BB pellet

My hyperthyroid cat had x-rays today in preparation for his radioiodine treatment. The vet said that he had a BB in his right shoulder area. I was so shocked that I didn't ask the questions I should have asked, like whether it is in the bone or under the skin. It has been there for at least 9 months, since he hasn't been outside since I found him. It doesn't seem to be bothering him. Should it be removed or is it better to leave it alone? I'm still fuming that someone could even think to shoot at a cat.

Poor cat .

If it's well healed they'll likely leave it be.

That WOULD be a shocker, Honestly though, it doesn't surprise me, this world can be a very scary place.

I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t say for sure what you should do, my first instinct would be to leave it if it isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t causing problems, they surgery may be risky and cause more harm then good especially if it penetrated the bone. But, I'm no vet!

Good luck

I would leave it there. We rescued a german shepherd several years ago that had 32 bb's in him! The vet said it was best to just leave them alone, so we did.

Thank you. I will double check with the vet, but I just wanted your opinions on whether it was a problem to leave it in.

Originally Posted by hissy

I would leave it there. We rescued a german shepherd several years ago that had 32 bb's in him! The vet said it was best to just leave them alone, so we did.

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32 pellets?? OMG that's horrible. It sounds like he was used for target practice or someting

I can't bring into words how upset that makes me, I am so glad you rescued him You're a wonderful person

oh how awful. my neighbour once tried to shoot at my cat Sophie, luckily he missed!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

oh how awful. my neighbour once tried to shoot at my cat Sophie, luckily he missed!

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That's insane! why would someone do that

Thank GOD he didn't hit her! Otherwise you might be in jail for shooting him, I know I would be!

poor kitty. I agree, if the bb has been there for months at least, it's probably better to leave it there.

I had something similar with my dog... he had x-rays when he was 14 and they found pellets from a pellet gun not far from his heart and lungs. Vet says it must have been there for years (I had the dog since he was 1 year old... he always ran away a lot but he never seemed injured when he came back).
the thing is those guns aren't very powerful usualy. You need to be pretty close to even break the skin. It probably wasn't an accident

People like that make me sick!

It was actually on the news here this week that theres talks about banning these sort of guns.

The sooner the better for me.

Based on what you described, I'd also suggest you leave it alone and move forward.