WHY ARE SOME DOGS EATING CAT FECES, AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY INGEST POOP AND/OR CAT LITTER?
What happens when a dog makes a regular meal out of cat feces? Let’s add to that what happens when litter, especially the clumping kind, gets into a K9’s intestines. From VirtuaVet:
Massive Surgery Needed to Remove the Cat Litter Blockage
The only surgery Doc Truli has performed in which more sand-filled impacted intestine was removed was a horse at New Bolton Center that needed surgery to remove a sand impaction. (Horses grazing on inadequate or low-quality forage often ingest too much sand, which accumulates in their system and impacts them horribly.) This Bassett Hound’s intestine was second fiddle only to a horse’s intestine in size and hardness!
The kitty litter travelled to Fred’s mid-range area, in the extensive curls and folds of the jejunum. Normally, the jejunum is about 17 feet long and absorbs nutrients as part of the digestive process. Instead, Fred has 2 solid feet and about 5-6 inches across of tubes of hard sand. The clumping quality made the litter dry out the walls of the intestine and they stuck firmly to the litter. There was no way to remove the sand from the intestines.
Instead, the intestines had to be removed from Fred. Several feet of intestines. Luckily, a dog, or a person, can survive without many feet of the jejunum. Once resected, the healthy ends of the intestine were matched together and Fred needed to spend about 2 weeks healing from his misadventure.
So, an ultrasound technician and a veterinarian owe Doc Truli a bet!
Bottom Line: do not allow your dog access to kitty litter!
