The Catch & Release Cat ...
Baby Boy, a 2 year old
domestic shorthair cat, presented to our clinic on a hot summer day with the
owner’s request to have a fish hook removed from his mouth.
Apparently, the owner was an avid fisherman had a special room in his
house just for his fishing gear. He
is vigilant to keep the door closed, but somehow Baby Boy was attracted by
the smells from the room and was able to get the door opened.
He was found with a large multi-hook lure hooked through his mouth.
Physical exam was
unremarkable except for the lure with multiple hooks partially and/or
completely impaling him on the right upper and lower lips.
It was determined that we would need to anesthetize Baby Boy in order
to remove the hooks. This was
challenging because if we used the face mask and he began to struggle before
falling asleep, the hooks in his mouth and a face mask could cause more
damage.
We placed Baby Boy in an induction chamber (see photographs above and to the
right) and
slowly filled it with anesthesia until he was anesthetized.
We were able to keep gas supplied via a face mask once he was anesthetized
while the partial thickness barbed hooks were passed completely through the
skin (see photographs below). All
the hooks were then cut above the barbs and gently removed from the mouth.
Hopefully, Baby Boy has learned his lesson and will try other methods to
catch fish in the future!
We gave Baby Boy a Convenia inection (an injectable antibiotic that lasts
for two weeks) and sent home Metacam (an oral pain medication) and the
remaining sections of the lure (see photograph below).
