WildLife Group
of the SAVA
Foreign body obstruction in a juvenile
caracal (Caracal caracal)
Dr. A Fitte
Wildlife resident, Veterinary Faculty, University of Pretoria
Milo, a 3 month old hand reared male caracal (weight
2.2kg) presented to the OVAH with inappetence,
lethargy and pain on abdominal palpation (Fig 1).
Soon after arrival, he vomited out foreign material
(part of a bottle teat and of a teddy bear). Clinical
parameters at that time were: rectal temperature
37.7°C, heart rate 192 bpm, mucus membranes
pale, pack cell volume 33%, total serum proteins 58
g/L. Conscious radiographs (Fig 2 and 3) showed a
gastric foreign body surrounded by large amounts of
gas which extended into small and large intestines.
Although hand reared, his innate wild behavior, made
impossible the administration of medication and fluid
therapy without sedation/immobilization.
Prior to the exploratory laparotomy; Milo was
premedicated with Dormitor (10 µg/kg), ketamine
(3 mg/kg) and butorphanol (0.2 mg/kg) by
intramuscular injection. Alfaxalone (2 mg/kg IV)
was used for induction, and anaesthesia maintained
with isoflurane (1.5l). One dose of Cefazolin (20mg/
kg) was administered intraoperative and ringer
lactate solution was administered at 5ml/kg/hr.
Intraoperative blood gases (Table 1) showed mild to
moderate acidosis (pH 7.245) with low base excess
(BE – 9.8) and elevated lactic acid (2.29 mmol/L).
Hyperchloremia (117 mmol/L) was also noted, which
contributed to the acidemia through strong ion
acidosis.
Figure 1
6
The gastrotomy incision was performed on the major
curvature of the stomach, and a piece of plastic toy
plus the remaining piece of a bottle teat was removed
(Fig 4 and 5). Then the whole gastrointestinal system
was inspected for possible perforations, but none
were found. The caracal left surgery without any