Rocco, a 3-year-old, orange, male, tabby cat, just wanted to join in on the celebration but ended up in the hospital instead. Rocco was presented to Rockford Road Animal Hospital in Plymouth, MN in June 2024 for anorexia and vomiting. He was diagnosed with a linear foreign body obstruction and taken to surgery.

Over 6 feet of balloon string was identified running from the very start of the GI tract to the very end. In the past, these types of procedures have been known to require numerous intestinal incisions in order to safely remove all portions of the foreign material, and the higher the number of incisions, the higher the risk for post-operative complications.

Utilizing a newer technique, which involves using a portion of a red rubber catheter to push the string through the intestines, Dr. Crystal Warming was able to quickly remove all the material with only three small intestinal incisions. Rocco had a smooth recovery and was back to causing mischief in no time!