Veterinary clinic "good doctor" in Kazan. Foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract

It's no secret that relatives of domestic cats in the wild are predators, the hunting instinct explains why cats are very fond of playing with toys and even various objects unsuitable for play. Any small items, threads with or without needles, Christmas tree decorations can be used. If an animal is in front of your eyes, or it seems to you that it has eaten any inedible object, this is a reason to immediately seek urgent veterinary help. The presence of a foreign object in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to its blockage, which in turn can lead to necrosis, intestinal intussusception, peritonitis and death of a pet within the next 24 hours. Even such harmless-looking objects as an ordinary thread, even without a needle, is almost the most terrible foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. Moving along the intestines, the thread can collect the entire intestines on itself with an accordion and, cutting through the intestinal wall, cause peritonitis. Often the end of the thread sticks out, either from the mouth of the animal, or from the anus, or both here and there, in all cases, in no case should the thread be pulled, this can only accelerate damage to the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. And the seriousness of swallowing a sewing needle needs no explanation. There are cases when the needle came out of the stomach into the abdominal cavity or even got stuck in the animal's skull, damaging the eye.

If, nevertheless, this happened, your predator swallowed the “prey”, you should immediately seek help from a veterinary clinic. On your own, you will not be able to help your pet at home, even vaseline oil will not make it better, but rather only worse - it will increase the risk of intestinal intussusception. A number of studies are carried out in the veterinary clinic - ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, X-ray examination of the skull, chest and abdominal cavity in several projections. In some cases, when small foreign bodies are only in the stomach, or it is known that the animal ate it less than half an hour ago, it is reasonable to perform a gastroscopy in order to diagnose damage to the gastrointestinal tract and remove it. In other cases, the visualization of foreign bodies during ultrasound and X-ray examination is difficult and the foreign body does not pose a direct threat to the integrity of the wall of the gastrointestinal tract and emergency surgery is not needed, an X-ray contrast study is performed to confirm or exclude intestinal obstruction. If obstruction is confirmed, this is an indication for exploratory laparotomy. This happens when a cat eats a lot of foreign bodies or a long thread, you have to make access to both the stomach and intestines, often not even in one place. For an animal, this is a serious operation. After such a surgical intervention, a starvation diet is required for up to 24 hours and observation in a hospital for 2 to 7 days, depending on the extent of the surgical intervention and the condition of the animal. In a hospital, all the necessary infusion, analgesic and antibiotic therapy, as well as control ultrasound and blood tests are carried out. When the animal already feels satisfactory and there are no fears for its condition, it is discharged from the hospital home. But unfortunately, as practice shows, cats do not draw any conclusions for themselves, and there are cases when the same cat was admitted to the clinic due to eating foreign bodies more than 5 times. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor your pet and remove all potentially dangerous objects for the cat, thereby reducing the risk of the cat eating a foreign body to a minimum.

Often, due to the ingestion of a foreign body in a cat, a blockage of the gastrointestinal tract occurs. Foreign bodies are localized, as a rule, in the stomach or small intestine. There are some signs by which the owner may assume that the cat has swallowed something extra. If she suddenly stopped eating or eats very little and at the same time she constantly vomits, if she becomes lethargic and lethargic, it’s time to get worried. Incredibly, a variety of objects can be in the stomach of a cat: sewing needles with threads, coins, wire, bones, pieces of foam rubber, rubber bands, plastic. Often, this superfluous is her own wool.

The reason for the formation of hairballs in the stomach of a cat ( pilobezoars) is an active molt, which may be associated with stress in a cat's life, metabolic disorders and other factors. Feeling discomfort, the animal begins to lick more actively, swallowing more wool, which, as it accumulates, gets lumped. In itself, this is not a threat to health, since most often cats regurgitate them. Therefore, a single vomiting of a woolen ball is not a pathology, it is a normal cleansing of the body. In the same case, when pilobezoars are not excreted naturally, they cause obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract.

