A CAT that needed emergency surgery after eating 21 elastic hairbands has made a full recovery, thanks to the care and expertise of a Warwickshire vet practice.
Winnie, a one-year-old Maine Coon, had secretly stolen the hair ties belonging to owner Kerrie Whelan’s 10-year-old daughter Belle.
While Miss Whelan had noticed that the elasticated bands were going missing from their home, it wasn’t until Winnie started vomiting and had an upset tummy that she realised they’d been eaten by her much-loved pet.
She rushed the cat to Shipston Vets in Shipston-on-Stour, which is part of the VetPartners family of practices, where an examination and X-ray discovered that Winnie had a ball of tangled elasticated bands inside her stomach.
Vet and clinical director April Wall said it is one of the most unusual cases the practice has seen and is warning owners to keep hairbands out of reach of pets, because swallowing even one could have potentially fatal consequences.
April commented
“Winnie was brought in to see us because she was quieter than usual and had started vomiting. Then her owner found two hairbands in Winnie’s poo and became worried that she may have swallowed more. We could feel something firm in her stomach, so we performed an X-ray and this revealed that there were quite a few bands inside Winnie.
“It was important they were removed as soon as possible, so I performed surgery to access her stomach and I couldn’t believe it when we counted 21 hairbands. They had become tangled together and created a big clump that was causing a partial blockage, which is what had caused the vomiting and stomach upset.
“Winnie is very lucky that her owner brought her to us as soon as she became aware that there was something not quite right with her cat, because if the hairbands had been left any longer she could have become very unwell. The hairbands could have caused damage to the stomach tissue and led to septic peritonitis, which can be fatal. There was also a risk that the bands could have passed into her intestine, which would also have been extremely serious and more difficult to remove.
“Our advice to owners is to keep hair bobbles, hair ties and ribbons well away from cats, preferably in a drawer, as they are clearly very tempting to play with and can be swallowed by accident.”
Miss Whelan has joined Shipston Vets’ call for owners to be extra cautious about leaving hairbands where cats can access them and has praised the veterinary team for the care it gave to Winnie.
Miss Whelan said: “When April finished the surgery and called to tell me how many hairbands she’d found inside Winnie, it came as a total shock. We had absolutely no idea Winnie was eating them, and I just thought my daughter was misplacing them. I remember having to buy another packet and asking Belle how she had managed to lose so many. It’s possible that Winnie could have been eating them for two or three months.
“We’re now keeping hairbands safely shut in a drawer where Winnie can’t reach them and we’ve also bought some thicker ones that she hopefully won’t be tempted to eat.
“Thankfully, she’s made a full recovery and was so much brighter even a few hours after her surgery. She must have felt a lot better without all those bands in her stomach.
“I am so grateful to April and the team at Shipston Vets for saving Winnie. She’s such a lovely cat and they were wonderful and gave her the best possible care.”