Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hair balls causing intestinal blockage in five cats
By Barrs, V R et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·1999·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Intestinal obstruction by trichobezoars in five cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Five domestic cats, including four long-haired ones, were brought to the vet with a noticeable abdominal mass and symptoms of intestinal blockage caused by hairballs (trichobezoars). These hairballs were found in the small intestine and caused either partial or complete obstructions. In one case, the obstruction was severe enough to cause strangulation. Factors like long hair, flea allergies, and inflammatory bowel disease were linked to these issues. Treatment involved surgery to remove the hairballs, and the cats were monitored for recovery.
People also search for: cat hairball blockage · long-haired cat intestinal obstruction · cat surgery for hairballs · signs of cat abdominal pain · cat flea allergy treatment
Abstract
Between 1997 and 1999, five domestic crossbred cats (four long haired, one short haired) presented with a palpable abdominal mass and were shown to have small intestinal trichobezoars at laparotomy or necropsy. Hair balls were associated with partial or complete intestinal obstruction and were situated in the proximal jejunum to distal ileum. In four cats obstructions were simple, while the remaining cat had a strangulating obstruction. Three of the cats were 10 years or older, and two were less than 4 years. In the three older cats abdominal neoplasia was suspected and investigations were delayed or declined in two of these cats because of a perceived poor prognosis. Predisposing factors identified in this series of cats included a long-hair coat, flea allergy dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease and ingestion of non-digestible plant material. This report shows that the ingestion of hair is not always innocuous and that intestinal trichobezoars should be considered in the differential diagnoses of intestinal obstruction and intra-abdominal mass lesions, particularly in long-haired cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11714236/