There are certain symptoms that indicate the presence of a foreign body in the small intestine. Since the cat experiences severe pain, signs of an “acute abdomen” can be observed: the cat strongly strains and tightens it, does not allow it to be touched, behaves restlessly and complains of pain.
Whichever of all the symptoms listed above you observe, at the slightest suspicion of a foreign body, the cat should immediately be shown to the veterinarian. Delay can have very serious consequences. If a foreign object has been in the stomach or intestines for a long time, tissue re-irritation occurs, indomitable vomiting develops, later the tissues become inflamed, and intoxication of the body begins. The animal is weakening, the general condition is deteriorating. With a long stay in the stomach, a foreign body also causes inflammation, pressure ulcers of the stomach wall, which leads to bleeding or perforation, and later to peritonitis.

The doctor said, "cut!"

The doctor can determine the presence of a foreign body based on the symptoms of the disease, examination of the animal and radiography. Describe your pet's behavior as accurately as possible. Inspection - deep palpation of the abdominal wall - will allow the doctor to detect dense, freely moving formations. Most likely, he will appoint radiography- a picture will allow you to accurately determine the localization of a foreign body and will be the final confirmation of the diagnosis.

Perhaps the foreign body is radiopaque, i.e., it is clearly visible in the picture. If the foreign object is not visible or is poorly distinguished because it is transparent to x-rays (wood, fruit stones, polyethylene, artificial materials, etc.), the doctor will prescribe an x-ray using a contrast agent. To do this, your cat will be given a barium sulfate solution to drink, which stands out brightly on an x-ray. Then, over the course of 6-8 hours, during which the solution passes through the entire gastrointestinal tract, the radiologist will perform a series of sequential images. If the contrast agent did not transit, then the place where it stopped is the site of obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract.

The doctor can also make a diagnosis using a diagnostic method such as gastroscopy. This study is performed under general anesthesia and, in some cases, it allows you to remove a foreign object in a non-surgical way. In other cases, and most of them, if the diagnosis of obstruction is confirmed, surgery will be required. Owners should not take time to think, thereby postponing it. In this case, there is no time to waste.

Before the operation, the patient is examined (blood tests will be taken and an ultrasound of the heart will be done) to identify possible direct contraindications to general anesthesia, after which he will be referred to a surgeon. Remember that the animal must arrive on an empty stomach for the operation.

Do not expect to take the cat home immediately after the operation. The specialists of the clinic will monitor her general condition and see how she comes out of anesthesia. After rehabilitation, the patient will be discharged home with subsequent monitoring of the condition and postoperative treatment.

If you have pets at home, then visits to the veterinarian become a necessity. Preventive vaccinations, examinations - this is the base, without which you can not do. But, despite this, it is not possible to protect your pet from all diseases. And the most common are diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Of course, a banal disorder can go away on its own, unlike intestinal obstruction in a cat. The symptoms of this pathology are quite bright, but can be mistaken for signs of other diseases. As a result, time is lost, and the animal continues to suffer pain. Each owner needs to know this information in order to immediately seek qualified help.

Getting to know the subject

It is important to understand well what is behind the term "intestinal obstruction" in a cat. Symptoms can be both very bright and blurry, depending on the nature of the course. So, this is an acute disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which is characterized by a complete or partial cessation of the movement of feces. The cause may be a mechanical obstruction or a violation of intestinal motility.

Without timely will die within a few days. The special insidiousness of the disease lies in the fact that this can happen with any cat or cat, and without any prerequisites. Therefore, the owner must be very careful not to miss the alarming symptoms. Intestinal obstruction in a cat is a deadly disease, which is sometimes treated only on the operating table.

The essence of the problem

In the stomach of every animal there is a continuous production of a large amount of digestive juices. This process is absolutely independent of food intake, and also occurs during prolonged fasting. The main function of the intestine is to push the food bolus to the anus. As you move, the digestive juices are absorbed through the walls back, but with nutrients.

These are the basics of physiology, so that the reader can imagine what happens in the body with intestinal obstruction in a cat. Symptoms develop rapidly also for the reason that the digestive juice is produced in the same volume, but cannot be absorbed along with nutrients. In response, vomiting opens to relieve excess pressure on the tissues.

The reasons

Why can bowel obstruction develop in cats? Symptoms and treatment will directly depend on what led to such a complication. Often this is not the disease itself, but only a symptom of some kind of illness. Let's list the main reasons that can lead to such a development of events:

What to pay attention to

A cat can be similar to any infectious or viral disease. A large amount of fluid accumulates in the stomach and small intestine.

