Ginger’s midnight snack

Ginger thought she’d struck it lucky when she found a half finished barbecue chicken  in the TV room. She gobbled up as much as she could before the family returned. Next morning she felt rotten. Her stomach felt as if it was full of knives and she couldn’t stop vomiting. Her carers rushed her off to Canberra Cat Vet. After all the vomiting she was dehydrated and she couldn’t bear anyone touching her.

An Xray of her belly showed a long thin chicken bone in her stomach, on the far left. Cooked bones do not digest very well and this bone was sharp and could pierce the stomach wall if not removed. Ginger had emergency surgery to remove that long bone. Dr Kate found another smaller bone blocking the outlet from the stomach to the intestine. It was the reason for the vomiting.

Kittens and young cats are particularly fond of chewing and sometimes swallowing odd things. Keep cooked bones, hairbands, tinsel, string, coins, elastic bands, fruit stones, hard long grass, nut shells and other indigestible objects well away from them. You’ll find more information on keeping cats safe on the excellent iCatcare site.