Heidi, a 7 year old female domestic cat, had been becoming more lethargic over the previous four days, but had been found collapsed with her head in her water bowl.

Heidi was rushed into Willows' primary care veterinary clinic, where she was found to be dehydrated, her body temperature was low, and she was disinterested in her surroundings. Willows' primary care clinician performed in-house blood tests which gave an indication of the severity of her dehydration, as well as revealing several abnormalities in Heidi's electrolyte levels (electrolytes are some of the chemicals found in solutions in the body). Radiographs (X-rays) of Heidi's chest and abdomen were obtained but these did not identify the reason for her symptoms.

At this stage an abdominal ultrasound scan was performed by one of our Diagnostic Imaging team's Specialists. The scan showed an obstruction of Heidi's small intestines which was being caused by a foreign body. Heidi was anaesthetised that same day and taken to the operating theatre where an exploratory laparotomy (opening the abdomen to inspect its contents) was performed and the obstruction (comprising mostly gristle) was relieved. The post-operative recovery was slow and Heidi required much care and intensive nursing over the next 24 hours, but gradually her demeanour improved and she was almost back to normal within a week.

 

 

 

This ultrasound image shows two distended, fluid-filled loops of small bowel, one of which is blocked by a foreign body. The foreign body has a linear portion projecting into the lumen of the intestine.

 

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