Since it will not be able to leave the body naturally, it will cause nausea and vomiting. At the same time, dehydration of the entire body of the animal and the loss of vital elements: potassium and sodium are rapidly developing. Drinking water only increases vomiting, and hence dehydration, which accelerates the death of the animal.

Vomiting speaks not only about poisoning or viral diseases. The cause may also be intestinal obstruction. The cat should start receiving treatment as soon as possible, so pay close attention to this symptom.

Full or partial

Symptoms may vary depending on whether the ability to remove part of the contents of the intestine to the outside has been preserved. On this basis, the disease is divided into two types:

Symptoms

As with other diseases, it will depend on the individual characteristics of the pet. Some cats start to run after their owner and meow loudly. This is how they draw attention to their problem. Others, on the contrary, try to find a quiet and dark place, curl up in a ball and calm down. Based on this, it is difficult to understand what is happening with your pet. We need to find more indicative and vivid symptoms:

Complete rejection of food. In all cases, despite the feeling of hunger, the cat will not touch the food. This is due to the fact that any swallowed piece leads to severe pain.
Vomiting is on the rise.
The abdomen enlarges and becomes painful. Often the cat does not allow you to touch him. On palpation, tension and firmness are felt.
Increased gas formation further enlarges the stomach. Some pets constantly lick it or roll on the floor.
The cat will spend a lot of time on the tray, trying to empty. However, these attempts do not give any results.

The presence of all or several symptoms suggests that the cat has intestinal obstruction. What to do? First of all, go to the clinic. While you can put an injection of "No-shpy" to relieve spasms.

Treatment

If the animal shows signs of dehydration, then even before the diagnosis is made, he will be put on a drip, which will make up for the deficiency of fluid and salts, as well as nutrients. Treatment necessarily includes the use of anti-inflammatory and pain medications, as well as antibiotics.

After providing first aid, the patient should be sent for x-rays. If the doctor sees that the condition requires surgery, then surgery should be performed as soon as possible. In this case, it is necessary to remove the affected part of the intestine.

Recovery after surgery

The main thing at this time is to follow the recommendations of the attending physician. The first day, water and food should not enter the body. After the specialist considers it possible, it will be possible to gradually switch to broths. The cat is waiting for long-term drug therapy. Gradually, it will be possible to switch to semi-liquid feed. This usually takes one and a half to two weeks.

By this time, the stitches can be removed, and the doctor will transfer you to a preventive visit to the clinic. But only if all the symptoms of intestinal obstruction in a cat are eliminated. The prognosis of the course of the disease and the chances of the animal to recover can only be given by an experienced veterinarian based on the examinations. If during the operation it was found that a large section of the intestine had undergone necrosis, the animal was euthanized right on the table.

Prevention

Your main task is to make inaccessible all dangerous objects that the animal can swallow. Of particular interest to fluffy pets are usually bird feathers, sausage casings, ropes and threads, despite the needle sticking out of the bobbin. In addition, it is undesirable to limit the pet's diet to only dry food. This also leads to bloating.

Long-haired breeds are supposed to be given special supplements that help to remove wool balls from the body. Pets must be constantly combed out, especially during the molting period. And the main thing is your attentive attitude. If you see that the pet is behaving strangely, refusing food, then contact your veterinarian.

Minor inconvenience or mortal danger that can "fall" like snow on the head of absolutely any owner and pet at the most unexpected moment. Intestinal obstruction in cats can have a number of causes and lead to different consequences, but there is one condition that is never known - when and why the disease will occur. By the way, intestinal obstruction and constipation are different ailments, although they are often compared. The following information is a must read if you have a cat in your home - early diagnosis of intestinal obstruction saves lives.

For convenience, we will arrange the causes of the disease by "popularity":

Physical blockage of the intestines - the cat eats a stone, a film, a piece of synthetic fabric, adored by all cats, New Year's tinsel and other items that are not broken down by stomach acid. After entering the intestines, the "funk" folds into a tight lump and blocks the opening of the intestine.

Tumors, hematomas, edema of the intestines or other organs - physical pressure is exerted on the intestinal section.

