Jazz, a 14-month-old cat was taken to Meridian Vets in Peacehaven, which is part of the VetPartners family of practices, by owner Lauren Rice when her beloved pet became lethargic and started being sick.
Vet Si Keirle examined Jazz but couldn’t find any obvious reasons for the cat’s sickness. However, when her signs didn’t improve he performed an X-ray that showed she had a round object inside her abdomen.
The object was causing a life-threatening blockage in Jazz’s intestine, so Si performed emergency surgery to remove it and was surprised when it turned out to be a one pence coin.
Si said that it’s one of the most unusual things he’s surgically removed from a cat.
Si said: “When we saw the object on the X-ray, I could tell it was round and made of metal but it was a surprise to discover it was a coin. Cats sometimes accidentally swallow string or thread that they’ve been playing with, but it’s very unusual for them to ingest larger objects.
“After Jazz swallowed the coin, it made its way through her stomach and into her intestine, where it turned 90-degrees and caused a blockage. This was what made her unwell. Jazz was very lucky that her owner brought her to us, because if we hadn’t removed the coin she would have been at risk of a ruptured intestine and septic peritonitis, which can be fatal.
“Signs that a pet has swallowed something they shouldn’t include being lethargic, vomiting and not going to the toilet. If anyone is at all concerned that their pet has swallowed a foreign body, the best thing to do is consult a vet as soon as possible.”
Lauren said: “I was really shocked when they told me what Jazz had swallowed and I’m not sure where she found the coin. We’d only recently moved house and it could have been lying around from the move and she may have spotted it and thought it would be fun to play with. She became very poorly after swallowing it and I’m so grateful to Si and his team for saving her. He’s a highly skilled vet and was deeply compassionate when we were going through such a worrying time, and gave us a lot of confidence and comfort that Jazz was going to be OK.”