27 Oct

Biscuit came to Mountainside 24/7 Animal Emergency after vomiting up what the owners suspected to be worms. These were in fact worms, but upon further investigation by means of x-rays, it was evident that Biscuit had a linear foreign body as well! It was lucky that he came in because he ended up requiring surgery where 100cm of yarn-like material was removed from his intestines. With linear foreign bodies, radiographs of the abdomen do not show the object itself, but they do show a characteristic bunching of the intestines in a way that can be observed on x-rays. Tapeworms typically infect felines when they ingest infected fleas while grooming themselves, or if they ingest an infected rodent. Tapeworms are successfully treated with medication, but reinfections are not uncommon, so it is important to have a regular deworming and parasite schedule with your regular veterinarian. Biscuit’s vomiting was likely caused by his foreign body obstruction, but the presence of worms allowed us to treat the tapeworm infection while he was here, as well as surgically removing the foreign body. Biscuit is quite an animated little cat, and we suspect he is doing his best to resist keeping quiet while he heals up at home. We hope he can go back to his rambunctious ways soon, but with less eating of things he shouldn’t!