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Hi all. Some of you may recall when Pretty Girl wasn't eating and was lethargic and I took her to the kitty ER.
The X-ray revealed a BB in her, it's maybe an inch from her spine about midway down her torso. ER doc said she'd leave it be.
Our question is, has anyone else discovered this issue and if so what did you do? A cursory look indicates most BBs are made of steel. So...will the metal deteriorate? Can toxins be released? Or does the body form a protective membrane around a foreign object to protect itself?
Thoughts welcomed. Thanks, all. It doesn't appear to be bothering her.
Near spine is really, really tricky to work on. All BB's today are steel with a copper coating. It's really uncertain how your cat will tolerate the BB's over time so watch for problems if any.
Next find out who shot the cat ,if you can,and either kick some azz or file a complaint with police.
Over the years I have read a number of reports of people finding BBs in their cats. These are invariably cats rescued/adopted from shelters with the BB already there, the BB found when doing diagnostics for something else. In all cases I have followed the decision was to do nothing, except keep an eye on it.
I just had a thought..is there much difference (aside from the obvious) between leaving a BB and a microchip being embedded under the skin? Seems the same concept to me, a foreign matter where it doesn't belong? But I could be missing something.
Something near the spine like that...yeah, I can see why a vet wouldn't want to mess with that.
Marino, BB's are the tiny round metal pellets that people shoot out of BB guns. A lot of nasty people out there like to use our kitties as target practice
I can't stand acronyms either, but I've never really heard them called anything except BB's.
Marino, BB's are the tiny round metal pellets that people shoot out of BB guns. A lot of nasty people out there like to use our kitties as target practice
I can't stand acronyms either, but I've never really heard them called anything except BB's.
Thanks for the explanation. I never dawned on me it was actual BB's from a BB gun. I thought it was an acronym for a medical condition.
How horrible! People are so cruel.
^^Thanks, all. Pretty was an outside cat who came to the feedings we stage for the various strays or neglected cats in the neighborhood.
She seemed to have a home in a woody knoll a couple of hundred feet away, down by a big water drain pipe. She'd come charging up to us when we went out to feed the gang.
She's always been quite friendly, tame and sweet. She's not crazy about other cats and would always growl and keep others from her plate. That's her history, I presume she has her reasons for that.
Last winter when it got REALLY cold, we could see the cold affected her more than the other outside cats. Poor baby looked miserable and very cold.
She has a thin coat, but we also suspect she had a gwammy or gwampy where she was loved and well-cared-for and for some reason was put out. We all know cruel cases. I know of a nephew who became his elder aunt's caretaker and her old cat Gus was put out a lot. People are cruel and thoughless.
At any rate, we let Pretty Girl into our heated garage where she immediately found a nest. She was so sweet and personable that we discussed adopting her, which we did, after two or three weeks in the garage.
We took her to the vet, we checked all the Missing Cats sites and saw nothing, so she's here now.
The ER visit in August (IIRC) was when we discovered the BB. The doc and I agreed an X-ray was in order when no other clear reason for her not eating was obvious. We thought there could be a blockage.
The vet said embedded BBs are not uncommon, she sees it often.
Because there are lots of rotten people out there.
I've seen various internet stories where rescued critters have BBs in them. One dog had 28. Some folks have some really bad karma heading for them, when that time comes.
We haven't had our other three cats X-rayed. Perhaps we should.
Last edited by Dwatted Wabbit; 10-12-2018 at 11:18 AM..
^^Thanks, all. Pretty was an outside cat who came to the feedings we stage for the various strays or neglected cats in the neighborhood.
She seemed to have a home in a woody knoll a couple of hundred feet away, down by a big water drain pipe. She'd come charging up to us when we went out to feed the gang.
She's always been quite friendly, tame and sweet. She's not crazy about other cats and would always growl and keep others from her plate. That's her history, I presume she has her reasons for that.
Last winter when it got REALLY cold, we could see the cold affected her more than the other outside cats. Poor baby looked miserable and very cold.
She has a thin coat, but we also suspect she had a gwammy or gwampy where she was loved and well-cared-for and for some reason was put out. We all know cruel cases. I know of a nephew who became his elder aunt's caretaker and her old cat Gus was put out a lot. People are cruel and thoughless.
At any rate, we let Pretty Girl into our heated garage where she immediately found a nest. She was so sweet and personable that we discussed adopting her, which we did, after two or three weeks in the garage.
We took her to the vet, we checked all the Missing Cats sites and saw nothing, so she's here now.
The ER visit in August (IIRC) was when we discovered the BB. The doc and I agreed an X-ray was in order when no other clear reason for her not eating was obvious. We thought there could be a blockage.
The vet said embedded BBs are not uncommon, she sees it often.
Because there are lots of rotten people out there.
I've seen various internet stories where rescued critters have BBs in them. One dog had 28. Some folks have some really bad karma heading for them, when that time comes.
We haven't had our other three cats X-rayed. Perhaps we should.
Marino, BB's are the tiny round metal pellets that people shoot out of BB guns. A lot of nasty people out there like to use our kitties as target practice
I can't stand acronyms either, but I've never really heard them called anything except BB's.
Maybe they get tired of your kitties crapping in their flowerbeds, killing birds, and leaving footprints all over their cars? That is a risk you take when you are irresponsible and allow your cats to roam free and become a nuisance to others. If you don't want anything to happen to your animals, keep them safely contained on your OWN property. I will never understand owners being shocked or even saddened with their cat, that they allowed to roam outdoors, meets an untimely end because of them.
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