A boot on the end of the line

By Helen Burns | Dated January 28, 2021

Imagine your regular, run-of-the-mill morning, with everybody going about their business and things going along smoothly, when your kitty walks into the room, and you do a double take. This was the morning in Boots the 12 year old cat’s household, and the double take confirmed that there was indeed a fish hook hanging out of Boots’ mouth. It didn’t seem to be bothering Boots all that much, who arrived at Gordon Vet Hospital shortly after the discovery. He was in excellent spirits, happy for a pat and a smooch, however a physical examination revealed that he also had a very large thyroid nodule. Blood tests confirmed that Boots has an extremely overactive thyroid gland, and one of the main impacts of this is a dramatic increase in appetite. Although fish hooks may smell of fish, and we know that is sure to pique the interest of the average cat, to be honest most cats are too cautious (or one could also say ‘intelligent’)  to try to eat a fish hook. In Boots’ case, we suspect that the immense hunger that comes from his overactive thyroid was what pushed him over the edge into trying to eat the hook.  

Needless to say, Boots had a general anaesthetic and the fish hook which was looped through his lower lip was cut into 2 pieces and removed. After a clean up of the area plus pain relief and an antibiotic injection, he was ready to go home. We hope that Boots’ appetite doesn’t get the better of him again!