Cat and abscess and bathroom issues

[Chris99]

My cat Beej has been having bathroom issues. It all started about 5 months ago (he's about 1 1/2 years old) when I noticed an abscess under his tail. He had surgery to drain the abcess and ever since he hasn't been able to defecate properly. His abscess took a long time to heal plus he was scooting on the floor. The vet suggested I mix Metamucil (powdered laxative) in with his food. This at least could allow him to poop, although not easily, but recently I've noticed he is losing his appetite (thus not getting any laxative) and it looks like the beginning of another abscess. The frustrating part is that the vet has no idea why this is happening and has never seen this before. The vet has ruled out any problems with his anal glands (although he may be missing one of them) and his sphincter seems to be working OK.

Otherwise Beej is a very happy and loving cat but I worry about his quality of living. This can't be the only cat with this kind of problem - any thoughts/suggestions would be welcome.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Welcome to Pet Talk Chris. I'm sorry to hear that Beej is having so many problems. I can't give you any advice because I've never heard of this before either. I hope you can find out what's causing the abscess and that Beej will start feeling better soon. Please keep us updated.

[jenluckenbach]

I am sorry, but the only advice I would give to you would be to try another vet. Somewhere there must be something that can be done. Hope Beej gets better real soon.
Oh by the way, there is a cat-lax in a tube form that you can give him without being in the food. I'd say try some of that too.

[Chris99]

Well, Beej saw a new vet 2 days ago (wonderful husband/wife practice) and we now have some hope that things will improve. This vet thinks that is is an anal gland problem (think the previous vet missed it because it was so infected). In his first operation, the new vet thinks the old vet inadvertently removed one gland when cleaning out infected tissue (not a bad thing - cat doesn't need the glands). Now the problem is that the gland on the opposite side is now infected. It seems Beej is a bit of an anomoly - he's is missing little ducts connecting the anal glands to the anal passage, so impurities are building up inside him instead of being passed when he goes to the bathroom. Figures this problem has been around since birth and have been slowly building up, resulting in the problems he's having now.

So the abscess has been drained - Beej not so happy about this whole situation and the cone he has to wear - and we'll go back to get the 2nd gland removed after he has healed completely.

Despite being very unimpressed, I managed to get Beej to purr and play a little bit today. Always a good sign.

I learned a good lesson from this - if the vet you're seeing can't provide any alternatives or hope after mutiple visits, get a second opinion. My frustrations with the lack of progress was almost as stressful as Beej being sick. Of course, no vet has all the answers but getting an objective second opinion in this case made a huge difference (they got me to request the previous vet's files which helped them in their diagnosis). It also made me feel less frustrated - I knew something was causing the abscesses and I wanted to get to the bottom (so to speak!) of it even if the vet didn't. Best decision I've made about this whole problem so far.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Yeah! I'm happy to hear Beej's problem has been figured out. It's always a good thing to get a 2nd opinion when things just don't seem right the first time.

I'm glad you got him to play a bit and purr. Before he knows it the cone will be gone and he'll be all better....forever!

[jenluckenbach]

I am glad you finally got a proper diagnosis and Beej is on his way to recovery!

[Denyce]

I am glad your kitty is on his way to painless potty times.


I always say.....

Not all vets got A's you know...some passed with C's.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad to hear that you got a second opinion and that Beej will soon become pain free and be back to his normal loving playful self.