Is there cat surgery for a kitten without a rectum?

My 7 month old kitten that was born with abnormalities-always loose stool, no testicles found during neuter procedure, just informed kitten has no rectum and no anal sphincter.

  • Vetinfo

    By: Kara McCarty El Segundo, CA

    Replied on 04/19/2011

    How has your kitten been passing stool? Is there a common opening for feces and urine? There are congenital (animal is born with) defects where the the rectum and urethra (Rectourethral fistula) connect or the anus doesn't form at all (anal atresia). It sounds like your kitten has the first as animals with the second defect cannot pass stool and must have surgery soon after birth or die. Surgical correction is possible but often has complications including peritonitis, fecal and urinary incontinence and/or strictures necessitating more surgery. In some cases surgery is attempted but unsuccessful as there just isn't enough tissue to connect things properly. You may need to take your kitten to a veterinary surgeon with previous experience with a case like his to have the best outcome and even then things may not go well depending upon the severity of his defect. Kara, DVM

More Questions on Anatomy

  • What is the usage of pisiform pad in cats' front feet?

    I wonder why cats have pisifrom pads at the back of front wrists? And why not at the back feet also?

  • The left side of my cats face tilts to the left.

    The left side of my cats face tilts to the left. She has become clumsy and has fallen in down the steps and even in her litter box. Her eyes move left and right. She did not eat for a couple of days. The doctor did test but do not have a clue. Do you have any idea what is wrong

  • My 19 year old cat has suddenly got a swollen abomen. Why?

    What could be causing his swollen abdomen?

  • Cat anal incontinence. Can I fix this?

    Hello. Recently our cat Tigger was hit by a car. He had terrible swelling and bruising in and around his bottom and a fractured vertebrae just above his tail. He had no obvious damage internally but the vet said there was more than likely nerve damage as his tail is lifeless now. He has not been able to regain full control over his continence and is dripping urine fairly constantly and the feces comes out randomly and he doesn't seem to have any control over it at all, or even know when it is coming. What can I do to help?

  • See all questions in Anatomy

Please do not use our site to attempt to diagnose or treat your pet. Your veterinarian is the best source of health advice for an individual pet.

Please do use our site to become better informed about the medical problems your pet may have. We will do our best to ensure that information presented is accurate and up-to-date. The most current information will be at the top of each page. Remember that veterinarians often disagree about the best treatments for pets. There are often several perfectly acceptable ways to treat the same condition. Just ask a lot of questions!

For all emergency situations, please contact your local Emergency Pet Clinic or on-call Veterinarian. Answers are not provided in real time. We can not guarantee an answer to every question, nor can we provide timely responses to urgent questions in many instances.