Pepper's Big Adventure
So last Saturday we took our three cats to the vet for their annual exam and a few vaccinations. Thus, when Pepper of them was sick on Monday morning I wondered if it was a reaction to one of the injections. But then she was sick again. And again. And again with the vomit getting pinker and pinker each time. So I called my vet and had it confirmed that yes this was too late after the appointment to be a reaction (a full 48 hours is way too long) and that it had to be something else. We elected to keep a close eye on her and hope for the best thinking she'd likely eaten something bad and now had maybe burst a few blood vessels with throwing up so much.
That night when we got home there were bloody patches across the carpet where she'd been sick again. Later that night she threw up again and we finally discovered a possible cause - there were some fragments of ribbon. I had cut a piece early Sunday for a Christmas decorating idea then decided against it and thrown it in the trash from which Pepper had apparently decided to steal it. But she had only produced a few inches, and the piece I'd cut was a lot longer than that.
This morning we called the vet again and arranged to have Kit take her in. By this time it was clear that she hadn't eaten or had water in roughly two days. Radiographs combined with barium showed the tangled ribbon stuck at the exit of her stomach and partway into her intestines making surgery necessary. So now we have a subdued little kitty who's gonna end up with a kick ass scar (poor baby) and (this be gross) a plastic bag containing the almost-deadly ribbon (do not hit that link if you are eating/have a weak stomach)
Of course one thing is certain - Pepper will not have learned a lesson about eating stuff out of the trash. On the bright side though, my vet used her as an example to his kids at dinner tonight; apparently they raced to clean up their bedrooms to ensure their pets wouldn't have access to any treacherous strings/toys.
That night when we got home there were bloody patches across the carpet where she'd been sick again. Later that night she threw up again and we finally discovered a possible cause - there were some fragments of ribbon. I had cut a piece early Sunday for a Christmas decorating idea then decided against it and thrown it in the trash from which Pepper had apparently decided to steal it. But she had only produced a few inches, and the piece I'd cut was a lot longer than that.
This morning we called the vet again and arranged to have Kit take her in. By this time it was clear that she hadn't eaten or had water in roughly two days. Radiographs combined with barium showed the tangled ribbon stuck at the exit of her stomach and partway into her intestines making surgery necessary. So now we have a subdued little kitty who's gonna end up with a kick ass scar (poor baby) and (this be gross) a plastic bag containing the almost-deadly ribbon (do not hit that link if you are eating/have a weak stomach)
Of course one thing is certain - Pepper will not have learned a lesson about eating stuff out of the trash. On the bright side though, my vet used her as an example to his kids at dinner tonight; apparently they raced to clean up their bedrooms to ensure their pets wouldn't have access to any treacherous strings/toys.