CAT’s mission is to work with our community to save the lives of homeless, sick and injured cats and kittens by offering shelter, adoption, foster, hospice, and veterinary services to end needless feline euthanasia in our community.
Minnie is a four-year-old spayed female Tuxedo kitty who arrived from a county shelter on April 25, 2011.
She was a very shy cat and more stressed than the usual cat coming to our shelter.
She simply would not eat despite supportive care, including subcutaneous fluids and appetite stimulants.
By the third day, we started syringe feeding her; by day five she was vomiting and icteric (resembling jaundice).
Blood work suggested of a classic hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease), but x-rays also showed an obstructive gas pattern throughout her small intestines. She showed signs of pain on abdominal palpation.
Was this a case of stress induced anorexia and fatty liver, pancreatitis, or could she have a foreign body in the intestines?
On the sixth day, we prepped her for surgery. The plan was to place an esophageal feeding tube and perform an exploratory surgery to determine what was going on.
That very morning she defecated a twelve inch piece of elastic band along with severe mucoid diarrhea. This was the obvious cause her pain, her lack of appetite, and over all diminished condition.
We kept her on a feeding tube for another week.
Minnie has a made a full recovery and is available for adoption.
Although she is doing well, our medical team continues to wonder if she was surrendered to the county shelter because her guardian knew she was sick with an intestinal problem. We may never know why Minnie was relinquished. Here at Cat Adoption Team, our staff work diligently to thoroughly examine every cat at intake.
When a pet must come to a shelter for surrender, having a complete history can be critical in treating their medical issues. Too bad, Minnie could not speak for herself!
Dr. Melinda Barkley, DVM, Medical Director CAT
14175 SW Galbreath Drive.Sherwood, OR 97140.(503) 925-8903..(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
