A cat choked on a bone: advice, danger and what to do?

Animals have different temperaments just like people. A great example of this is cats and cats. Even by the way these animals eat, one can judge how excitable their nervous system is: more active and restless cats usually always swallow food as if they were seriously hungry, and all this despite the fact that since the last meal no more than a few hours could have passed. Accordingly, such animals have a high risk of choking while eating.

What to do if your cat is choking

The first thing to do is make sure that the cat really choked . A fish bone is unlikely to cause serious problems. It is usually much easier to get it than a chicken bone. You can determine the presence of foreign objects in the throat using symptoms. Main symptoms:

• The cat coughs constantly;
• Periodically tries to put his paw in his mouth;
• The eyes come out of their sockets;
• Wheezing is constantly heard;
• The animal is in a state of strong excitement;
• Sometimes loss of consciousness occurs.

If it is not possible to take the cat to the veterinarian in the near future, then you need to get the bone as soon as possible. You need to try to open the cat's mouth by pressing the cat's upper lip to the jaw and trying to open the mouth with the other hand. To make it easier to remove the foreign body, you should use tweezers.

Another effective method is to induce vomiting in the cat . If the bone is small, the cat can be given one teaspoon of Vaseline oil .

You can also induce vomiting in an animal using salt .
To do this, you need to mix about one quarter teaspoon of salt and one spoon of water.

Symptoms: how can you tell if your cat is choking?

The grass for a cat is a means of cleansing the stomach if hair has accumulated there. The animal eats plants on purpose so that they can tear them out later. Therefore, such vomiting is not considered a signal that the animal is choking. Most often, the cause is hard bone, large cartilage, or fragments of plastic toys that the cat has chewed. The kitten is choking on milk or water. If a cat has a bone stuck in its throat, the symptoms are as follows:

• anxiety and restlessness;
• profuse drooling;
• increased regurgitation;
• constant presence of the paw in the mouth, as if something was bothering him;
• refusal of food and water;
• strong tongue protrusion;
• wheezing or heavy breathing;
• the appearance of bloody impurities in the saliva if a foreign body is stuck in the esophagus.

How to remove a bone from your throat

If you are sure that something is stuck in the animal’s throat, you should immediately provide medical assistance to the animal. also make sure that it is bone and not some other foreign object.

To provide emergency medical assistance, you should use the following method: pour a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil into the animal’s throat. After this, you need to try again to get the bone. As a last resort, you can try to push the foreign body directly into the stomach.

ATTENTION! The main thing the cat owner needs to do is clear the airways. Otherwise, the cat will suffocate.

You should also use Dentavegil , but it is better to consult a veterinarian before use.

If you still can’t do this, then you need to try to grab the cat by the legs and then lower it head down. When the animal is in this position, it needs to be shaken properly. If this does not help, then you will have to do artificial respiration .

A piece of fish bone, a chicken bone and other foreign objects are a fairly common cause of death in domestic animals, so experienced veterinarians can help an animal in this situation as quickly as possible.

Preventive measures

For prevention purposes, you should follow the following rules:

• give the animal fish without small bones;
• do not feed chicken bones;
• use food based on age, for example, buy small dry food for kittens;
• Finely chop the meat for small kittens, do not leave large pieces near them for an adult cat.

Cats, just like people, can choke easily. Their digestive tract is quite thin and easily susceptible to mechanical damage. The pathological condition can be caused by grass, wool, fish products, and small children's toys. If a cat has a bone stuck in its throat, every owner should know what to do and what conditions to observe.

Advice from experts

The most serious problem that can arise from a bone is suffocation . In this case, the cat’s mucous membranes acquire a specific shade, and it becomes extremely difficult for the animal to breathe. This is a consequence of airway obstruction. In this case, it is best to take the animal to a specialist as soon as possible . Minutes can count!

In some cases, a foreign object can cause damage to internal organs . Most often, this problem occurs if the bone is not only quite large and heavy, but also sharp. In this case, any problems may arise.

It should also be remembered that all actions to remove bone from the throat and mouth require professional skills .

Special technical equipment may be required. Without it, it will be quite difficult to get a foreign object, so you should take any action yourself only if there is no time left to call a veterinarian. Then you should start acting on your own, but it would not be superfluous to at least call the veterinarian and find out how best to do this before starting to remove a foreign object from the oral cavity.

IMPORTANT! It is also worth remembering that many cats begin to panic when they are suffocating. This seriously complicates the process of providing assistance. The cat begins to actively break free from his hands and tries to run away.

