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A secret stink bomb
Those of us with dogs know that some aspects of canine ownership can be really gross. One of the worst has to do with scooting: when our dogs do this, it means they’ve got a build-up in their anal glands that they’re looking to relieve. Ew.
We can either let our dogs slowly relieve themselves over time, give them a hand (more ew…), or have a veterinarian or groomer do it. My husband always handles this for our dog; he says it’s not so bad, and I’m happy to let him do it. I’ve made it very clear to him that if it was just up to me, I would let a professional handle this aspect of Chihiro’s care.
What I’m here to talk about today is the horrible discovery that anal gland problems are not related to canines. That’s right, cats can have them too. And it’s just as gross, if not worse.
We’ve always known Chrestomanci was a stinky cat. Upon his first interactions with Chihiro on the day we brought him home, he stunk up the whole room. We’d never smelled anything like it, and it was awful. With research and investigation we discovered that Chresti has stinky glands, and he expresses them when he’s frightened.
“All right,” I thought, “this is really gross, but I can work with this. Just don’t scare the cat, and we’ll all be fine.” And everything was: with these rules, we’ve almost never had problems. When I took him to the vet he was happy until they applied ear mite treatment. He expressed himself in a very stinky way then, but I’d warned the staff beforehand, and everyone was prepared.
Everything seemed fine; even if I admit that a small part of me was upset I didn’t know about this habit of Chresti’s before adopting him. But then, two days ago, Chresti expressed himself while sitting with us on the sofa. He was happy, purring, content, but nonetheless he skunked the place.
As pet owners know, absolutely the worst part of this whole disgusting process is that anal gland expression doesn’t just involve scent. There’s an actual discharge involved: one that can get on our hands, on our clothes, on anything. I could just about handle the horrible smell, but dealing with an actual physical goo that can spread: ugh, I’m shuddering just thinking about it.
I have a friend who is a vet, so I asked him about my stinky conundrum. He told me that cats can have anal gland problems, and while they’re most likely to express when they’re afraid, sometimes if the glands just build up it’ll come out. The question for all of us in this boat is: is there anything we can do about it?
First, we can express our cats just the way we express our dogs. I have a feeling, though, that a cat is not going to patiently behave for that process the way a dog will. So we can get a professional to do it, or still attempt it ourselves.
Another, rarer, option is to have the glands removed altogether. Most vets aren’t going to do this without good reason, because it’s an invasive surgery for superficial purposes. My vet friend’s only done it once, for a dog that needed expressing every week.
In the meantime, I can ask my own vet about my options, see if my husband will express the cat, or try to find a professional who will.
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Developing Cat Allergies in Adulthood