Category: News

Long-haired cat Jaffa came to visit primary care vet Georgina in November 2018, as he had been vomiting every day after eating. Blood samples did not give any clues to Jaffa’s problem so he was admitted for an ultrasound scan of his stomach and intestines.

The ultrasound scan revealed Jaffa’s problem to be a Trichobezoar, which is a mass of hair, blocking the exit of his stomach and preventing food from passing through into the intestines.

Jaffa’s owner was understandably keen to avoid surgery if possible, so the Trichobezoar was removed endoscopically, using forceps fed through a flexible camera, down the throat, by our Internal Medicine Specialist, Andrew Kent.

Jaffa was started on a special fur ball diet to try to prevent recurrence but unfortunately, his attention to appearance was too great and his owner brought him back to see Georgina early in February 2019 as his vomiting had started again. At this point there was no choice but to remove the source of the problem. Jaffa’s beautiful coat had to be clipped away to ensure his continued health, and although he was not pleased with his new hairstyle, Jaffa was spotted showing off his new jumper to the nurses later that day.

Further information about our Specialist Internal Medicine service, the internal medicine team and our internal medicine pet health information sheets.

Mila is a beautiful young cat who was referred to the Cardiology Team at Willows in Solihull by her usual vet as she was feeling very unwell and her vet had a suspicion that she may have fluid within her chest cavity. She also had some persistent bleeding from where she had previously had blood taken.

Mila was seen by the Cardiology Team to look for the cause of fluid within her chest cavity, and they were able to confirm this was not due to heart disease, so the investigation continued with the Medicine Team. Further investigation and blood tests revealed that Mila was suffering from severe blood loss due to rodenticide poisoning. The Critical Care Team worked fast to stabilise Mila whilst we organised a feline blood donor to help us save Mila’s life.

Here at Willows in Solihull, we have Specialist teams covering many different disciplines which makes the care of our patients truly exceptional. The team approach of our Medicine, Cardiology, Emergency and Critical Care services all under one roof ensured a speedy recovery for this lovely girl.

Charlotte has been an integral part of the Willows team for 8 years, and her hard work and dedication have recently paid off as she is now a qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse. Charlotte is the dedicated Pharmacy Coordinator and oversees the running of our pharmacy, providing training to new members of staff and ensuring we have all medications and consumables for our patients. Charlotte still also spends time doing other nursing duties to keep her clinical skills up to date.