If you still managed to clear the airways of foreign objects, then after that you need to give the cat artificial respiration. It is best to do this through the nose. Before doing this, it is recommended to remove fluid from the mouth using a clean cloth. You should also place the cat so that its mouth is lower than body level .
This will prevent saliva from getting into your throat.

Features of the pharynx and esophagus in cats

Cats can chew and digest large amounts of food in one sitting. The food consumed by the animal enters the oral cavity, the base of which are two jaws - the lower and upper jaws, the bones of the palate and the incisive bone.

Inside the oral cavity there is also a hyoid bone, which anchors the lingual, pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles. In this case, the oral cavity begins from the lips, extends through the pharynx and then makes a smooth transition into the pharynx.

Digestion begins directly in the oral cavity through the mechanical action of the teeth - chewing. Simply put, a cat's digestive system consists of the mouth, the pharynx, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, and ends in the rectum and anus.

Cats and cats can chew and digest a fairly large amount of food in one sitting, while powerful teeth can even gnaw bones. However, it happens that this same bone gets stuck at a certain interval and the animal cannot cope with the problem on its own.

Signs of a foreign object in a pet's throat are easy to recognize. These symptoms include:

• signs of suffocation - difficulty breathing;
• persistent suffocating cough;
• profuse drooling;
• urge to vomit;
• the pet's attempts to fix the problem.

A choking cough is a sign that the cat is choking.

If your pet has difficulty breathing, you should pay attention to the color of his gums. Lack of air will appear on the mucous membrane of the gums with a bluish color and it is necessary to immediately take measures to save the animal. Normally, the gums should be pink.

How does a pet behave if it chokes on some food?

Typically, an animal will get into trouble if its diet contains food that contains hard or semi-solid parts, such as bones. Veterinarians do not recommend giving cats this food. It is better to feed them only soft parts of fish or meat. You can't rely on your pet's teeth.

The first priority for a person is to identify symptoms that indicate that a kitten or adult animal is choking. To do this, you need to take a closer look at your pet. If he chokes on, for example, a fish bone, the following symptoms usually appear:

1. The presence of a hard object in your pet's throat is indicated by the urge to vomit. If the bone is stuck deep, then the cat’s attempts to remove the bone by vomiting will increase, but they will not bring success.
2. Usually in this state he cannot swallow small pieces of food or drink water. Panicking cat can't swallow his own saliva.
3. Signs of vomiting may not appear, but severe vomiting may begin. If its intensity is high from the very beginning, it means that the animal actually choked on a solid piece of food.

Sometimes the owner just thinks that something has happened to his pet. Usually a person is mistaken if a cat begins to tremble, has convulsions, opens its mouth, and coughs. It may just be a wave-like cough, which makes it clear that there is trouble in the pet’s respiratory system.

Therefore, a person must be able to distinguish these symptoms from vomiting that appears in a pet when a bone gets into the throat.

Some cats, quite rarely, have an abnormal throat structure that can cause symptoms similar to choking on a hard object. The same urges (vomiting, choking) appear in cats with an allergic lesion, but other symptoms should also arise.

If the owner knows that before signs of trouble appeared the animal ate bones, then most often they cause vomiting if they fail to pass through the pet’s throat. Therefore, a person must act quickly.

• First, a choking cat is checked to ensure adequate breathing. If she breathes freely enough, it means the foreign body is shallow. A person can try to get it out with tweezers. It will not be easy for one owner to do this; an assistant will be needed, since an animal panicking due to fear of suffocation will scratch, twist, and run away from people.

Therefore, the assistant must hold the pet tightly and bring it to a bright light source. The owner of the pet opens the cat's mouth and, if the tip of the bone is visible, tries to grab it with tweezers and then remove it from the pet's throat.

• There is another way to fix the problem. You need to pour a little vegetable oil into the mouth. It will force the bone into the animal’s stomach and help it put its respiratory system in order.
• Owners who have experience with cats recommend in such situations to lower the pet upside down (as mothers do with their children if the child is choking), and then hit the cat hard on the chest or slap it on the back. This will help shake the bone out of your throat.
• You can try to artificially induce vomiting. Then the pet's throat will contract and push the bone out. You need to act quickly, but do not use force, as this will cause stress in the cat.

Kittens often choke due to the speed of eating food. If this happens, the baby is picked up and warm water is poured into his mouth. You can lightly pat your pet on the back with your palm.

