Impacted anal sac

[snakemama]

Sherpa has had a certain...fragrance...about him lately. Upon close inspection yesterday (he jumped in my lap and stuck his rear in my face) I discovered that he has an impacted anal sac. Actually, I thought it was a mass of some kind and was having a minor meltdown until my sister in law got a good look at him.

Luckily it's just impacted, not abscessed. My sister is such a wonderful person that she is going to help me get it un-impacted. There are great benefits to having a sister who is an RVT with more than a decade of experience at a cat-only hospital! My poor boy, he's going to feel and smell so much better tomorrow! (We would have gotten it today, but she's going to bring some gloves home from her work tomorrow so we don't have to go buy any)

My question to all of the PTers reading this is...how can I prevent this from happening again? He eats Taste of the Wild kibble in the mornings, and Chicken Soup for the Soul hairball formula canned food in the evening. Should I start adding a little more fiber to his diet? His kibble is 3% fiber and the canned food is 2.5%. Is there anything else I can do to keep him from having this problem again?

[moosmom]

I spit my coffee out on my laptop laughing so hard..."fragrance". Come on girl!! You're among friends here. Your cat STINKS!!!! P.U.!! BUTT B.O.!! We get it!!! LOL

It's great to have someone who knows just what to do. That is peace of mind in itself!!

Does Sherpa get canned food at all? I have 10 cats (well, 8 are mine, two are fosters) and I split 3 cans between them in the morning. Try giving him a little canned food with water in it. It'll put moisture in his system. Sounds to me like he doesn't drink much water. JMO

Oh, and ONE MORE THING...

You DO realize you're gonna have to BATHE him once he's, um, unimpacted, right??? Goooooood luck!!

[mrspunkysmom]

I agree with Donna, I'm eating breakfast and the title I see is "Impacted Anal Sac" Too late so I may as well read it.

Fragrance? AS long as you can write that title you might as well be honest. Be glad it's not infected.

Just basic rubber gloves will do. Probably should buy a pair just for cleaning the cat.

He will need to be bathed in the sink.

Is Sherpa overweight? Hind end too hairy to effectively clean the area? The two of you may just need to release the anal sac regularly.

Good luck. And he will feel better.

[catmandu]

My Mr Fluffy had that "air" about him as well .
Luckily it was just his " lefiovers" caught in the long fur on his bottom , and a dip in the Laundry Tub made him as fresh as springtime.

[snakemama]

LoL, ok...Sherpa smells like butt. Poor guy. He gets high fiber canned food in the evenings, but I'll be putting out a can in the mornings, too, I think. I never see him at the water bowl, which was one of the reasons I started adding canned to begin with.

He WAS an overweight kitty for a few years, but with a lot of hard work and exercise he's now down to approximately perfect. He may still have an extra half pound, but we're working on it and he can reach his behind to groom it.

Sherpa gets a lot of hairballs, so he's accustomed to the occasional bath and haircut. He's freshly shaved now, which made it easy to see the problem. Bathtime won't be a huge problem, LoL. Expressing the thing in the first place may be, it's a little tender...

[Catty1]

I don't know if a topical anesthetic would help Sherpa with the procedure? Ask your sister. Hope all goes well!

[snakemama]

Just a quick update: Sherpa is extremely upset, but he is no longer impacted and he's sparkling clean. He had an asthma attack during the procedure though, poor guy.

[mrspunkysmom]

Just a quick update: Sherpa is extremely upset, but he is no longer impacted and he's sparkling clean. He had an asthma attack during the procedure though, poor guy.

Glad to hear he is clean and sparkling. Sorry to hear about the asthma. Spunky has a very mild asthma. Hope he feels better soon.

[sallyandsnowx]

Poor guy. Sorry to hear about the asthma attack. But I am happy to hear he is all clean and smelling better!

[Karen]

So glad he is feeling all better!

[phesina]

Dear Sherpa, we are so glad you are all clean and shiny now and feeling so much better!

[Catsnclay]

We cat-sat a kitty with this very same problem last year. I had to clean that area daily, apply warm compresses & apply a topical antibiotic cream along with a oral antibiotic (the pink stuff). Peepers had to do the oral's 3 times because he was not healing as fast as the vet wanted. I had to come up with many a different way to give it to him. This area MUST be kept clean because infection can happen quickly, so wash the butt after every litter box trip if possible.

About a month after Peepers left Yoshi had the very same problem!! I asked if Peepers gave it to Yoshi, No. BUT(T) it was kinda strange that Yoshi came down with the very same problem.

Yoshi only required one round of the antibiotics & was really not fond of the compresses, but they really helped. I too was not fond of the compresses but knew they really needed to be done (Peepers took longer to recoup than Yoshi but we don't know why).

We were told that these things just happen. They are not passed between them, not in their food/water. It just happens. So, put your worst clothes on, make sure their nails are trimmed and have at it. A great bonding time.....