Located at the base of the animal's tail, the so-called paraanal sacs are usually regularly freed from the fetid secretion they produce. If, due to the aging of the cat or for some other reason, their self-cleaning does not occur, problems cannot be avoided.
If you notice that your cat or cat pays increased attention to the area around the anus, licks the fur there and at times starts to "ride" the booty on the carpet, you may suspect that your animal has worms. In fact, in many cases, the cause of this behavior is a blockage of the paraanal glands.
Signs of inflammation of the paraanal glands in cats
The paraanal glands are located near the anus of the animal and are normally emptied from their contents - a fetid secretion of a viscous consistency - during bowel movements due to the tension of nearby muscles. However, sometimes the animal cannot empty these glands on its own, and then it instinctively tries to do it mechanically. To do this, the cat or cat fidgets with its back on the floor, gnaws at the base of the tail and furiously licks the anus area.
When the paraanal glands overflow, their content thickens and at the same time begins to be actively absorbed into the blood of the animal, which provokes the appearance of severe itching throughout its body. If at this stage the owner of the cat does not take him to the veterinarian to clean the glands, their inflammation will begin, which will inevitably affect the nearby soft tissues. This is fraught with the formation of an extremely painful abscess under the tail of the unfortunate animal, which causes him a lot of suffering at first only when natural needs are coped with, and later at rest. If left untreated, severe inflammation can ultimately lead to the death of a cat or cat.
Treatment of inflammation of the paraanal glands in cats and cats
If you are attentive to your animal, you should definitely pay attention to changes in its behavior, which should lead you to suspect inflammation of its paraanal glands. You can try cleaning them yourself: to do this, firmly press a clean cloth to the animal's anus and squeeze its right and left sides together. If this does not lead to anything, contact your veterinarian - he is guaranteed to be able to clean the paranasal sacs using a method in which one finger presses on the gland inside the cat's anus, and the other on the outside.
If it was still not possible to avoid the development of the inflammatory process with the formation of an abscess, the doctor will open the abscess surgically, disinfect the wound and prescribe medications for its quick and problem-free healing. He will also tell you how to prevent blockage of the cat's paranasal glands in the future.
