BATTERY INGESTION

The chewed up battery was presented to me by the client together with the dog

Batteries will not power-up your dogs as compared to your remote control or other battery-run gadgets and appliances. Instead, they might suffer toxicity, muscosal and gastric burns- to a more severe note, gastric perforation and death.

It is our pet's nature to discover things around them. In contrast to us using our hands and other senses to discover things, dogs do use their mouth (by chewing), olfaction and sight. however, as owners, it is our responsibility to screen out things and even food that may cause problems to our pets, batteries being one of them. (You may also be familiar with my previous posts on rodenticides, needles, foreign objects, firecrackers and the like)

Discussing the components and the different types batteries can become too geeky and nerdy for this site and you may search for it somewhere.

Going back, batteries contain chemicals that may cause mucosal burns when in contact with the skin. Most dogs brought into the clinic that are suspected for battery ingestion may have oral burns and may have a recent history of chewing on a battery powered gadget. The owners may report a missing battery or will bring with them the chewed up battery. Doing a radiograph may reveal the location of the battery if swallowed.

If the incident happened very recently, emesis may be done, however it should only be done if the battery was swallowed whole without chewing especially button batteries. The leakage of the battery components and its contact with the mucosa may further cause chemical burns. In some cases, surgery may be warranted and in others, oral medications may work. However, It all depends on the case presented. If you knew you pet has ingested a battery, do not wait for several days as it may more be difficult to manage by this time and toxicity or poisoning may have occured.

Prevention is still better than cure. So be very careful with your things if you have a pet as you would be if there is a child in the house.

OVARIOHYSTERCTOMY

Uterus and ovaries of a cat that underwent ovariohysterectomy.
Note that this is not a normal uterus of a pregnant and a non pregnant cat.

I apparently forgot her name since this case was dated October 2008. However, this kitty came in for elective ovariohysterectomy or spaying. Her owner doesn't want her to get pregnant anymore since she is already old. Her one and only pregnancy was about 5 years ago and the owner was actually almost complaining of the monthly visitors = the tomcats looking for a mate and the kitty calling out for one.

Since her blood results were all normal, we then scheduled the next day for surgery.

During the surgery, i thought i was looking at a pregnant uterus, however, upon exteriorization, it does not appear to be normal at all. We then proceeded with the ligation and the cutting of the uterine horns with the ovaries and the uterine body.

Out of curiosity, I decided to open up the uterus to check what is inside. FLUIDS.

Ovariohysterectomy is usually done as an Animal Birth Control (ABC) measure. Aside from this, other reasons for ovariohysterectomy are prevention of mammary tumors, and ovarian and uterine neoplasia, treatment of choice for pyometra and metritis, and may be recommended for other conditions such as uterine cysts, torsion, uterine prolapse, endocrine abnormalities and dermatoses.

The cat went home after recovery and is in good condition.

BYE BYE BALLS

What the ...???

You are now staring at two testicles from a castrated cat.

Castration or orchiectomy is the surgical removal of the male gonads or testicles. This surgical procedure is done for both dogs and cats and is also performed in other species like rabbits, laboratory rats, goats, etc.

Most owners and enthusiasts have their pets castrated in order to prevent overpopulation (ABC=Animal Birth Control) and its possible effect on the male behavior, which is to decrease aggressiveness, marking of a territory by urination, roaming to look for a mate, and the like. However, castration is also beneficial to prevent and correct androgen-related diseases like prostatic diseases, perianal adenomas, and perianal hernias. Other than those mentioned, castration is also indicated for congenital abnormalities of the testicles, epididymis, neoplasia, abscesses, and trauma of the testicles, herniorrhaphy, scrotal urethrostomy, epilepsy control and control of endocrine abnormalities.

for further information regarding castration, ask your vet about it. ; D