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My cat has a hard, whitish lump near his anus. Is it an abscess?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered | 14 years and 2 months old | 13 lbs

My cat has a lump near his anus, the lump is hard and white-ish in color. I've been reading about anal gland problems that become abscessed and I'm wondering if what my cat has may be the same? He has been licking at his bottom more frequently, but I haven't noticed a change in stool when cleaning the litter box.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 6th, 2017

Thank you for providing pictures of Butters's lump! If he had an accessed anal sac, the area right around his anus would be swollen and pain, and you would likely see blood in the feces, constipation, and/or painful defecation. From the picture, this looks like a growth, which could be benign or malignant. Any suspicious lumps should be examined by the vet. The vet can perform a test called a fine needle aspirate on it. To do this, the vet sticks a small needle into the lump to get a sample of it's cells, and examines the cells on a slide under a microscope. It's usually painless to the animal, and relatively quick to perform. I would have Butters seen by a vet tomorrow to diagnose what is causing the lump so it can be treated as needed.

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    Answered By Cara, DVM, cVMA

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    That does not appear to be associated with the anal glands, which is good. However, I would still recommend that you take Butters to the vet so that the mass can be evaluated. They will likely want to take a sample by aspirating it with a needle and determine what kind of cells are present.

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