19 Ryde Road, Pymble, NSW 2073
Murphy’s chemo
By Helen Burns | Dated June 24, 2021 | 0 Comments
Right at the end of April the […]
It never rains but it pours ! More heavy metal exposure!
By Helen Burns | Dated October 22, 2020
Not long before we saw Doopy, we had a visit from Jet the burmese cat. Jet had been vomiting and off his food for a few days. We had run a blood test and been treating him with medication for nausea, however things were not getting better and Jet’s family were very concerned. The next step was to take some x-rays of Jet’s abdomen. We take abdominal radiographs frequently in labradors to see if they have eaten something they shouldn’t have, but in cats that’s less of an issue. Or so we thought!
As you can see, Jet’s radiograph very clearly showed a metallic object in his abdomen.
Poor Jet was straight off to surgery, where we removed a 5 cent coin from his small intestine.
Unfortunately the coin had damaged the wall of his intestine, so we stitched a patch over it, checked that there were no other foreign bodies, and kept a close eye on him as he recovered. The coin was partially dissolved by Jet’s stomach acid, and hence looked a little more like a ring than a coin on the radiographs. Fortunately, the nickel and copper don’t tend to cause toxicity in cats, so Jet didn’t need any treatment for heavy metal toxicity, and he is now back to his old tricks.
How Jet managed to swallow a 5 cent coin (and why?) we will never know!
Written by Helen Burns
Helen graduated from Sydney Uni in 1997 with First Class Honours and worked in a practice on the Northern Beaches for 16 years. Helen joined the Gordon Vet team early in 2014 and our clients have really enjoyed getting to know her. She loves being a vet and takes a keen interest in all of her patients. Her gentle, friendly nature helps pets to feel relaxed when they visit the vet. Helen lives locally and has 3 children. At least one of her children seems destined to be a vet! When not ferrying her children around, Helen cares for her menagerie of pets. These include Chloe the dog, Obi and Leia the cats, Little Cocky the galah and Rosie the very tame eclectus parrot who all happily coexist at her house. In her spare time, Helen likes to be active outdoors, running, kayaking, camping or playing any manner of sport with her children.
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