Buddy is gone :(

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allie and newkitty

allie and newkitty

Member Since 2010
Anyone have any experience with this? I had posted a few weeks ago but Buddy getting a new cancer test due to thickening in his intestines. It came back strongly negative so we are dealing with IBD. However, we have been treating this aggressively and he has only gotten sicker. Today my husband took him in for another work-up and they did an xray and he has a large mass in his abdomen. It had moved from one angle to another, so they feel sure it is a foreign object or a giant hairball the likes of which they rarely see.

Buddy is a gentleman and does not eat foreign objects. Ever. Shows no interest in them. However, he is very prone to hairballs despite the fact he is only medium haired (feathery, I like to say) and gets brushed 3 times a week and furminated twice a week. We are good cat parents!!!

So if his pancreatitis test comes back ok, it looks like we will be having surgery this week. Please say a prayer. He is older and frail right now (7 lbs 2 ounces). ETA: it is the size of about 3 golf balls, truly massive. Hence the not eating and hunching. :(

Has anyone ever had to have surgery on a cat for a hairball? I did not think this could happen with us being so responsible about grooming and him eating a healthy, all-canned diet. He does NOT accept hairball ointment, he will let it dry on his paw. If I smear it on his lips it will crust up there and eventually the hair comes out around his mouth. He vomits any kind of treat (probably due to the IBD) so hairball treats are out too. And he is not a long-hair cat.
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

At this point, I wouldn't do anything differently - you might wedge the furball into a place where it could rupture the intestines.

See the Feline Constipation website for more info an helping things move through. And discuss with your vet, too.
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

Tucker had a hairball removed during surgery, it was the size and thickness of a cigar. He would block often. Tucker suffered from IBD, it presented with a slow bowel, he didn't get diarrhea, he got blocked. He often needed Flagyl and every spring we shaved his coat and kept it short until winter. He had a few enemas after that, but once we started to shave him he didn't have many blocks after that.

Tucker could not have anything with corn or wheat gluten and when his pancreatitis flared he took Buprenex for pain, subq fluids and another round of Flagyl.

I did have a kitty named Keesha who swallowed a bug and that got caught going from her stomach to intestine. After a barium series xray, she too needed surgery because she was blocked.
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

(((Allie))), no advice from me; but am sending lots of hugs and well-wishes and prayers for Buddy's swiftest possible recovery!

Eliz x
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

A very hard decision. If Buddy is declining you may have to do the surgery. If they can definately see something on xray that is very worrisome. My friend has a cat that had something removed from her stomach. They never new what it was. Her kitty was never one to eat anything unusual. My friend is a good cat Mom too. Her kitty got into something and she couldn't figure out what it was. Her kitty is doing fine now.
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

Prayers for a successful surgery...

My cat didn't like hairball treats or remedys either.... I always had to just put some on my finger and wipe it on her upper palate where
she had to deal with it....
but I wouldn't do any of that to Buddy, might make him feel worse....

I like the shaving idea....
or
Marje likes coconut oil .
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm
I haven't tried it... but she says it helps their coats , her kitties love it...

maybe this would be good after his surgery to make sure he never needs that again...

Poor Buddy cat_pet_icon
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

Dear Allie,

Have the vets said anything about this looking like he could possibly have Intussusception? That is very serious, and I had a kitten (my Schooner) once who had it at only 5 months old. It appeared to be a large blockage, but his intestines enveloped over themselves, and caused the blockage. He had to have surgery. It was corrected, and he lived another 15 years!

Here is a site about it:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2122&aid=306

I sure hope your boy will be okay. Sending lots of prayers and thoughts to you and your husband too. Your Buddy is just so handsome! He looks like my Woodee who was operated on in December of 2007 and given one year max to live. He is still here going strong! He had Fibrosarcoma in his side, very large. Over five years ago!!! I will pray for a miracle for your boy, like my Woodee got!

HUGS,
Jean and Charcoal (GA) cat_pet_icon
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, needing surgery???

Thank you all so much!! This will be short as I'm on phone and terrible typist on tiny keyboard. He is worse so we are not wàiting for test results but operating today. I will post with an update. Please pray. Thank you.
 
Re: Cat with giant hairball, UPDATED

Sending gobs of vines your way - I hope the operation goes on without incident.
 
Oh no, I am so sorry. My sympathies. Poor little fellow....you did everything you could for him.
Fly free wings_cat
 
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