My cat Mittens who passed away 2 years ago, had an abscess on his anus about 5 years ago. Right next to it actually. I hadn't noticed it of course, I mean, who looks at their cat's butt? Anyway, he had been acting kind of funny that day. That night he slept on my bed like he did every night. So, I reach over and turned off the light and laid down. Just a few minutes later I smelled this horrible stench. The abscess had burst. It smelled so bad and was really gross. He had a hole next to his anus where the tissue had burst open. We took him to vet. They flushed it out and gave him some anti-biotic shots. I also had to apply daily, a topical cream directly to the area. Don't worry, I had a big box of medical gloves for the occasion. It healed up after about a month and he was fine.
The reason for the abscess was that his anal gland became impacted. Cats and dogs, and a few other small mammals, have what are called anal glands. When you bath your cat and dog it's best to empty it. Especially with indoor pets, since an anal gland is usually used as a defense mechanism. Being indoors, they never use it. Sometimes you may see a dog dragging or rubbing its butt on the ground. This can be because their anal gland is bothering them. You can empty it yourself when you bath them, or have your vet do it. Or if you have your dog or cat groomed/bathed at a store, they can do it. But having it done is important. Having it abscess becomes very painful, and believe me, is nasty if it bursts.
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