Rectal Discharge, Hard Abdomen, and Behavior Change

by angie
(south carolina)

QUESTION:

My boyfriend just moved in with his two cats. His youngest is a simeese cat about 3-4 years old (male). He has been at my house for one week now. On day 6, he started acting like his butt was bothering him. He even started hissing at me and growling when i got close. My boyfriend says his stomach feels hard and his rectum has some discharge. Could this just be from the stress of moving to a new place??


ANSWER:

It can have originated from stress, but the stress has caused something physical to go wrong. The symptoms you describe sound most like constipation.

This could easily happen to a cat from being in a new place with new litter box locations and new surroundings and the associated stress.

Of course, it could be other things too. Anal sac impaction is another possibility.

He definitely needs to be seen by a vet to make sure it's not something that needs treatment. It doesn't sound just psychological.

Thank you for writing, Dr. Neely