Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Intestinal obstruction by trichobezoars in five cats.
- Journal:
- Journal of feline medicine and surgery
- Year:
- 1999
- Authors:
- Barrs, V R et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · United Kingdom
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Between 1997 and 1999, five domestic crossbred cats, four of which had long hair, were found to have hairballs causing blockages in their intestines. These hairballs were located in the small intestine and led to either partial or complete obstruction. In most cases, the blockages were straightforward, but one cat had a more serious strangulating obstruction. Three of the cats were older than 10 years, and in some cases, further tests were not done because their owners thought the outlook was poor. The study suggests that hair ingestion can lead to serious health issues, especially in long-haired cats, and should be considered when diagnosing intestinal blockages.
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: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11714236/