The title says it all: my little monster has eaten a sanitary towel, plastic wrapper and all.
As soon as I realised, I called the vet. We've got an appointment in 2 hours for an examination and an ultrasound.
Given the size of the thing compared to my girl, and what it's made of, the vet surgery doesn't recommend waiting for it to pass like other small items might, and they want to examine her before advising on what to do.
So here I am, worried sick, just waiting for the appointment time to roll around. It happened during the night, so it's too late to induce vomiting. I'm not really sure what's going to happen next.
As for how on earth she got her paws on the pad, let's just say my sister will definitely be sleeping out on the porch tonight.
I'd be grateful for any info on pets swallowing similar objects, especially if you've got any reassuring stories!
Translated from French
The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.
Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.
Oh dear, I’m so sorry she’s had a relapse...
Regarding the deficiencies, check with the vet if they can give you some supplements for a while, the kind of things people use for home-cooked diets—like a multi-vitamin and mineral powder and maybe an extra phosphorus/calcium supplement on top.
But have they actually considered that the return of the soft poo might be linked to the lack of bone, if she hasn't had any for two months?
Unfortunately, the weak link with our "super team" is the diet side of things. I’m completely on my own with that. They can’t wrap their heads around the fact that Minnie didn’t get on with their "super" home-cooked recipe developed by a "renowned nutritionist", and that grain-inclusive dry food gives her wind and makes her bloated.
So, since they don't have any other solutions, I’m stuck doing what seems like the least worst option, flying blind...
Since they don't think bones have much business being in a diet anyway, there’s little chance they’ll make the connection!
She’s been on a digestive binder (like a dog-safe smectite) for three days now, but her stools still aren’t any better, so there’s no hope of getting her back on bones just yet...
Tomorrow's tests are also supposed to check her phosphorus and calcium levels to see if it’s really dire.
If the results aren't good, I'm thinking of trying a third clinic, maybe with a "pro-BARF" vet, to see if they can help fill the gaps regarding her nutrition.
I must admit I’m feeling a bit defeated, and I just don't know which way to turn anymore...
Regarding the deficiencies, check with the vet to see if they can give you some supplements for a bit, the kind of thing people use when they’re home-cooking their pet's food—maybe a multivitamin and mineral mix and perhaps an extra Calcium/Phosphorus supplement as well.
But have they considered whether the return of the soft poo could be linked to the lack of bone, given she hasn't had any for two months now?
Anyway, on a slightly more positive note, Minnie really made the most of her holiday, she had an absolute blast—it was lovely to see her having so much fun!
To give a bit of context regarding the @Misanthrope situation, she’s being seen by quite a crowd, split into two teams:
Paris Team:
- Her vet, who’s been seeing her since we moved here.
- The head of the clinic where she’s treated.
- The clinic’s ultrasound specialist.
- An internal medicine specialist from the Frégis referral hospital.
They joined the "adventure" in that order, and the head of the clinic is the one managing the file now; he’s essentially the lead on the case. They’ve put together a full medical record which is updated with every new test, any new leads, and the "poo diary" (a little file I invented myself which logs every poo since the incident, by date, with what she ate listed underneath to try and find a link).
This record is shared with the Lyon team (the clinic Minnie went to before we moved):
- The vet who’d seen her since she was a kitten.
- The internal medicine specialist there.
- The head of the clinic when he’s available.
The Lyon team is there to give their opinion and suggest things the others might have missed. That’s a lot of brainpower working on the case!
As soon as things stalled, they immediately started a file (they must have seen the complications coming) to help make sense of it all, because it really is a proper muddle and so hard to keep track of!
Thanks for the chart; I can’t remember the TLI levels offhand, but I’ll check how it looks for my little monster this evening!
I'm so sorry for you and Minnie! It’s been a real rollercoaster of a story to follow with all these twists and turns! Were all the tests done at the same clinic and seen by the same specialists? It’s all enough to make your head spin!
Unfortunately Docline, it seems my intuition wasn't that great after all, we’re back to square one! :(
Quiz, I’m getting a bit desperate now; I really believed in it, but it seems things just don’t want to get better!
Energie, I had some really great stools for a week, but what with being on holiday I’d switched off my phone, so I couldn’t share my enthusiasm!
Yes Enicia, thanks for the idea, I might try turkey now that beef is no longer agreeing with her!
The thing is, I reckon after 2 months without bones (due to 2 months of diarrhoea) we’re starting to see some serious deficiencies, and I’m not really sure how to handle things anymore...
And as for the advice from the tribe, I think I’ve exhausted all their ideas! In my opinion, it’s something completely unrelated to BARF, so there’s not much they can do for me...
A very relevant post from that former user, I’ve definitely taken note! :)
Right, I'm back. I tried to post something before heading off on holiday, but it seems it didn't go through.
So, here is what the vet told me a fortnight ago: all her results are fine, except for the 'TLI' (I think that’s the term) and a bacterial thing whose name I’ve forgotten (folate? I must admit, these words are all a bit too complicated for my poor brain and I haven't had the written report yet to give you the full details).
They aren't worried about the bacterial side of things, as there were no bacteria in the other tests (the stool samples, amongst others). It’s possible it’s a side effect from the towel.
So, what's bothering them is the TLI, which is playing up. The vets are thinking it could be chronic pancreatitis.
We’ve done another blood test, specifically for pancreatitis. We should have the results tomorrow.
Mind you, they had ruled out pancreatitis during the various ultrasounds. I’m not entirely sure what that implies now.
I’ve been given lots of facts and new hypotheses, but nothing about why nothing showed up on the scan, nor has anyone explained pancreatitis to me yet; I think they’re waiting to see what the results say before they freak me out.
They’re probably right, given how stressed I get when it comes to Minnie..!
It’s so hard not to Google every corner of the internet to "find out everything" about pancreatitis. I’m worried about stressing myself out over nothing or getting worked up by the wrong info.
If it’s not pancreatitis, she’ll have an endoscopy to do a biopsy of her gut.
Her poo was better for a week, and then she had a completely random relapse. I’m gutted.
I’ll post another message to reply to you all individually! :)
