Why is my cat's anus red and swollen?

[heathergladden]

I noticed she was dragging her bottom on the carpet yesterday. Tonight I looked at her backside and noticed her anus is red, irritated, and swollen. She's a fat cat who can't clean herself very well, but that hasn't been an issue for the year-plus of her inability to clean up after the litterbox. I haven't changed her food or water habits, but I am using a new litter. She goes outside for about an hour or so daily. Any suggestions?

[MikeyMark]

I took my cat to the vet, he prescribed an antibiotic (Amoxicillin) and an ointment for the irritated area.

After a couple days,  saw what looked like a maggot fall out of his anus.
It was tapeworms.

[cassie_plum]

I rescued a kitten he's about 7 and a half weeks old he's been to the vet and has gone through his Dewormer. His stool is sticking to his butt along with the litter. I keep cleaning him but it just comes back an hour later. His poor little Kitty butt is all red and swollen. What should I do!?

[KittyCatLover23]

A&D ointment is great but if there is an infection, it has to be cleared out first.

[janelovescats12]

Take her to the vet when you can. It sounds like a rash to me. I once was caring for a little girl kitten who had a very swollen butt area. I thought she was a he! I used A&D ointment and it helped loads.

[Explosive_honeycomb]

Was it the kind for humans or specifically cats? I need help.

[Haloge]

Agree on this. My cat has a similar condition. Megacolon is best treated by a vet, although it may work out very expensive.

Regards to all.

[hisnameistoothless]

my 9 week old kitten is having this same issue... have you been able to find an answers... this is an exact description of what is going on with my kitten and i cant take him to the vet until Thursday and i need to know if it can wait 4 days or if i should find someone to loan me the money until Thursday so i can take him tomorrow morning... please help

[fmjh]

OMG! I see tons of people giving advice and just guessing here. If you notice your cat's anus is red and swollen, they could have a condition called megacolon. That means their anal sac gets enlarged and poop builds up in there. Take them to a vet!! The vet might suggest an enema that's made specially for cats. Please be careful asking for and giving advice over the internet. Those giving advice, please don't guess unless you know what you're taking about. The only reason I know this is because my cat has this condition and we've been to a vet. There could be many other issues so please take them to a vet!!

[CCandTC]

Yeah, We didn't know she was getting all that at once as we picked them out on Tuesday and we were only informed that they were only getting de-sexed,

But for future reference I know not to get everything done all at once.

Thanks for your support I will have to get a few picks up of them.

[opus88]

well I am so glad to hear this good news, she is back healthy, eating, pooping and playing...what more could we wish for??? great news.

I would just advise you to not allow a Vet to give shots/dewormers at the same time as any surgery NOR do I like giving all the shots at one time especially if you are doing the rabies one....its very hard on a cat of any age to overcome so much into their systems all at one time.
The rabies is especially hard on their little bodies, I know in some areas they are required by law.....which is very unfortunate for indoor only cats :((

good luck and thanks for the update.

[CCandTC]

Thought I would post back to say my little girl is up and running around even play fighting her brother, Eating, Pooping and getting up to mischief.

They are up 4:30am every morning wrecking the house which is a good sign for both, I give the little boy a play date outside today which is probably the worse thing I could have done as now he is always at the door trying to get out lol.

I'm just glad everything is ok now without worrying about the next vet visit or bad news for them.

[CCandTC]

Hi, Thanks for your response
She had a temp check and being only a small prod she was a bit distressed,
The enema they used was about as thick as a pencil which that size getting shoved right up there tiny hole I just think it was too large for her.

The vet wasn't that rough but just the size of it I think it actually tore a bit of here rectum thus causing the blood. (I could be wrong)
I have removed the dry food early this morning as I read and know it takes allot of water from the cats body.

About an hour ago she went again to the toilet and found a stool about the size of my thumb nail 15mm x 15mm roughly.