It is forbidden to give your pet vodka or alcohol, or laxatives. Sometimes surgery may be necessary.

So, if you know that the cat has eaten bones, and she definitely choked, do not panic, but act quickly and correctly. First of all, determine the adequacy of breathing, and if everything is fine with it, the foreign object is not deeply stuck, then you can try to pull it out with tweezers. Of course, it will be difficult to do this alone, because the cat will wriggle out, scratch, and run away.

But by enlisting the support of one of the family members, bringing the animal to a source of bright light, you can try to get the bone. The second option for help is vegetable oil. You just need to pour it down your throat in at least a teaspoon. It will make it easier for the injured cat to breathe and will help the foreign body slide.

Experienced pet owners act differently in such situations. Some lower the cat upside down, like a child, and slap it hard on the back, on its chest. That is, we are talking about tapping or shaking out the bone from the throat. Others try to induce vomiting so that the throat contracts and pushes the bone out.

Experience shows that kittens often choke on food when they eat it quickly. This happens when there are several of them, and everyone is trying to grab more for themselves (the struggle for survival), but the throat simply cannot cope with such a load. In such a situation, you need to take the baby and pour warm water into his mouth or pat him on the back with your palm.

In rare cases, bone suffocation can lead to tragic consequences. If you see that your pet’s tongue is turning blue, you need emergency help from a specialist. In such cases, you should always have the veterinarian’s phone number at hand. If the cat is breathing normally, but periodically gags, trying to get rid of a foreign object, immediately take him to the veterinary clinic.

Sometimes, to remove a foreign body from a cat’s pharynx or esophagus, it is impossible to do without general anesthesia. It is very rare that bones are removed from the stomach surgically or endoscopically. This is an exception to the rule, but the owner must be prepared for such an outcome.

If you are afraid to help yourself and don’t know what to do, your dog has a bone stuck in its intestines, contact your veterinarian.

Let's consider some points:

1. If bone fragments are stuck in the mouth, you can try to remove them yourself. Fix the dog in one position, use a mouth expander. If the fragment is visible, remove it with tweezers. If it is impossible to see the location of the fragment, you can illuminate the mouth with a flashlight. After release, sprinkle a weak solution of potassium manganese into the oral cavity;
2. If the dog has severe chills that were caused by convulsive processes, no-shpa should be administered to remove contractions of the smooth muscles. This will help the fragment move further along the digestive tract;
3. To get rid of painful spasmodic sensations in the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, you need to give your pet an injection, either Apomorphine or Papaverine;
4. If the dog has food failure, in this case it is forbidden to feed the dog laxatives or antiemetics;
5. The Heimlich method. In a situation where a pet has a bone fragment stuck in its esophagus, there is no need to think twice, you need to help it. Veterinarians suggest using the Heimlich method. It helps move and push bones out of the animal's esophagus.

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Let's consider this process:

• Place your pet on all fours;
• Grasp it with both hands in the abdominal area;
• Firmly clench your fist on your right hand and press your sternum with your thumb;
• Weave a kind of “lock” with your hands, that is, press the fist of your right hand on top with your left hand;
• Press sharply on the animal's diaphragm a couple of times. Make four or five such movements strictly from bottom to top. This will help remove bone fragments.

If the animal is small, then such manipulations should be done more carefully, with little effort. Pressure must be applied only with the fist of the right hand. A small dog must be lowered with its muzzle down, while pressing its back against your chest. Small fragments cannot be removed this way.

The Heimlich method must be used with great care. If you incorrectly calculate the force applied, you can only harm your pet. And many dogs can react differently to such a procedure. If you don’t know what to do if your dog has a bone stuck in its intestines, then you shouldn’t use the Heimlich method yourself.

If bone fragments are stuck in the gastrointestinal tract, you should not experiment or help your dog using home remedies. For example, if the stomach is perforated, the animal may face a severe inflammatory process; prolonged irritation of the intestine with bone fragments can lead to infection and necrosis.

First aid

The larynx of cats is highly sensitive. In the event of a spasm, the respiratory system is blocked, resulting in suffocation. If your cat chokes on a fish bone, something should be done immediately.

