Kitten has swollen anus, red lump, & diarrhea.

Hi there,

I recently got a kitten from my mother-in-law. I've had him for just over a week now. He's now 6 weeks old. He is very active and eats and drinks regularly. About 3 days ago, when our kitten (Robbie), and our other cat (Bob; 3 1/2 y.o.), were playing we noticed the kitten had a very painful looking swollen anus. We picked him up to see what it could be, we noticed he has a red lump about the size of a pea on the top of his anus. He's been having diarrhea too. Sometimes he'll run to the litter box to go, and he won't make it and leave a trail on the floor. Before we let him jump up on the bed for bed time, we check to make sure no poop is coming out, and sometimes his anus looks like there's pus.

Do you have any suggestions on what this could be or causing this? I've been looking all over the net for any help and haven't found anything!

Thank you.


Hello, and thank you for writing in with concern for your kitten.

It sounds like your new kitten may have a rectal prolapse, or what may be the beginning of a rectal prolapse. He may also have parasites that are causing the severe kitten diarrhea. Please bring your kitten to a veterinarian as soon as possible, along with a fecal sample, to have him examined before his condition worsens. If it is a rectal prolapse, left untreated, it can become very serious and even lead to death.

Best wishes,
Dr. Neely