I was a little happy to see that She is looking allot better now but I think she is still under weight which the food she has been eating has been small nibbles.

I will post back tomorrow to keep an update on her health.

Also have removed the kitty milk as I only have been giving them once a day just for something different.

Thanks Opus88

I really hope she gets better.

[opus88]

oh the poor little baby, I just cry to hear you describe her pain....its way too much at one time to have a little one desexed, wormed and shots...thats just so hard on them as you now are seeing. the poor little critter.
for starters stop the dry food....all dry food is already dehydrated and will in turn contribute to her dehydration...wet food only.!!! and I would also d/c the kitten milk it could be causing some of her constipation troubles(always follow Vets advice it he ordered it though)
give her the electrolytes via syringe with some additional water....and any canned food she will take, water it down just a bit more too, so she is getting even more water.
the Vet should have a product called LACTULOSE on hand or thru your pharmacy. give her a syringe of 1.5mls mixed with 2.5mls of water. give this once a day for the first day than 2x the next day if she hasn't had a poop...that is a stool softner and will help keep the poop softer so she can pass it easier.
Phone your Vet and ask if they have this or where you can get it. and check with them for the amount to give for sure.....
when kitties aren't eating much solid food, they normally aren't going to have alot of poo and what they do have will sit in the colon for a long time and get hard and dry making it hard to pass. so its very important that she gets plenty of fluids and this lactulose. NO more dry food.
If she hasn't passed anything in the next couple days you will have to bring her back to see a Vet, I know its expensive however you can't let her get a blockage....the enema shouldn't have been this painful...was the Vet rough?
good luck dear, please keep posting and luck to you and the dear little girl♥

[CCandTC]

Hi, We adopted 2 little kittens (Brother & Sister around 11 weeks old from a lovely lady who does rescues and hosts a cat shelter. Before we picked them up she arranged for them to be d-sexed, flu shots & wormed.
The girl kitten was under anesthesia for the d-sexing,
1 day after that we picked them up on a Friday and it took them a day to settle in to the new environment. The little girl wasn't eating or drinking and had no energy after the second day, Sunday we took her to the vet to see what the problem was, The vet said she was dehydrated, Lethargic and had a fever and said she had a heart murmur, She gave her a fluid injection under the scruff and gave us some electrolytes to give to her with a syringe, We gave her about 6mls first and more throughout the night, Also had to feed her using a spoon in bed, The next day she was allot better up and walking around even had a little bit of food from her bowl and we had provided the electrolytes in a bowl also with some kitten milk which she drank a fair bit of it.
Monday comes she still wasn't pooping from (Friday - Monday) so we had a appointment to go back to our vet prior to the first visit, They gave her another fluid in the scruff, They had to give her an enema which I will never ever have my animals go through that pain ever again. (Don't ever have your hand near its head as I felt her pain through her razor sharp byte)

She was in so much pain and stressed in the end she tried pushing so hard her stool finally came out it was 3" long and she had blood with it too,
They gave us some antibiotics to giver her.
She had come home after still crying all the way from the vets, We put her in bed and she was still leaking in pain.

She went to the toilet that night and had a small stool followed by a yellow wriggly thing (Worm)

Its now Wednesday she's still hardly eating or drinking as we had to syringe her some more electrolytes last night she is walking around and she tried going to the litter box and was meowing but nothing was coming out, I tried to examin her bottom and tried feeling her tummy for anymore hard lumps but nothing is their, She is really sore in that area as I lifted her tail to look and she cry's even when I feel her top above her tail.

I finally managed to lift her bottom up slightly and noticed a rich pail mucous inside,

I might take her back to the vet again, But this has been a very costly week for us,

Does anyone have another solution or have experienced this before that can help me with more information.

