This x-ray belongs to a cat called Cat. Seriously, that’s his name – no typo. It’s the best his owner could come up with apparently! Cat’s owner, apart from being devoid of originality, adores her cat. Except for a proper name, he wants for nothing.
Earlier in the year Cat came in to see us after being involved in some sort of altercation which resulted in him developing an abscess on top of his head. Pus was oozing from a hole in the skin – most likely the result of an infected cat bite. The infected area was cleaned up and Antibiotics given and Cat made a rapid recovery.
Cat came back to see us about 6 months later when his owner discovered a small hard lump under his jaw. We had our suspicions about what that small lump might be and they were confirmed with an x-ray (the one you see here). What do you think it is?
The benefit of hindsight
Looking back now, it seems almost certain that Cat didn’t have a fight with another cat all those months ago, but instead was shot by some fool with an air rifle. The bullet passed from the top of his head, behind his right ear and stopped below his right jaw.
Apart from the infection and the pain (it must have hurt!) at the time, it caused no other damage! So, for now we will leave it where it is. Unfortunately, vets do occasionally see air rifle pellets on cat xrays as an incidental finding i.e. sometime in the past the cat has been shot and survived, the owner unaware and the bullet has lodged harmlessly under the skin.
PS: Cat’s owner is one of our nurses!
By The Welcome Bay Vet Team
We write for the Bay Waka to share interesting animal medical cases and survival stories at the same time.
