the glands being liquid? Or hitting the shower? Picking him up? Anyway, I doubt he’s put under any kind of stress. What I would like to know is why this happens. So, if anyone here has experiences that can help or know anything about it I hope you will share with me. > One solution to the immediate problem is to stop picking him >up.  

Naturally. It would still happen when he sits down though. Thanks, Helle — Helle Haugenes A guide to good manners on the net: http://www.ukindex.co.uk/begin8.html Min nye hjemmeside/My new homepage: http://www.ifi.ntnu.no/~haugenes/ (Til norske lesere, vi flytter og