One of our cats (the pickier eater of course) has a very smelly, leaky anal gland. We have seen three vets about it. None of them have mentioned infection or anything. Negative for worms and parasites (stool looks good, not soft). Her anal glands were also very empty and not impacted when checked on all three occasions. A couple of the vets recommended Royal Canin Satiety to basically make their poop harder and larger to try to express better while using the litter box. Royal Canin makes me nervous for quality and is very expensive. We also tried all manner of Glandex powders and she won’t even look at them.
So I have two questions. The first is, has anyone had any experience with a leaky anal gland, rather than one that needs expressed, and how did it turn out?
Also, what are some good quality, high fiber dry foods? I found a list of high fiber foods on this site and they are all wet.
thanks!
Hi Deanne,
Thanks for reaching out with your question, that sounds like a tricky problem.
I've seen cats with similar issues to this in practice and I generally recommend fiber supplementation to firm up the poo.
We have a guide and a list of fiber supplements here;
https://cats.com/best-fiber-supplement-for-cats-with-diarrhea
https://cats.com/high-fiber-cat-food
Even though these are for diarrhea, they will help firm up stools. I would be careful not to give too much to avoid constipation. This will allow you to feed your cat's normal food along with a fiber supplement which may be easier to do.
If this doesn't make a difference and if your cat's gland is still leaking, I would recommend for a swab of your cat's anal gland to be sent to a lab to rule out bacterial infection.
We have some more information about anal gland problems here;
https://cats.com/cat-anal-gland-problems
I hope that helps,
Aisling