Long time no see, so since my cat decided to cost me $702.00 today, I thought I should share.
My kitten, Burdock, the former cryptorchid, is officially an honorary laborador retriever. He eats anything and everything, and I thought I'd been good about keeping non-edibles out of the way. But no, my kitten is much cleverer than I in that regard. So anyway, a couple days ago he vomited after eating dinner. I didn't think too much of it, but kept an eye on him. The next day he comited again and I'm thinking "Persistant hairball?" and keep a closer eye. Day three and he vomits several times and so I say "Kitten! You are going to work with me in the morning!" An lo' he went with me.
I got him to work and the early doctor took a look at him in the 5 minutes lull before she had to start in on her 5 dentals, the cat with a nasal tumor, and one who was straining to urinate. We were positively *slammed*. But we took some rads real quick and it was one of those fun cases where I was able to make a true diagnosis. "He is suffering from stupidity," declared I. Because there, blazing in all it's glory, was a staple in his stomach. -_-
The doctors proceeded to throw a quiet temper tantrum at my cat as all the dentals had been pre-medded already, and none of them had ever done a gastotomy anyway. Thus began the calling to other VCAs to find someone with an open surgery slot. We were very fortunate as there was. My manager showed me the way there and we got Bur prepped and into surgery.
And you would not *believe* the gunk we pulled out of him. It was like cleaning the drain from a sink or shower or something. -_- He had a huge mass of grass, human hair, pieces of the lid off of a gallon of milk, the (thank god empty) wrapper of an individually packaged tylenol (my fiance left it on his desk or something after taking it), carpet fibers, and, of course, the staple.
This is where the 'thank god for the staple' comes in. The last time my cat had access to the 'cat grass' that they sell was probably 3 weeks ago, if not longer. He had a tendency to eat the roots and dirt and other not stupposed to be eaten bits. So, that gunk was in his stomach for at least three weeks. About a week ago, he took to chewing on his scratching post/cat tree just as a dog would chew on a toy. And that is where the staple came from. I checked when I got home, and it is indeed missing one.
But it scares me to think that that mass of grass might have eventually worked its way into his intestines, causing necrosis that we probably wouldn't have found until much later. >.<
Anyway, he's spending his recovery period back at my work where he gets to anno-... er... 'entertain' the staff with his 24/7 rendition of 'the aria of the offended cat'.
So yeah, that's what my kitten has gotten into. Happy Valentine's day Burdock.
My kitten, Burdock, the former cryptorchid, is officially an honorary laborador retriever. He eats anything and everything, and I thought I'd been good about keeping non-edibles out of the way. But no, my kitten is much cleverer than I in that regard. So anyway, a couple days ago he vomited after eating dinner. I didn't think too much of it, but kept an eye on him. The next day he comited again and I'm thinking "Persistant hairball?" and keep a closer eye. Day three and he vomits several times and so I say "Kitten! You are going to work with me in the morning!" An lo' he went with me.
I got him to work and the early doctor took a look at him in the 5 minutes lull before she had to start in on her 5 dentals, the cat with a nasal tumor, and one who was straining to urinate. We were positively *slammed*. But we took some rads real quick and it was one of those fun cases where I was able to make a true diagnosis. "He is suffering from stupidity," declared I. Because there, blazing in all it's glory, was a staple in his stomach. -_-
The doctors proceeded to throw a quiet temper tantrum at my cat as all the dentals had been pre-medded already, and none of them had ever done a gastotomy anyway. Thus began the calling to other VCAs to find someone with an open surgery slot. We were very fortunate as there was. My manager showed me the way there and we got Bur prepped and into surgery.
And you would not *believe* the gunk we pulled out of him. It was like cleaning the drain from a sink or shower or something. -_- He had a huge mass of grass, human hair, pieces of the lid off of a gallon of milk, the (thank god empty) wrapper of an individually packaged tylenol (my fiance left it on his desk or something after taking it), carpet fibers, and, of course, the staple.
This is where the 'thank god for the staple' comes in. The last time my cat had access to the 'cat grass' that they sell was probably 3 weeks ago, if not longer. He had a tendency to eat the roots and dirt and other not stupposed to be eaten bits. So, that gunk was in his stomach for at least three weeks. About a week ago, he took to chewing on his scratching post/cat tree just as a dog would chew on a toy. And that is where the staple came from. I checked when I got home, and it is indeed missing one.
But it scares me to think that that mass of grass might have eventually worked its way into his intestines, causing necrosis that we probably wouldn't have found until much later. >.<
Anyway, he's spending his recovery period back at my work where he gets to anno-... er... 'entertain' the staff with his 24/7 rendition of 'the aria of the offended cat'.
So yeah, that's what my kitten has gotten into. Happy Valentine's day Burdock.
