My precious orange cat, number three of Lotto’s babies had a bowel obstruction. He underwent surgery around two weeks ago. It went well and now he is recovering. He started eating wet food and overall, his health is good.
On May 31, 2015, I gave him to a family. Two weeks ago, his new owner called me. He was out of the city. He said that his wife had called him and said Yumak (the cat’s name, which means skein) was very sick. He wasn’t eating and drinking, he wasn’t going to the toilet and he was vomiting continuously.
I rushed there and took Yumak to the vet. From the vet, we called her and asked if any particular thing had happened. She said that Yumak had swallowed a piece of rope. The vet has said that probably he had a bowel obstruction. He then conducted an x-ray to reveal the obstruction and the next day, my precious boy underwent a successful surgery.
How to identify a cat bowel obstruction
The symptoms are:
- The cat usually completely stops eating and drinking.
- Vomiting. The cat vomits intermittently if the blockage is partial, but more frequently and without relief if the blockage is complete. In Yumak’s case, the blockage was complete.
- If the blockage is partial, diarrhea. The cat cannot defecate if the blockage is complete.
- Dehydration.
- Abdominal swelling.
- Abdominal pain. The cat gets really nervous if you touch its belly, because of the intense pain.
- Lethargy
- Depression
If your cat displays some of the symptoms above, conduct your veterinarian immediately. The sooner the condition is diagnosed and resolved, the better. Remember, bowel obstruction is a very serious problem and may cause a really painful death. So it is important to see your veterinarian at the first sign of trouble.
Treatment
The veterinarian most likely will conduct surgery to remove the obstructing body. After the surgery, a necessary treatment begins to address secondary effects, such as the administration of IV fluids to avoid dehydration.
Prevention
If your cat has a tendency to swallow small objects, be really careful. Always watch your cat carefully. Being aware of this habit and taking precautions will be an important part of avoiding repeat incidents of gastrointestinal obstruction. This may include covering trash cans and keeping dangerous objects such as string and yarn out of reach.
Sources
- Bowel Obstruction on Wikipedia
- “How to identify a cat bowel obstruction” on Pet Care RX
- “Intestinal Obstruction in Cats” on PetMD
- Intestinal Obstruction in Cats on wagwalking.com
