Is Your Cat's Bottom Bloody? This Is What It May Be
Finding what appears to be a wound on your cat's behind can be quite alarming, especially if you don't know what it is. Unfortunately, these kinds of things can happen at no fault of your cat's or any other animal's. If your cat has an open wound on its rear end that's bloody, here's what it likely is.
Anal Sacs
Cats have a thing called anal sacs. These are small pouches on a cat's body that contain the smelly fluid that cats use to mark their territory. While spayed and neutered cats typically don't spray to mark their turf anymore, they still retain their anal sacs, and the fluid is still produced.
In most cats, these anal sacs won't experience any problems at all. However, there are times where something can go wrong.
When They Go Wrong
Under normal circumstances, when your cat uses the litter box, the anal sacs drain while they poop. However, sometimes blockages can occur. When this happens, the anal sacs can't drain, and they end up becoming infected. If this goes on for long enough and fluid can't drain out, the anal sacs can actually burst, resulting in what looks like a gaping wound on your cat's behind.
Unfortunately, once an anal sac has burst, there's nothing the pet parent can do on their own to help their pet.
What to Do
What you need to do in this situation is to get your kitty to a veterinarian. They'll be able to determine right away if it's an anal sac that's ruptured or something else that's going on.
If it's an anal sac rupture, your veterinarian will perform a three process to fix it. The first step is to drain it of fluid to reduce the infection and swelling. Then, they'll remove any damaged tissue, and once that's gone, they'll stitch the wound shut again. Over time, it'll heal back together and will function normally again.
In the future, there are some hints that your cat may be having anal sac problems. They may groom their rear ends more than usual, or they may scoot their butts across the floor in an attempt to scratch themselves. If you notice your cat doing this, contact a vet right away so you can hopefully catch the problem before it ruptures.
Some cats will go through their whole lives without experiencing any problems with their anal sacs, but others can have ruptures so severe that it reveals the muscle underneath. If your cat has a bleeding rear end, get to a vet right away, as even if it isn't an anal sac, a bleeding wound is something you should never ignore.
If you have any concerns about your cat, contact an animal hospital in your area.
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