What's the scoop on anal glands?

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Bill Stock - 25 Oct 2005 01:38 GMT

I've read about impacted anal glands on the group, but what's really going
on here/there? What purpose do these glands serve, what kind of juice do
they contain, how do they get impacted?

Cleo has had a nasty smell since her Spay, which we asked about today when
she went in for her checkup. She had to have her butt squeezed of course. I
don't know if this was related to the operation or if it will be an ongoing
event.

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Karen - 25 Oct 2005 01:50 GMT

> I've read about impacted anal glands on the group, but what's really
> going on here/there? What purpose do these glands serve, what kind of
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> course. I don't know if this was related to the operation or if it will
> be an ongoing event.

Some cats (can we say SUGAR) need them expressed pretty frequently. I
didn't think she was having trouble and found out she REALLY had them
packed. I just have to take her in every 3 or four months to have them
checked. Others never have a problem. Pearl literally squirts if you
touch her at the right time, but that has gotten way better. In the
past I never had trouble with cats. My mom's Tycho (with loooooong
course hair) has had really bad impacted ones. Don't know what it is
but HHHHHOOOOOOEEE does it stink.

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Kreisleriana - 25 Oct 2005 01:52 GMT

>I've read about impacted anal glands on the group, but what's really going
>on here/there? What purpose do these glands serve, what kind of juice do
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>don't know if this was related to the operation or if it will be an ongoing
>event.

They anal glands are a vestigial part of the whole territory-marking
arsenal. They secrete a little of the stuff whenever they defecate.
They also sometimes involuntarily empty out when the cat is alarmed
(some of us have had this happen, it ain't pretty).

GW Ahead:

Some cats don't keep the substance moving through-- some vets seem to
think it has something to do with the modern cats' diet, and that
their stool is not hard enough to express the glands in the course of
defecating as normal. When this happens, the stuff builds up, and
gets heavy and thick. If not detected by the vet, and manually
expressed, it can lead to infected glands, which is very nasty and
nobody wants.

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Make Levees, Not War

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Bill Stock - 25 Oct 2005 02:15 GMT

>>I've read about impacted anal glands on the group, but what's really going
>>on here/there? What purpose do these glands serve, what kind of juice do
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> think it has something to do with the modern cats' diet, and that
> their stool is not hard enough

OK, Cleo has had the sh*ts so this may be part of the problem. She has
parasites now and was on antibiotics after her Spay for post-op infection.
Apparently both of these can cause diareah.

>to express the glands in the course of
> defecating as normal. When this happens, the stuff builds up, and
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Make Levees, Not War

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