Hernia, the formation of windows with the subsequent penetration of one intestine into another, physiological disorders of the formation of the gastrointestinal tract.

Lack of intestinal peristalsis or excessive spasmodic activity.

Complete intestinal obstruction- the intestine is completely blocked or pinched, feces, liquid and gases cannot pass through it. An extremely dangerous condition, which is always accompanied by a violation of the blood supply, as a result of necrosis, toxicity and an increase in physical pressure on the internal organs. Without proper assistance, most often, surgery, toxins and necrosis are fatal.

Partial intestinal obstruction in cats- in the intestine there is a "clearance" that allows you to remove part of the gases and liquids. A condition that leads to the active death of beneficial intestinal microflora and its replacement by colonies of putrefactive bacteria.

Read also: Struvite in the urine of a cat: causes and treatment

The next criterion that affects the clinical picture is the position of the blockage in relation to the stomach. There are high, medium and low - the closer to the stomach the intestines are clogged, the more difficult the condition and the more serious the struggle for life. Returning to the "sheep", more precisely, constipation - chronic intestinal obstruction in cats is accompanied by regular problems with bowel movements, flatulence, and an unpleasant smell from the mouth. Finding the root causes of chronic obstruction is difficult, sometimes impossible, for this reason, treatment is carried out symptomatically with constant adjustment.

Diagnosis of intestinal obstruction at home

Considering that the clinical examination includes an X-ray, on which the area and degree of blockage is visible visually, your "master's" task is to distinguish and correctly compare the first signs of the disease:

Poor appetite and complete disregard for food, after a few hours - refusal of water.

Unsuccessful attempts to go to the toilet, while the cat meows, "grunts", moans. Nausea, .

Visually noticeable, pain on palpation.

We noticed this - we are going and going to the veterinary clinic, on the way we remember: what the pet ate for the last day, how he behaved, whether he showed interest in eating inedible things, when they “chased” worms, in what sequence the symptoms appeared.

The presence of the following symptoms against the background of swelling indicates an acute condition and requires immediate surgery:

Vomiting of feces We don't give antiemetics.

Dehydration- do not prick saline, it lowers the temperature. To replenish the supply of fluid and partially remove toxicity, from the "handy", Ringer's solution is suitable.

Drop in core body temperature below 37°- wrap the animal in a sweater or blanket, apply a heating pad.

Read also: Demodicosis in cats - symptoms, treatment and prevention

Important! The appearance of an extensive hematoma or bruise on the side - signals a rupture of the intestine and the ingress of feces into the body cavity, may be accompanied by extensive internal bleeding. Time goes by minutes! Either the veterinarian will open the animal and repair the lesion, or the cat will die.

Treatment of intestinal obstruction

Optimally, deliver the animal to the veterinary clinic immediately after refusing to eat. Even if it is not an intestinal obstruction, the veterinarian will have a small margin of time for a more accurate diagnosis. If the doctor suggests obstruction after palpation, the cat will be prescribed:

Analysis of blood and urine, to determine the degree of damage and toxicity.

X-ray with contrast agent. The drug is administered orally, for a clearer display of obstruction in the picture.

Depending on the clinical picture, an operation is performed, if time permits, the animal is placed on a drip and an attempt is made to physically wash the intestines.

It should be noted that surgery is necessary if the intestine is clogged with insoluble substances, for example, a lump of cellophane or the condition of the animal is critical. During the operation, a fragment of the intestine is often removed, the walls of which were irrevocably affected, in other words, rotted. In other cases, the veterinarian will recommend "fighting" the disease on an outpatient basis - to treat at home with a mandatory visit to the doctor.

Important! Until the final diagnosis is made, the cat should not be given laxatives! If the cause of the blockage is a foreign body, spasms can cause the intestine to rupture. Never give a cat laxative without consulting a doctor, many human drugs are toxic to animals!

Foreign objects in the gastrointestinal tract are not uncommon in animals, especially in puppies and kittens. Due to their age, playful pets grab everything “that lies badly” - buttons, needles, nails, ping-pong balls, parts of a children's designer. Any of these items can easily find themselves inside the animal, but getting it out is already a problem for a veterinarian. With untimely assistance, a foreign body in the stomach of a cat and dog can cause serious problems, and sometimes death.

