Veterinarians help remove 38 hair ties from abandoned cat’s stomach at animal shelter
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) - Officials at an animal shelter in South Carolina say a cat that was brought in for lifesaving surgery has died.
Officials with the Charleston Animal Society said an abandoned cat named Juliet was brought to the shelter along with two others after the animals’ family moved out of state.
The family reportedly left the cats outside and unattended.
The shelter said Juliet began not eating after being at the shelter for several weeks and became lethargic. That’s when radiographs showed an unusual blockage in the cat’s stomach.
“I had never seen anything like it,” Charleston Animal Society Associate Director of Veterinary Care Dr. Leigh Jamison said.
Jamison’s team said they soon uncovered a “seemingly endless bundle of strings” inside the cat’s stomach. They found the bundle was 38 hair ties that were preventing Juliet from eating and processing food.
The veterinarian team said they surgically removed the hair ties from the cat’s stomach. They said the items did not cause damage to Juliet’s intestines but they were watching a serious liver condition that developed because of fat buildup.
Jamison said Juliet’s condition was fair after the surgery, but the animal ended up dying as of Friday.
Jamison’s team also wants Juliet’s story to be used as a lesson for cat owners.
“While cats love to play with bouncy, stringy objects like hair ties and rubber bands, they should never do so unsupervised, because swallowing them may require medical attention,” the veterinarian team shared.
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