When to take cat to the vet?

phreerose

I noticed last night that my one cat seems to be having problems with his anal glands. He's scooting his butt along the ground and licking it a whole lot. 

I this a problem that generally will go away on it's own in a couple of days or does he absolutely need to go to the vet? Any home remedies that I could try? 

kellbell1919

You can try to express them yourself but he probably won't let you.  I'd go ahead and take him in now before they get infected.  We recently had this problem with our dog and waited too long; now he's on antibiotics and may need them flushed.  In the future you can try adding psyllium to his food or pumpkin, the extra fiber should firm up his stool and express them on their own when he goes.

mainerocks

I would take him in. This happened to my cat once and it was a quick office visit. It was worth the money to me to not do it myself ;-)

kellbell1919

mainerocks:

I would take him in. This happened to my cat once and it was a quick office visit. It was worth the money to me to not do it myself ;-)

Seriously.  The vet did it and the mental image still makes me want to vomit.  Ugh. I think it was $27 for our dog.

ndolehan

Yeah. Take kitty in. It's not anything you want to do. I went with our family dog once and had to leave the room. Stinky!

However, it was kinda funny watching him walk out (he was a drama queen) and he got to use the "doggie butt cologne"

phreerose

kellbell1919:

mainerocks:

I would take him in. This happened to my cat once and it was a quick office visit. It was worth the money to me to not do it myself ;-)

Seriously.  The vet did it and the mental image still makes me want to vomit.  Ugh. I think it was $27 for our dog.

OMG I really hope it's that cheap.  I've been trying so hard this year to stay on track with finances.

kellbell1919

phreerose:

kellbell1919:

mainerocks:

I would take him in. This happened to my cat once and it was a quick office visit. It was worth the money to me to not do it myself ;-)

Seriously.  The vet did it and the mental image still makes me want to vomit.  Ugh. I think it was $27 for our dog.

OMG I really hope it's that cheap.  I've been trying so hard this year to stay on track with finances.

I'd ask if they can have a vet tech do it and charge it as a vet tech fee rather than an office visit with the vet.  He was there for vaccinations anyway, and it was $27 on top of the office visit.

PolarBearFans

One of the cats needs his anal glands expressed every 6-8 weeks. It is only like $25 for a vet tech to do it.,

chicagobride_07

Yes, my cat has had a fairly recurrent problem with this as well.  Every time we take her to the vet, I have them check.  The vet expressed one of them yesterday for no additional charge other than the office visit (we were there for other, unrelated reasons).

ashc2010

As a Tech that has done this many times before, I will say you won't enjoy it and the cat will HATE it. But sometimes they need help and that's what we are there for. At my work it's $11 for an anal gland expression, without a Doctor's exam.