Nerf-Gun Nuisance
Obsidian is a one year old very playful cat. He loves to play with tissues and paper and chews at different toys. But one morning he started vomiting. He ate and then he vomited. Vomiting every 4-6 hours. He seemed happy but within a few days his owners took him to see Dr Jill at Pittwater Animal Hospital.
This frequency of vomiting rings alarm bells in a young cat. They are at high risk of swallowing something that blocks their intestine. After thoroughly palpating Obsidian’s abdomen, Dr Jill was concerned enough to immediately take xrays.
Obsidian has a very distinctive gas pattern in his stomach. The stomach usually contains some air but this looked unusual. There was also a rectangular air-filled object high up in Obsidian’s abdomen.
After a little discussion with Obsidian’s owners he was scheduled for immediate surgery. This was a brave decision as it was the first time they had been to Pittwater Animal Hospital. (Our long term clients trust our opinion but for new clients this is a leap of faith.)
An hour later after blood tests and intravenous fluid therapy, Obsidian was in surgery with Dr Heidi Furber.
So what did we find? The tip of a Nerf-Gun bullet was completely blocking the small intestine at the level of the duodenum. This was removed and Obsidian recovered well staying over night in the cat hospital on intravenous fluids, antibiotics and pain relief.
Obsidian is now home with his family but they are now extra careful about any small object he might want to chew.