I hate seeing her like this as she has been through allot in the past week,

More information on her diet,
Water - Electrolytes - Whiskers kitten milk,
Whiskers kitten wet food
Dr B's Raw Turkey Patties (In Small doses)
Small amount of kitten dry food (Slightly soft)

I have given her 1 1/2 worming tablets crushed mixed into kitten milk and syringe fed it to her, Gave her 1/4 tablet of the antibiotics,

She has had a byte to eat this morning and she is looking allot better with more energy, But still isn't pooping as her bottom is sore,

She weighs around 1.3kg (Light for her age)

Hope this information helps as I want my little baby to be better.

[opus88]

I am assuming your kitten is at LEAST 6 weeks old? he sure needs to be nursing on his mom if under that age.
cats don't normally drink much water if any, in the wild they get their fluids from the blood of their prey. this is one of the main reasons why feeding dry hard food is so harmful to their systems...mainly bowels and bladder.
your kitty is having alot of pain from his dry dehydrating diet....I will give you as site to read on the evils of feeding dry food and all the complications associated with this, it is VERY important you feed canned food....before your kitty has some very serious bowel problems such as impaction or mega colon...
this Vet really promotes raw feeding..however by reading you'll find out that the next best thing is canned.....any type/brand is 100% better than dry. please read and switch your kitty asap.

http://www.catinfo.org/

[Autumnashley]

My kitten is a few weeks old. He was perfectly fine for the first week and then he was given some hard food and began having bathroom issues. He does not like water and we have tried many ways to help him consume some. His bum is red and sore and has poop hanging from it and I try to wipe it with a wet piece of toilet paper or paper towel and he freaks out from the pain. He does have issues with the bathroom and is whining a lot and is having trouble sitting.

[opus88]

IF your kitty does have worms its important to know what ones....an OTC dewormer will only kill a few of the most common ones...a stool sample needs to be taken to a Vet clinic for testing to see which particular worm or parasite your kitty may have than the Vet will give you the appropriate medication.
a raw poopy butt can also be caused by his food not agreeing with him and therefore he has diarrhea, what is his diet? can you try giving him another brand? do so slowly..a rapid change in diet will certainly give him even more diarrhea problems..
good luck

[shaunameek]

My big fat tabby cat also has a red, raw poopy butt. I started to think its because he is lazy and just too fat to clean himself but am now worried it could be because of worms...can I just buy a de~wormer???

[opus88]

did the Vet do a stool sample checking for parasites? I would think this needs to be done....

[Sreaves]

My adult cat just started doing the same thing 2 months ago. He eats, drinks, playful, sleeps, everything normal, except his anus is very swollen and leaking poop on everything. His stools are large with some signs of blood. Took him to the vet last month and he said my cat had rectal cancer. He doesn't have any of these symptoms and for a terminal illness, it sure just showed up over night. Someone please help. It looks like his anus keeps getting larger.

[Tigirl50]

Last Wednesday I rescued a three month old kitten, his bum was in really bad shape, I took him to the vet last Friday and got all the necessary
Shots, his bum is still in flameamd leaks, he plays and eats well, I make sure he has a completely balance diets of wet and dry food and lots of water.  How long is will this go on, I hate leaving him on the porch all the time since the weather is a bit cool.

[RachG52]

My cat has a sore bottom which is swollen looking and painful to touch, is struggling to go to toilet in her litter tray, is walking with her tail down and has been sick a lot today. She is fed on wet food and constant access to water. What does this mean as I'm worried and vets won't be open till Monday.

[charmaine25]

yh my kitten has a swollen bum all red looks sore :/ but she also acts normal and plays normal . . .  what do i do?
:)

[opus88]

first of all has kitty been checked by a Vet recently esp. for worms?

[lucilly08]

My kittens anus is swollen, red, and sometimes she leaks poop. She acts perfectly normal - she plays, eats, drinks, and sleeps just like she always has. Can anyone help me?

[lizzzz314]

Maybe your cats  have worms and need to be deworm , maybe she need to drink more water . what you should do is take her to the vet to get a check up , this problem can cause when the cats is getting a hard time ppooing its dehydrated  .