January 2, 2024, 1:46 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Cats often vomit. Usually, this is harmless, but it can also be a sign of an intestinal blockage. If not detected in time, it can have life-threatening consequences. This was the case with Kimmie, the cat of PETBOOK editor Saskia Schneider. In her account, she describes the initial symptoms and the last-minute rescue.
My cat Kimmie always had peculiar preferences for toys. Many cat owners might know this: You buy a wide range of toy wands, mice, or balls, and the cat prefers to play with cotton swabs. For Kimmie, it was chickpeas. It all started when a pack fell off the shelf, and the dried legumes amusingly rolled across the floor. Since then, they were our cat’s favorite toy. I never would have suspected that these small peas could cause an intestinal blockage and lead to an emergency surgery for our cat.
The Cat Becomes a Water Spout
It all began on a Saturday morning (such things always happen on weekends or holidays when veterinarians are not regularly open). Kimmie had been vomiting since the early morning hours.
However, this was not the usual vomiting, where the cat retches several times and then spits up digested food or some foamy bile. The vomit came out of Kimmie suddenly and in a gush. Even water didn’t stay down for ten minutes.
With these noticeable symptoms, I should have been suspicious. Therefore, my appeal to all cat owners is: If your cat vomits in a gush like a water spout, go to the vet immediately or better yet, head straight to the clinic!
Also interesting: Why playing with strings can be life-threatening for cats
Kimmie Falls Out of Bed in Pain
Since we live in Berlin, our vet was fortunately still open. There, they initially suspected a gastrointestinal infection. This meant: an injection for nausea and some fluids, as Kimmie was slightly dehydrated.
The term intestinal blockage was mentioned, but since the cat was only in the apartment and we could rule out ingestion of foreign objects–at least we thought so–Kimmie was allowed to go back home.
There, she immediately lay on the bed. Despite the injection, Kimmie had severe abdominal cramps and began to meow loudly. She was trembling, so I lay down next to her. But the cramps didn’t lessen; they got worse. Eventually, it was so bad that the cat fell off the bed screaming. That’s when I knew: We need to go to the clinic–and now!
A Race Against (Life)Time
The vet had recommended a few clinics. One was nearby, about 15 minutes away by car. We took a taxi but, in the panic, forgot to give the taxi driver not only the street but also the postal code, and ended up in a completely wrong district.
With the second taxi, it worked out, and we finally reached the clinic after 45 minutes. When the veterinary assistant saw Kimmie, she turned pale and immediately fetched a veterinarian, who took us into the examination room. After a brief examination of the cat, she suspected poisoning or an intestinal blockage.
Help at the Last Minute
The cat was initially put on a drip, and we were sent home. X-rays and ultrasound were supposed to reveal the cause of the animal’s catastrophic condition. But we were told the diagnosis could take a while, as the device was currently in use.
An hour later, the call came. Although no foreign object was visible on the X-ray and ultrasound, the intestine was completely empty, so they decided to operate to track down the culprit. However, the surgery was associated with high risks, as the intestine would have to be cut open, the veterinarian informed us. We agreed.
Veterinarian: “I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This”
A few hours later, the second call came. The surgery went well, but the veterinarian told us over the phone that she had never seen anything like this in her entire career. In the narrow passage from the stomach to the intestine, a chickpea was lodged, causing the intestinal blockage in the cat.
Kimmie must have swallowed it while playing at night or in the early morning. Since the stomach was empty, the pea passed through the stomach relatively quickly, swelled up, and then got stuck in the passage to the intestine. At least that’s the theory.
The veterinarian told us it was a rescue at the last minute. Kimmie wouldn’t have survived much longer. “I never would have thought a chickpea could be so dangerous for cats,” the veterinarian told us. Neither did we.
The Most Expensive Chickpea of My Life
Kimmie had to stay in the clinic for another day for observation before we could pick her up. In the meantime, we started turning the entire apartment upside down to find all the play-peas that were still under cabinets, the sofa, or the carpet.
Our cat recovered well after the surgery and was soon back to her old self. We received the chickpea in a little bag, which hung on our refrigerator for many years afterward. After all, this pea cost us almost 700 euros!