01 February 2013

Feline Friday: A Bad Day Made Better

 Warning: This post may contain TOO MUCH INFORMATION! :)

Being an overly attentive cat mama, I notice things about the kitties that would probably slip by others. Actually, I notice pretty much everything. But one night this week, I spotted Lily doing something quite unladylike that would catch just about anybody's attention: Scooting across the floor.

Now maybe you've seen a dog scoot. It's not nice behavior, and it's a pretty sure signal that something has gone awry in the lower end. It's somewhat unusual behavior in cats, especially female cats, but Lily has been doing it off and on for about a year now. 

I know the culprit. 
(Close your eyes if you don't want to read the answer.)
Clogged anal glands.

And I know the cure.
Expression. 
And I don't mean artistic. :)

So the next day, off to the vet we went. Lily didn't complain once on the way across town. Not so much as a meow. I took that to mean that she was feeling a bit uncomfortable "down there" and welcomed the assistance :)


When we arrived, she most definitely recognized the place. Yep, she's been here for this procedure three times in the past few months. 

Our Lily is not a cooperative patient and must be sedated anytime she goes to the vet, regardless of the reason. If I were a vet, I'd most certainly sedate her, too -- especially for this procedure! And this time, we really got our money's worth: In addition to "the usual", she also had a complete "gland flushing" for good measure. While she was sedated, she even had her nails trimmed!

So with squeaky clean glands and neatly trimmed nails, what started out as a bad day started looking a little brighter. And later, when she planted herself on my lap for the evening, a good belly rub made it even better!
  

2 comments:

KrissyB said...

That's certainly a happy "ending!" Thank you for giving us this information. I adopted two kitties last October, and if one of them ever starts scooting across the floor, I'll have an idea of why. Yay, Lily!

Kristina said...

Glad that Lily is feeling better!