Intestinal blockage surgery TODAY - Need advice!

Hi there, my cat is supposed to have surgery today, but I wanted to maybe see if anyone has an opinion on whether its the right course of action at this time.

Timeline

Friday

- 8pm - Come home from work, cat has vomited food and what looked like an entire rubber band (I still have no idea where it came from)

- 9pm - Feed kitty normal amount. Kitty throws up 2 hours later.

- 1am - Feed kitty about an ounce of wet food

Saturday

- 7am - Kitty throws up clear-ish yellow-ish liquid

- 10am - Feed kitty about an ounce of wet food

-10:05am - Kitty throws up

Kitty still purring, begging for food, stretching and acting normal through all of this. Lets me pick her up and pet her wherever (including belly).

Vet Results

Took kitty to the vet yesterday at 5:30. Kitty didn't want to leave the carrier (very unusual). Kitty extremely unhappy; terrible sound when vet held her down and felt her abdomen.

X-rays clearly show an out-of-place spot - there is what looks to be trapped gas in her intestines. Vet hypothesizes there is a blockage, but can't be certain. Recommends ultrasound & surgery to take place today.

Question

I'm fine paying for the surgery (sucks, but I'll make it work). But my problem is that my cat acts so entirely normal at home (aside from throwing up). Is it common for a cat that needs surgery to be acting like her usual self?

Cats are very good at hiding pain.  I am glad your vet is doing an ultrasound.  Trapped gas is highly suspicious for a foreign object but there are some other things that can cause it.  The ultrasound will be definitive.  I hope your kitty is recovered and feeling better soon.

Sigh, definitely not the answer I was hoping for. It just feels wrong to take a cat that's acting normal in for surgery. I can literally mash on her belly (even picking her up by the belly) and she doesn't care. I find it really hard to believe that she's in pain b/c surely that would yield some sort of reaction.

Also, I'm posting xrays and will follow up with what ultimately happens. Maybe my experience can help someone else in the future!

Cats are really good at hiding pain.

The below is an x-ray from Friday of Links leg. Its pretty obviously broken. He wasn't putting weight on it and I *knew* it was broken. When I found him he tried to get up and follow me as I got the carrier. He did manage to make it a few feet with the leg tucked up against his body as if it didn't even matter. However, my vet thought it might just be bruised before the x-ray came in because he wasn't responding to them feeling the leg for a break.

But thats him. He doesn't show signs of pain. He didn't want to go in his carrier and I had to push that leg a little to get him in and he didn't make a sound. The most he did when they were examining him was put out a paw with claws on the techs arm when they were checking his belly (which happens to be his no touch zone) and even then he didn't make a sound and didn't break her skin just get her attention. I had another cat who shattered his femer when I was a kid and he just came in the house and laid down as if nothing was wrong.

I know broken bones are different than tummy problems. The point is that our feline friends are tough and will adjust to anything without showing what we typically think of as signs of pain. I'd listen to the vet and do what they are recommending.