When any object enters the gastrointestinal tract of the animal, peristalsis is disturbed (up to its termination), the mucous membrane becomes inflamed, and edema develops. If you do not take action in time and do not contact the veterinary clinic, then in the place where the foreign body got into the cat, the dog develops ulcers, tissues begin to necrotic, perforation of the walls of the gastrointestinal tract occurs and, as a result, peritonitis.

All objects that are in the house and outside it are foreign and may one day end up in the stomach of the animal. At the same time, dogs swallow these items much more often than cats, although it is cats who are endowed with “stealing”, since it is much more difficult for them to resist a sausage in a plastic shell, a needle and thread, or a New Year’s “rain”. In addition, in healthy animals, hairballs, rolled into tight rollers, and which periodically exit through a natural opening with vomiting (through the mouth) are considered foreign bodies. There are happy cases when a swallowed foreign object comes out safely and does not cause any problems to the animal.

If a cat or dog swallowed a foreign body and it remained in the gastrointestinal tract, then irritating the mucous membrane, after a while a characteristic symptom appears - vomiting after eating. A foreign body with sharp corners causes severe pain, as well as a violation of the integrity of the walls of the gastrointestinal tract. The promotion of such an object through the intestines injures the walls, and the animal's feces are blackish with streaks of blood and mucus. In some cases, foreign bodies lie in the gastrointestinal tract for a long time, without causing almost any characteristic symptoms and obstruction. But during this period, the animal may occasionally experience vomiting, gradual dehydration occurs, and the coat grows dull.

Very often, the cause of blockage in the gastrointestinal tract is improper feeding, especially dogs on a leash. The skins of cattle with wool are often presented as "meat waste", but which are absolutely not suitable for dogs to eat.alone. The wool that ends up in the dog's stomach gradually becomes caked, pieces of undigested skin are pressed and cause blockage. If the compressed piece is not removed in time, the animal will die.

In some cases, a successful outcome, even when swallowing sharp objects, is possible if the owner of the animal reacted in time and delivered the pet to the veterinary clinic immediately after his pet “swallowed something”. But most often, dogs and cats are delivered already in a pre-agonized state, when it is very difficult to help and the animal's body is severely exhausted.

The characteristic symptoms of intestinal blockage will help the owner of the animal quickly navigate and deliver the dog (cat) to the veterinary clinic in time. With partial intestinal obstruction, the animals develop loose stools, periodically manifesting vomiting of undigested (or semi-digested) food, seething in the abdomen, pain. Complete obstruction is characterized by the absence of defecation, the inability to eat anything, since the swallowed food comes back with an act of vomiting that occurs after eating after 2 hours. The abdomen is tense, painful, there is a strong seething.

It is not difficult to diagnose a foreign object in the gastrointestinal tract: the collection of anamnestic data, characteristic clinical signs, X-ray, ultrasound, endoscopic studies will help to correctly establish what kind of object is in the gastrointestinal tract and where it is localized.

Treatment consists in removing a foreign object from the gastrointestinal tract. The sooner the operation is performed, the more likely it is that the swallowed object will not cause major complications. Complications with untimely treatment can cost the life of the pet, since foreign objects often provoke rupture of the esophagus and pneumothorax, bleeding and necrotic changes in the gastrointestinal tract.

Non-surgical extraction of foreign objects from the esophagus and stomach of the animal!!!

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Frequently Asked Doctor Questions

The dog swallowed a sharp piece of bone. What can be done?

You need to contact the veterinary clinic, where they will do the necessary research and make a decision. It is not recommended to carry out any independent actions, since the fragment can go in the “wrong direction” and dig into the intestinal wall with a sharp edge.

The cat licks itself very often and swallows wool, can lumps clog the stomach?

The accumulation of wool and its compaction in the gastrointestinal tract due to the release of gastric juice leads to the formation of a bezoar. Small bezoars come out naturally without problems, and large bezoars can clog the intestinal lumen in the same way as any foreign body.

If the toy has been recently swallowed by an animal. Is it possible, without surgical extraction of a foreign object from the stomach ???

YES! Most of the foreigners can be evacuated with the help of. This is a slightly invasive method, after which the animal continues to live without any complications.

Making an appointment and conducting a gastroscopic examination