For those of you that have not met Marco he is our extra large silver tabby Maine Coon cat.  At one point a few years ago, I was on the lookout for female Bengal leopard kittens for sale,  and it was then that I found him. To meet Marco is to love him, and so here are. Many of you have already joined Marco’s fan club.

On March 30, 2009 Marco developed a life threatening and uncommon intestinal disease called an intussusception.

    An intussusception is the telescoping of the intestines on themselves causing a functional obstruction and death of that section of the bowel within a short period of time.  They most commonly occur in kittens with chronic diarrhea and/or parasites.  It also affects some female cats after they give birth.  A few as with Marco occur for no apparent reason.  Affected cats/kittens will develop acute vomiting and usually appear ill within 24 hours due to the pain, gas dilation of the bowels and toxins associated with the condition.

    I performed emergency surgery on Marco removing about 8 to 9 inches of his bowel when the intussusception could not be corrected.  The first 48 hours were fairly rough on him and on me but within 72 hours he was eating well and having bowel movements.  I’ve never been so happy to see cat poop in my life.

    I’m just like many of you.  These are my kids and even though I can put myself in autopilot and do whatever needs to be done it doesn’t mean that I worry any less.  To make matters worse I am always acutely aware of the unexpected complications that can still occur even when the surgery itself has been a success.  I didn’t sleep well for about 4 nights worrying over my sweet boy. He was staying at a cat boarding at the time since I had work.  Happily Marco read the textbook on the whole scenario and has made an amazing recovery.

    Marco is slowly gaining his weight back and he is making his usual appearances around the hospital to awe those that have “never seen a cat that big before”.  If you have a lap he’d love to share it so feel free to come by and say hello to the big lug.                                                                                 

    1 year post-op Marco is the picture of health.  Weighing in at over 23 pounds now he’s gracing all who visit with his regal presence.  He is a very special cat and we hope he will be a part of our hospital team for years to come.