Unbelievable: Toowoomba vet’s stomach-churning discovery

The local vet was examining the Domestic shorthair when he felt a large and hard lump in his abdomen. What he eventually discovered shocked him.

The x-ray revealed an orange-sized ball containing 61 hair ties, food and other items. Picture: Rhylea Millar

Toowoomba cat Riker has kept his owners on their toes after their vet found something unusual lodged in his stomach during an annual check-up.

West Toowoomba Vet Surgery vet Michael Burke was examining the ginger and white coloured domestic shorthair when he felt a large and hard lump in his abdomen.

CHEEKY CAT: Ginger and white domestic shorthaired cat Riker has kept his owners on their toes after their vet found something unusual lodged in his stomach during his annual check-up.

Concerned by the discovery, the owners advised the vet to proceed with surgery but no one anticipated the results.

“Riker came in for his annual check-up and vaccination and he had no history or symptoms to indicate he was feeling unwell,” Mr Burke said.

“When we investigated we found a whole lot of hair ties had conglomerated together along with food and other things.”

The x-ray revealed an orange-sized ball containing 61 hair ties, food and other items. Picture: Rhylea Millar

Showing a large orange-sized lump in his abdomen the x-ray revealed a large ball that was about 10 by 7cm.

The local vet said the eight-and-a-half-year-old cat would have chewed the 61 hair ties over time rather than in one sitting.

“Riker does have a history of chewing foreign objects – a couple of years ago he ate a corn cob and had to get it surgically removed but he hadn’t any problems since,” Mr Burke said.

“Some cats become really obsessive about chewing things … it’s actually a syndrome called Pica and it’s something that he suffers from.”

STOMACH CHURNING: West Toowoomba Vet Surgery vet Michael Burke found 61 hair ties in Riker's abdomen.

And while it’s not something that happens every day, the vet said he’s experienced dogs and cats swallowing just about everything from socks and underwear to large bones and nectar seeds.

“Initially we were worried because when you find a large lump like that you think the worst but fortunately it was a good result,” Mr Burke said.

“If you have a pet that is into chewing things try and lock it away and keep it out of reach.

“But this also just shows the importance of getting your annual health checks and vaccinations because you never know what you’re going to find and it would have only got worse until there were issues.”