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Fiyero the Asian Longhair cat

If you are a keen reader of this blog, you may have seen a few cases reported where dogs have eaten various objects that presumably seem like a good idea at the time but then cause a blockage in the intestine and must be surgically removed. It is much less common to see an intestinal foreign body in a cat, but the subject of this week’s article is the exception to the rule.  

Fiyero is a stunning Asian Longhair cat who came to see vet Sarah one afternoon just after Christmas. He had been sick in the morning, and since then had been vomiting liquid frequently. His tummy felt quite painful, and so it was decided that it would be best to admit him for sedation and x-rays immediately, rather than waiting for the morning.  

Vet Josh sedated Fiyero and took an X-ray. We were all clearly able to see the cause of the problem – there was a metal chain (a fine necklace) in his small intestine! 

After phoning his worried owner to discuss surgery, Fiyero was prepared straight away. Josh started the operation with Sarah ‘scrubbing in’ to assist with the removal. We were very glad to have acted so quickly as could see that at one point, the metal was pushing up into the wall of the intestine and we felt that by the next day, it could have been a much more serious condition as there may have been a perforation. Josh gently removed the entire chain through a small incision, then carefully repaired the intestine while Sarah held it to ensure there was no contamination of the abdomen, and then Josh finished the surgery. 

Fiyero recovered well under the care of Night Nurse Pam and started eating after a few hours. He was kept in an extra night as his temperature was a little high the day after his surgery but was then able to go home.   

Unfortunately, as I write this, Fiyero is recovering from another operation as he recently decided to eat part of a soft toy. Vet Harry found the toy at the far end of his small intestine and fortunately was able to ‘milk’ it through to his large intestine so that it could be removed by an enema rather than having to incise the gut.  

We really hope he has now learned his lesson – anything potentially edible is being removed at home! When his fur has grown back from his surgeries, he will at last be able to resume his career as a handsome show cat.