? Blood gushing from back end

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babyg

babyg

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This morning I awoke for her insulin shot and noticed bright red blood gushing from my cat's back side. And when I say gushing I mean gushing, just pouring out. We are at the ER now. What could this be? Anyone see this before? She's lost weight the last week and hasn't been eating well, which I attribute to a pancreatitis flare up and was giving her meds for. She did eat really good last night and seemed on the mend.
 
I'm so sorry. Bell had an anal gland rupture that caused a lot of bleeding back there. Can you tell if the blood is coming from the anus or the surrounding area? The anal glands would be slightly below and to each side of the anus.
 
bluesunshine said:
I'm so sorry. Bell had an anal gland rupture that caused a lot of bleeding back there. Can you tell if the blood is coming from the anus or the surrounding area? The anal glands would be slightly below and to each side of the anus.
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When I lifted her tail to check, it was hard to see with all the blood and hair (she is a long hair). When I put a glove on and felt around it didn't seem to be coming directly from her anus but somewhere next to it. So maybe?
 
I hope it is that, Bell's healed up pretty quickly (a couple weeks) from that rupture. Looked really bad at the time, but was amazing how fast it healed. Thoughts going out to you and your cat today :bighug:
 
Thank you. I'm hoping it's nothing serious. I will update once I find out more.
 
Bell was on pain meds for back pain when the rupture happened. I think constipation from the medication contributed to her rupture. I noticed her licking back there more than normal, and took her to the vet. The vet tried to express her glands but one ruptured during the expression.
 
You were right. So vet said it is a ruptured anal gland that is draining. They plan to give her methadone to sedate her a little so they can thoroughly clip and clean the area. She has a bit of a temperature so they will give her pain meds, antibiotic, fluids, and let the area drain and monitor her for a few hours before sending us home. Anyone ever use methadone before? Does this all sound normal?
 
I don’t have experience with methadone. All that sounds reasonable to me. I had to cone Bell for most of her 2-week healing period so she wouldn’t constantly lick and reopen the wound.

Poor kitty, I’m sorry. But I think of all the possible reasons for blood gushing from back there, this was one of the better outcomes.
 
babyg said:
You were right. So vet said it is a ruptured anal gland that is draining. They plan to give her methadone to sedate her a little so they can thoroughly clip and clean the area. She has a bit of a temperature so they will give her pain meds, antibiotic, fluids, and let the area drain and monitor her for a few hours before sending us home. Anyone ever use methadone before? Does this all sound normal?
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My cat got methadone when they had to sedate him to put a catheter in when he couldn’t pee. Sounds pretty standard as far as sedation/anesthesia goes
 
It's likely that it's buprenorphine or a similar derivative.

You might want to ask the vet if there is laser treatment for the ruptured gland available. One of our senior members' cats had a ruptured anal gland and the laser treatment was very helpful.
 
We should be heading home soon. The wound looks awful. :eek: Told she has to wear a cone all the time and to follow up with primary vet in 5-7 days to make sure it's healing. I'm not really to touch it or put anything on it; rather, to let it drain and heal closed on its own. Meds to give are Gabapentin and Clavamox. They said her kidney values are on the higher side and could be due to dehydration or could mean she may be starting to have kidney issues, so to recheck her kidney values in 3-6 months.
 
Interesting. Looks like it can be used in cats too, though, from what I can tell. We just got home so still have to research.
 
They also recommended to drop her insulin to 3.5 just on case since she lost weight and had all this going on that could have raised her glucose temporarily. Not 100% sure if good idea or not.
 
As long as you're testing, you can monitor what's going on with your kitty's BG numbers. The infection may have raised Baby's numbers. In some cases, once the antibiotic kicks in, numbers drop. I would be attentive to see if that's the case with your cat.
 
For pain they want me to give Gabapentin 0.5 ml (bottle has 100 mg/ml) every 8 to 12 hours... for antibiotic they want me to give Simplicef 0.5 tablet (tablet has 100 mg) once day for 8 days.
 
Bell’s wound looked ghastly as well, but I was amazed how quickly it healed. I took the cone off too soon (I thought she was healed enough to) and she ended up reopening it. Even with that setback, she was healed up in ~12 days.

The gaba really put her in la la land, not sure that’s the same for most cats, but seemed to help her tolerate the cone and healing.
 
The plastic cone they gave us is going to be a definite no-go because within the first minute, she tried biting it and it got stuck in her mouth between her jaws and she was struggling and I started freaking out. I can try getting her a soft donut-type cone from the pet store tomorrow, but I honestly don't think she even needs anything. She's a bigger girl and also older/not as flexible. I haven't seen her reach her butt in ages (that's why I use pet wipes to clean her every now and then). I am still nervous, though, to leave her alone when I work tomorrow. I'm the biggest worry-wart ever.
 
bluesunshine said:
Bell’s wound looked ghastly as well, but I was amazed how quickly it healed. I took the cone off too soon (I thought she was healed enough to) and she ended up reopening it. Even with that setback, she was healed up in ~12 days.
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That's encouraging. I really hope Baby heals quickly too.
 
babyg said:
The plastic cone they gave us is going to be a definite no-go because within the first minute, she tried biting it and it got stuck in her mouth between her jaws and she was struggling and I started freaking out. I can try getting her a soft donut-type cone from the pet store tomorrow, but I honestly don't think she even needs anything. She's a bigger girl and also older/not as flexible. I haven't seen her reach her butt in ages (that's why I use pet wipes to clean her every now and then). I am still nervous, though, to leave her alone when I work tomorrow. I'm the biggest worry-wart ever.
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Yeah I was the same way. At first I was so stressed about the cone making her miserable, then when I took it off I was so stressed about her getting at the wound :D. I eventually decided the stress of her reopening it was more than the cone stress and just left it on. Bell could definitely reach back there tho.
 
A few minutes ago she was resting her head on her water bowl; glucose over 400; but when they tested her at hospital she doesn't have DKA. As soon as we got home she was drinking, drinking, drinking. Not sure if I should be concerned about this. Trying to see if can get her to eat more because she hasn't eaten much today with how long we were there.

Edited to add: got her eating some solid food and will try to catch a urine test to make sure no ketones but at least she ate.
 
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Glucose tested now at 504. I haven't seen her that high in ages. Tested negative for ketones. Appetite not normal yet.
 
@bluesunshine did you put anything on your cat's wound? The vet told me to do nothing except watch it. Didn't tell me to touch or clean it except to use baby soap if the area gets excessively dirty. I just feel like it looks so gooey and icky and moist back there, how can it heal properly? I feel like I should be cleaning or drying or rinsing it...just something.
 
They sent me home with some medicated wet wipes and told me to use those once a day. I felt the same way. She had some whitish discharge back there before it eventually scabbed up. I didn’t use anything outside of the occasional medicated wipes.
 
At least you got the wipes lol. I wish I'd have gotten something. Today I kind of cleaned around the surrounding area a bit (but did not go near the wound itself) using a little baby shampoo and water.
 
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