Kitten Swallowed a Bottle Nipple.

So please help!!!!    My cat has a bottle nipple floating in his belly.  He is just under four weeks old.

I am a first time cat owner and recently rescued a Feral "Creed" at 2.5 weeks old and he has been happily bottle feeding and not interested in the sludgy soft food milk mix yet (i am trying) while i was feeding him and keeping a strong eye on the bottle i might add he managed to suck it off and it detached at the base and well its now floating in his little belly.   

Vet was great with him but initially we both almost  didn't think he actually swallowed it either, but we did an x ray just in case and there it was two big to pass into the intestines and he's two little for surgery.  They gave him medicine to throw up and it didn't' work they suggested a scope we went to the night er and they said one doesn't exist that small what on earth do I do (besides raising hell asap about this death product) they said a chance it just float in there and he'd be just fine and a chance he could obstruct once he grows a little or i switch to solids.  Read on line about peroxide but seem to only be safe for dogs...Suggestions?

Should i try this technique or no i'm terrified of it lodging on the way back up I've never done anything like this and my heart is breaking!!

I don't want him to die   

How Scary! Glad you took him to the Vets right away.

Kittens grow VERY FAST!  One of mine swallowed an elastic band without my knowledge she

stopped growing    it stunted her growth then after passing it she grew and grew.

By the sounds of it the best thing to do is monitor him very carefully making sure he's always hydrated well fed do what ever the Vet suggests and be patient. Know what to look for incase of emergency. I wouldn't offer him anything unless Vet approved, he's a baby.  *if you think it was a faulty product inform the company, normally a screw cap is over the nipple (?)

Someone else may have suggestions   

Please be careful with home remedies. I hope the little one is ok. Keep a really close eye on is bowel movements and vomiting. The other thing is to possibly get a second opinion. Poor little thing, let us know how the little one is doing.

What brand of bottle & nipple was that?  I have used PetAg and GNC bottles and that would not be possible because its hard for even ME to get the nipple out of the plastic rim to wash it, and it's hard to pull it back into the plastic top also.  Is it possible you had mixed two brands that were not the same size, so the nipple's base was too small for the plastic ring that hitches it to the bottle?  If you know the brand, and it came that way, you should post a warning review of it so it doesn't   I think all you can do is watch it carefully because if it gets lodged in the intestine, he will have to have surgery.  You might also see if there's a premie human scope that can be obtained from somewhere.  The GOOD thing is that right now it's too big to pass into the intestine, so it probably won't cause any problem for awhile.  I would NOT try peroxide or anything else to make him vomit because if he inhales the vomit, he could die of pneumonia from it.

You should switch to feeding with a syringe. I would hold off on the mush right now. He's not ready for it.

He's probably going to need the nipple surgically removed before too long. Have you talked to your regular vet about that?

No, do not try any home remedies!

How much is he eating at each feeding, and how often are you feeding?

Thank you all so much for responding!!  He is doing remarkable actually for the situation, the piece is still floating in his belly the 4TH vet we seen donated an x-ray last night to check and sure enough it was still there.  He also attempted 6 mil of peroxide and was afraid to give anymore and he again just looked at us like seriously what are you doing to me...  This vet was also amazing he invited us back in a week to have another x-ray to continue to monitor the situation.

The bottle I happen to buy from Pet Smart and I immediately went back to that branch and they have pulled the bottle off their shelf here in Tucson, AZ.  As well as the manager notified the district, and I am putting together a large amount of information to talk directly to the bottle maker about.  The bottle was the kitten pictured bottle kit by GNC Pets.  1/4 inch of the top of it was sucked off and that's whats in his belly.  Wish i could attach the x-ray!

So we are back to waiting and helping him grow I will continue to update!

Goodness! If you can get a picture of the x-ray you could upload it for us.

So it was not the entire nipple he swallowed, just the tip?

At what age are they recommending sugery to remove it?

when the vet has the xray on the screen of the computer-take a picture of it with your cellphone or camera-then upload on to here.

Hope all goes well. Glad that they pulled that product off the shelf..did kitten chew off the nipple? Can you post a picture of this product from one that's not broken? I can't picture how this happened.

Glad the vet is helping. Yes he is tiny enough it just bounces around inside tummy. Its when he gets bigger is when it can get into intestines. Contact the original maker of this product and let them know its unsafe-those photos from the xray will back up your claim and they will have to listen to you.

is it a jpg type image? are you on a desktop computer or phone?

on my phone I have to use google chrome in order to up load images. I normally use firefox but it acts buggy.

Maybe this will help.

creedsmom said:

 
Thank you all so much for responding!!  He is doing remarkable actually for the situation, the piece is still floating in his belly the 4TH vet we seen donated an x-ray last night to check and sure enough it was still there.  He also attempted 6 mil of peroxide and was afraid to give anymore and he again just looked at us like seriously what are you doing to me...  This vet was also amazing he invited us back in a week to have another x-ray to continue to monitor the situation.

The bottle I happen to buy from Pet Smart and I immediately went back to that branch and they have pulled the bottle off their shelf here in Tucson, AZ.  As well as the manager notified the district, and I am putting together a large amount of information to talk directly to the bottle maker about.  The bottle was the kitten pictured bottle kit by GNC Pets.  1/4 inch of the top of it was sucked off and that's whats in his belly.  Wish i could attach the x-ray!

So we are back to waiting and helping him grow I will continue to update!

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I hope the manufacturer or distributor will help with the vet bills

Did your kitten CHEW the nipple?  Thats something you have to watch when they start teething because they can make little perforations in it with their sharp little teeth, so then if they suck hard on it, yes, it could actually break off.  I always check my nipples by squeezing the bottle, if there's ever a new hole from teeth, I change to a different nipple and throw the old one away. 

Red Top Rescue said:

Did your kitten CHEW the nipple?  Thats something you have to watch when they start teething because they can make little perforations in it with their sharp little teeth, so then if they suck hard on it, yes, it could actually break off.  I always check my nipples by squeezing the bottle, if there's ever a new hole from teeth, I change to a different nipple and throw the old one away. 

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This was my first thought as well. Especially when they're of teething age they chew on it. Hope it all works out!