Does My Cat Need Surgery After Eating a Foreign Body?

Cats are naturally curious, and due to their curiosity, they often end up eating things they should not eat. From strings, rubber, and ribbons, to coins, buttons, and stitching needles, vets remove astonishing objects from cats. Depending on the foreign body, your cat's stomach will have a different effect, but at the end of the day, the result is a trip to the pet emergency clinic.

 

Why Do Cats Eat Foreign Objects?

Cats swallow foreign objects for various reasons. These include:

• Their stalking and hunting behavior - Cats like chasing and pouncing on fast-moving objects and then eat them as they would their victims

• Boredom - When cats are bored, they may want to seek your attention by playing with objects they take out from trash cans, untying a ball of yarn, or pulling a carpet apart

• Obsessing about certain things - Is your cat attracted to taste or smell? Some cats like to suck on woolly objects
  
   

How You Can Tell If Your Cat Has Eaten a Foreign Object

Most cats that eat foreign objects show the following symptoms:

• Choking or vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Pain or tenderness in the abdomen

• Struggling to empty the bowels or constipation

• Lack of appetite or prolonged refusal of food

• Lack of energy

• Behavior changes
   

Treatment

If your cat swallows something foreign, call your vet right away. Your vet may ask you to make your cat vomit. But if the foreign object sticks in the gut or stomach and it is not possible to vomit out, the vet may remove it through endoscopy.

 

Endoscopy

Endoscopy is a treatment that uses a long camera with tiny claws that can remove the stuck object. If the object is in the intestines, the vet can move it back to the tummy and use the long camera to remove it without cutting into the cat’s stomach. This removes the concern for recovery time because the vet does not perform any surgery.

 

When Is Surgery Necessary?

If both vomiting and endoscopy are not possible options, your cat may need to undergo surgery. There are various types of surgery vets use to remove foreign bodies. If the object in the tummy is too big or unsafe to remove through endoscopy, the vet will perform gastronomy. This involves cutting into the stomach to remove the object.

But if the object is stuck in the intestines and cannot move into the stomach, the vet will remove it from the intestines through a procedure called enterotomy. If the object has caused irreversible damage to the intestine, your cat may need a more advanced surgical procedure to remove the object and repair the damage.
 

Early Diagnosis Is Important

Early diagnosis is the key to a successful treatment. Thus, it is vital to identify the signs that your cat is not eating or behaving normally and alert your vet right away.

To learn more about whether your cat needs surgery after eating a foreign body, contact Shore Pet Surgery at our offices in Grasonville or Laurel, Maryland. You can call us at 410-827-6464, 301-490-0820, or 301-483-7080 to book an appointment today.