First aid:

• Immobilize your pet by wrapping it in a towel or other thick cloth. You only need to leave your head outside. It’s great if one person holds the cat, and the second one takes the foreign object out of the mouth.
• Examine your cat's mouth. To do this, move her head back a little, press her lower jaw with your finger to open her mouth. If the bone is clearly visible, then pull it out with tweezers (you cannot put your fingers into the mouth, as there is a possibility of pushing the foreign object even deeper). A deeply stuck bone that is difficult to see cannot be removed. Therefore, it is better not to try to do this, as there will be more harm than good.
• Try to dislodge the stuck object by firmly and at the same time gently tapping it between the cat's shoulder blades with the palm of your hand. To do everything correctly, you will need to place your pet on the floor, with its muzzle away from you, with its hind limbs held between your knees. Place your palms on both sides of the cat's chest and squeeze it four to five times, approximately 1/3 of the way, with quick jerks. This is done so that the pet begins to cough and can thus push out a foreign object. You cannot press too hard, as there is a danger of breaking the animal’s ribs.
• If the cat is unconscious (which can happen as a result of asphyxia), then you need to act differently. Open your pet's mouth as wide as possible and look for the stuck object; if you can see it, remove it with tweezers.

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In such a situation, you can tap the animal on the back, tilting it down.

A kitten that has choked on milk can be lightly tapped between the shoulder blades, tilting it slightly. If your cat chokes on a fish bone, you can try to remove it yourself. Algorithm of actions:

1. Wrap the cat in a thick blanket so that the paws are firmly secured.
2. Examine the pharynx with a flashlight.
3. Using a syringe without a needle, pour in a little vegetable oil to make the foreign body more pliable for removal.
4. Use tweezers to carefully remove the bone.

If it was not possible to remove the bone, you can use this method:

1. Kneel down, fixing the cat between your legs with your head away from you.
2. Use sharp movements to squeeze the sides 4-5 times, making sure that the impact on the ribs is not too strong, otherwise you can break the bones.
3. Cats cough and cough up foreign objects.

Nuances to consider

Unfortunately, not every person who does not have a medical education and certain training is capable of providing emergency care. It’s even worse when a panicking owner, trying to help the pet, makes mistake after mistake, not giving it the opportunity to get out. What should you pay attention to if such a situation arises? First of all this:

1. It is not recommended to remove a sharp bone located deep in the throat on your own unless the cat has lost consciousness. This can lead to damage to mucous tissues and subsequent suppuration.
2. If the animal's efforts to get rid of the bone lead to vomiting, then most likely the object will come out along with the vomit. You shouldn’t interfere with your pet’s “getting rid of the excess.”
3. When time passes, and the problem with the bone is not solved and the owner is unable to help the animal, you need to seek advice from a veterinarian. It will not be difficult for a specialist to assess the cat’s condition, determine the cause of the deterioration of the condition and remove the foreign body.
4. Sometimes it is impossible to provoke vomiting in animals, for example, if he has swallowed a chemical substance.
5. If your pet’s life is not in danger, then you can help get rid of the bone in a simple way by pouring 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into its mouth.

The tissues of the larynx in animals are quite sensitive and can be seriously injured if sharp objects penetrate deeply.

The veterinarian will remove the bone as carefully as possible, using painkillers and disinfectants if necessary.

Also watch the video on what to do if your cat chokes on a bone or other food:

The difference between a normal physiological process and the presence of a foreign object

You need to be aware of the differences between the signs of a foreign object and a normal physiological process.

• A cat may experience rapid or difficult breathing when trying to regurgitate a hairball stuck in the esophagus or stomach.
• At the same time, the cat tenses up, may arch over, and cough forcefully.
• Such symptoms can easily be confused with vomiting and asthma attacks.

A cat may experience difficulty breathing when trying to regurgitate a hairball.

False suffocation

The problem of false suffocation is eliminated by gentle stroking.

It is also necessary to remember what your pet ate. It is quite possible that false asphyxiation could occur.

This happens if your pet inhales too deeply and can pull the soft palate into the larynx.

The convulsive breaths that the cat makes only move the palate closer to the windpipe. The problem can be eliminated by gentle stroking or it is necessary to give the cat something to eat so that the swallowing reflex removes the dangerous symptom.

What is a cough in cats?

Unlike people, cats always cough as if they are choking. It looks a little scary and strongly resembles an attack of vomiting. The animal stretches its neck, presses itself to the floor and convulses, emitting ringing or muffled sounds.

The cough reflex is triggered by receptors affected by irritants in the respiratory tract. Coughing helps get rid of foreign particles, phlegm and pus. It often accompanies respiratory diseases, and therefore requires special attention from the owner. Prolonged attacks with wheezing and discharge are a serious reason to contact a veterinarian.