Anal Prolapse

[Astral]

Hi everyone,

So as of yesterday morning I noticed Dante had a small amount of bright pink tissue protruding from his anus. It went away within a few minutes, but after doing some research realized that I was probably looking at an anal prolapse.

Thankfully his vet appointment was the same day and I was also able to get him in a bit earlier. It did show up again, once prior to our visit and once while the vet was getting ready to put him back in his crate. Since I haven't seen him straining when using the litterbox and he hasn't had diarrhea since Saturday, she said it wasn't anything to worry about and was most likely due to stress.

She did advise that we could start transitioning him onto something more digestable, so we have begun the process of moving him off of Royal Canin Babycat and on to Natures Variety Instinct (just chicken for now). Since she mentioned it being a stress reaction I also picked up a feliway diffuser for his room. I've been trying to monitor his poops as well and they seem okay, if a little lower in volume which I would think is attributed to less waste from the Natures Variety.

I am still encountering it on occasion, particularly if I need to be away from him for a couple of hours, I will spy it when I return. I did also notice it once during play this morning, but that doesn't strike me as a time of stress.

Since this morning it seems to be protruding less, maybe more of a reddish-pink dot in the center of his anus than a pink nub coming out. He has also gotten in the habit of door-dashing and whenever I stop him and bring him back into his room I can notice the spot briefly again.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with a similar cause of prolapse, and wouldn't mind some reassurance that I'm on the right path with this. If it really is stress, I'm worried we might encounter an even bigger problem when my partner and I both have to leave him on his own for a full workday on Friday for the first time since he came home. If its not stress...well, I'd rather get him the medical attention he needs sooner rather than later.

Thank you all in advance for any insights you have to offer!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I agree with the vet that this is not too worrisome as it seems the prolapse is small and keeps popping back in? It's really just something you need to monitor in case it worsens... but I don't think you can really DO anything about it at this stage. When an anal prolapse gets worse then there are suturing procedures that can help but the best you can do for him is to keep his digestion stable so that he doesn't revisit diarrhea nor become constipated. A few days of normal stools and likely all will be well.

I've fostered a British Shorthair kitten that had a more severe prolapse and it took months to resolve, his was caused by constipation. but as an adult he is just normal and fine... a friend of mine adopted him so I get to visit him regularly, Master Thomas Sugar Buns (so named for the sugar solution dabbed onto the prolapse to help shrink it)

 

[Patti]

I have never heard of a prolapse being caused by stress... can't quite compute the physiology behind that one. From your description it sounds to me like when he bears down, such as gathering himself to dart through a door, playing and using his hind legs, etc. it tends to pop out. But I agree with your vet that as long as it is recedes on its own there is really nothing that needs to be done at this point, and he will most likely grow out of it eventually.

I had a girl who had fairly severe prolapse and was sutured three times, each time the sutures broke within a day so we finally gave up. Nevertheless she grew out of in within a couple of months.

 

[Astral]

Thank you both for the reassurances. It really helps ease my mind to know this might resolve on its own - I was in tears from worry when bringing him to the vet on Tuesday.

Speaking of worry, should I be at all concerned about him possibly becoming constipated on the higher protein food? I'm still of a mind that the switch to something healthier and more digestable is a good decision regardless, but I'd hate to make the condition worse.

Patti, I was only able to find one resource online that mentioned stress as a possible cause in kittens. I agree it doesn't make a whole lot of physiological sense - and its weird he would have symptoms of stress after getting past the first day or two of homesickness. Maybe stress has weakened the muscles and him bearing down exacerbates it? My partner is working at home with him today and said he spied the pink protrusion a few times in a 10-15 minute span but wasnt playing with him much, so maybe he's stressed with me being absent.

I do wonder if he might have some urinary issue as well since he does meow / chirp when peeing, but his vocalizations have been going down a lot since he first arrived which makes me think its more of an adjustment thing. The vet didn't seem too concerned when I mentioned the vocalizing.

One idea I've had is to start letting him explore the house a little with our DSH in another room, to lessen any potential stress over being locked in (especially for the few hours we cant spend in his room each night) and to reduce the strain on his bottom from door-dashing. Tomorrow marks one full week and I know the quarantine should really last for two. Is it too early to let him out for a few hours each day without contact with our older cat?

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I'm not sure about changing diets right now while your kitten is experiencing this issue is a good idea. At least to another kibble source. He's only been at your home for a week? I'd not change things up for a while...

And on that note, I'd probably not be letting him out into the whole house is a great idea... if you are wishing to decrease stress this IS going to be stress. The house is unfamiliar, it's a larger space and it smells like your resident cat. I'd be more inclined to keep him in the room he's somewhat familiar with...the worst that will happen is boredom. I'd want his bottom more resolved before I changed up anything too much.

Are his stools still loose or are they pretty normal looking now?

 

[Astral]

His stools have been normal / solid since Sunday. They were pretty dark compared to his loose stools the day prior.

He hasnt been eating much kibble, he didnt touch any that we had set out on his first day and only ate a small amount the next morning, but we fed him his wet food (half a small can of the royal canin babycat, gradually moving towards a full can as his appetite grew each meal) Saturday evening with a small amount of dry kibble mixed in. Since then we've been phasing out the dry in favor of more wet, but I had him on wet-only (1/4 can natures variety, 3/4 royal canin, 3x a day) after his vet appointment on Tuesday.

I did set out a bowl of kibble for him to graze on yesterday morning since it looked like things were resolving but again he's only shown passing interest eating a bite or two here or there. Its a 75% / 25% mixture of old (royal canin again) and new (natures variety limited ingredient turkey), though he already seems to prefer getting to the pieces of the new.

He is still averaging about one can per meal, 3x a day, with a little leftover here or there.

 

[Patti]

I agree with Brigitte completely. If you want to keep his stress down you don't want to be changing his diet or his environment. New diets can be hard on the digestive system, and new homes can be scary and intimidating. I would try to hold out for the full two weeks of quarantine at least.

As for the urinary issues, unless you see him straining to go, overly frequent trips to the litterbox, or discolored urine, I would not be concerned about his vocalizations during potty time.

 

[Rafiki]

Jammu would loudly meow every time he went potty and it freaked us out initially. But then we noticed that he never strained and his deposits were all normal. It turns out that he likes an audience. Not only do my cats use the same litter box but they frequently go together. They are now too big to truly fit in the box at the same time but are often there offering moral support or whatever to the other.

 

[Eddies]

You said: "I haven't seen him straining when using the litterbox and he hasn't had diarrhea since Saturday, she said it wasn't anything to worry about and was most likely due to stress.' & "His stools have been normal / solid since Sunday. They were pretty dark compared to his loose stools the day prior."....
My thought would be How long did he have Diarrhea?? If he experienced loose stools for over a week the muscles have weakened, time will strengthen, be on guard against constipation / dehydration for these will exacerbate the prolapse before it can correct itself. I've heard of the sugar but don't attempt to correct a small prolapse unless it's been over 5 minutes, use K Y Jelly instead & when you pick up your baby support his back feet so there is no added pressure on the abdominal muscles. Changing food adds stress, releasing into a home where other (unknown) cats have been adds stress, kittens holler for mom to come at the litter box for comfort; after all mom made this job easier at first...not normally a sign of a problem unless he WASN'T doing it & now is, bladder infection should be suspected for new hollers at the litter box. JMHO