On Sunday morning we had our normal routine, he ate his breakfast and ran around with his brother. Then everything went from bad to worse. 10:30am we noticed liquid-only vomit on our floor, we cleaned it up and I figured he drank his water too quickly.
Around noon Sunday, he vomited again in our guest bedroom. Same scenario, liquid-only vomit. I grew concerned because he gets occasional hairballs.
I let him rest in our room, then he proceeded around 4pm to vomit AGAIN, it was straight bile. I made the call to take him to the emergency vet because I was worried about an obstruction.
After spending 6 hours at the emergency vet, the doctor recommended an anti-nausea med and fluids.
Monday comes, it’s 6am, and Leo again vomits a very large amount of bile and it smelled HORRENDOUS. We go back to the emergency vet and I demand an x-ray. Doctor sees blockage but cannot identify what it is, quotes us $8k to do the surgery. My boyfriend & I extremely frantic call 40-50 different practices getting quotes for operating ASAP. By the grace of God a practice in a rural area took us in for $1500.
Lo and behold, Leo had Intussusception and needed part of his intestine removed. The doctor that operated told me it was cutting off the blood supply in his stomach and he would’ve gone septic if we waited an additional 24 hours.
He is now home, and we have a bit of a recovery ahead. We went from a perfectly sound household to a cat with intense abdominal surgery within 18 hours. It’s been extremely stressful but $2500 later he’s alive and I’m so grateful.
If your mainecoon exhibits frequent sudden vomiting, extreme lethargy, and x-rays say blockage, please ask about Intussusception. AND GET PET INSURANCE! (Please enjoy photos of loopy kitty). Tips are also appreciated if your kitty has had this surgery.