Meet Jia Jia – one very lucky little kitten.
This little guy presented to BVH after several days of vomiting. He was very dehydrated and lethargic, and on examination Dr. Tracy could feel an abnormality within his intestines.
Unfortunately, his family were going through some difficult times, and were unable to commit to further workup. At this point, Dr. Tracy had already developed quite the soft spot, and with his owner’s permission he was surrendered to Dr. Tracy for further diagnostics.
He was admitted to hospital for a comprehensive blood test and x-rays. Blood results confirmed severe dehydration and signs of kidney disease. Radiographs revealed a large amount of gas within his stomach and the start of his small intestines – quite possibly the result of the unidentified object Dr. Tracy could feel on palpation of his abdomen.
Despite these worrying results, Dr. Tracy and Nurse Mandy wanted to give the little kitten a fighting chance – so he was placed on IV fluids and stabilised with pain relief while the team finished the rest of the working day’s consults.
That evening, he was prepped for an Exploratory Laparotomy – a surgical procedure whereby the abdomen is opened for further investigation. This procedure gave Dr. Tracy the answer she was looking for – the top of a Nerf gun bullet lodged at the start of the small intestine!
Recovery went smoothly for this little guy. He showed signs of improvement within just 5 hours and began eating small meals. He remained on fluids for the following 2 days, seeing his kidney parameters return to normal.
Dr. Tracy took the kitten home to meet her family who named him Jia Jia – meaning home or family in Chinese.
Jia Jia is now settling in very well and terrorising Dr. Tracy’s very patient German Shepherd!
