advice

I just went to a vet today to check my cat's health. She has been acting lethargic and hasn't eaten in 3 days. I was really worried that she might have contracted feline leukemia, as recently I started letting her go outside and play with other cats.

Well, the doctor didn't even want to check her blood. Instead, he wanted to do x-rays and see if there is a foreign body stuck in her intestines. It turns out she has either an unidentifyable air bubble or a foreign object stuck inside her. If it is just gas, the doc says in tomorrow's x-rays it would have dissipated. If it hasn't that means it is a foreign object in which case the only solution is to operate.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Do you have any advice for me? The visit today cost me $130 (a lot more than I expected) and tomorrow will add to that. I hate to be concerned about money when my kitty's health is in question, but I am concerned. The operation would be at least $500. I need advice from any of you as to whether the operation is the only way I could help her if it does turn out she has a foreign body stuck inside her. Also, any opinion on the reliability of x-rays in diagnosing the presence of foreign body inside cats would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for your attention in advance.

Best to all animal lovers!

It sounds like you have a very experienced vet. You can generally tell if there's an obstruction just by feel, but to be sure, yes an x ray is the most accurate. The only way to remove it is to do the surgery. It is a fairly simple (compared to others) surgery and she should recover very well. If she were mine, I would have it done and then maybe try and keep her inside where I knew she wouldn't get into anything.

Thanks, Sandy. This sounds reassuring. I always thought that she would be happier if she was an inside-outside cat... but I think I will seriously consider your advice to keep her inside...

By the way, I really enjoyed your web site -- I didn't even know what Munchkins were before I browsed your web site!

Thank you for the compliment. My husband is the designer for the site. Munchkins have been around for years, but just within this past year we got them accepted for championship with the American Association of Cat Enthusiasts.

My last kitty ( who died) and my present kitty have both been inside cats and both very happy kitties indeed. Norty lived a long life, but mostly he was safe and sound. I really think we owe it to our babies to keep them safe at home. We would let Norty out on our deck sometimes to get some air. He would not wander, although we kept a close eye on him! We will do the same with Jinxy when he is old enough. If you can find some sort of compromise like this, I would highly recommend it. So many unfortunate things can happen to them when they are outside. It's just not worth it!!

Good luck with the operation. Hope it goes very smoothly. Keep us posted!

-Jacquie

I agree with keeping kitties inside as well. In the past my kitties had all been indoor/outdoor cats, but when tragedy struck and my 5 year old furbaby Fluffy got hit by a car and killed, my kitties are inside only. We do have an exception and that is Onyx, who has been with me for 2 years and has always been allowed outside. I tried for two weeks to keep him inside and he became very depressed. He would lie in the corner and was not interested in being social at all. He even climbed up the wall in my kids room(tearing the wallpaper off) and managed to open the screen on their window and escape. I decided to let him go outside again, but I worry every time. My three newest kitties never go out and are very healthy and happy. The sit on the windowsill and watch the goings-on outside, and they have a cat tree to play on as well as tons of toys ( I buy several new ones a week -they have their own toy box to hold all the toys!)They never even try to get out. I took Loco, my 5 month old kitty, outside to show him to someone and he was terrified! I think its completely possible to have a very content inside only cat.