This morning we woke up nice and early to take Nugget in for her surgery. She was all peppy and spunky, and couldn’t stop BEGGING for breakfast. We arrived at the vet, and he asked how we were. I told him I was having second thoughts because she seemed to be doing so well, and I asked him to reassure me that we had no choice but to do the surgery. The doctor said he couldn’t do that, and if I wanted we could wait until next week (but I’d have to monitor her and bring her in for emergency surgery if she got worse).
We talked about it, and I didn’t want to put off the surgery and keep her unnecessarily sick just because I was uncomfortable with proceeding. He suggested doing another xray to see what her stomach looked like today, and if we could still see all the blockage then he would recommend going forward. So, we did the xray . . . and her stomach had shrunk back to a normal size, and there was no evidence of any food backed up in her tummy! He could see tons of food and the barium in her intestines. He said he thought it looked like the blockage was passing, although he couldn’t guarantee that the blockage wasn’t hiding and her stomach wouldn’t back up again. He also said the blockage could have moved lower, and she could still end up with a new blockage in her intestine, but for right now, it was looking okay. The other vet was there (he came in to help with the surgery) and they both agreed that surgery may not be appropriate right now.
So . . . we checked her into the hospital for the day so they could monitor her. They fed her small amounts of food every 1/2 hr, and tracked her bathroom habits all day. In the meantime, Elliot and I went to the furniture store . . . and we bought new couches for the house! When we went back, they told us she was eating normally and moving her bowels and they released her. I have instructions to feed her normally and see if she stays stable for the next few days. We go back again on Wednesday for another check/xray – hopefully there will be no emergency visits before then!