I'm not so sure that he's OK now. Having been absolutely fine I booked him in at the vets for a teeth clean, something that needs doing as he has a lot of plaque. The vet was happy for me to book him in and not concerned about the peach stone scare being so recent.
I took him in yesterday morning, having not fed him since 7.30pm the previous evening and I'd restricted his access to water. During the afternoon before he'd eaten a vast quantity of horse sh*t out on our walk, but he'd produced a normal, if somewhat larger than usual, poo, so I wasn't too concerned. About an hour after leaving him at the vets I had a phone call to say that he'd vomited before they'd even started to do anything with him. The vomit had a little bit of blood in it.
My vet recommended that while he was there they should x-ray his intestines and stomach and do some bloods. I wasn't too sure but agreed to it just in case the wretched peach stone was still around.
They sedated him and did the x-ray and also ultrasounded his stomach. Nothing to be seen, but the stomach was difficult to view as it was contracted, presumably as he hadn't eaten. I think they may have stuck something down his throat as well, but I need to speak to the vet again to confirm that. The bloods were sent off and I'm waiting for the results. They also evacuated his anal glands.
I collected William yesterday afternoon. He was very unhappy and stressed, which isn't like him at all. He spent the afternoon practically crawling round on his belly with his little tail clamped firmly to his bottom. I'm sure he must have been very uncomfortable after the sedation and all the prodding and poking and needles.
He's on tablets called Zitac, which are to help stop vomiting. He hasn't vomited since but has a nasty upset tummy, with really runny stools about 4 times a day. As he's in full coat it gets stuck to his feathering, which worries him. I keep washing it off and he's then more comfortable. He's got a good appetite and is eating 3 small meals of Recovery Diet and fresh cooked chicken a day, with a Zitac tablet 1 hour before each meal. He's had both foods before and been OK with them. I've looked Zitac up on the internet and it doesn't seem to cause side effects.
Today he's a lot brighter than yesterday, but is definitely a bit subdued. I'm sure I would be too if I'd been through what he did yesterday and then had a nasty upset tummy afterwards.
The vet, not my usual one, but a very young one, has muttered about colitis, gastritis and pancreatitis. I'm trying to be very positive as I still think it's likely to be down to eating rubbish and grass (he does that quite often).
I phoned the vet this morning and she wasn't too concerned about the upset tummy at the moment, pointing out that the initial vomiting and the upset tummy might just be due to the horse sh*t.
So, apart from trying not to worry, and feeling very sorry for William, I'm wondering what would have happened if yesterday had been a normal day? Would William have vomited anyway, but then been pretty much OK if just rested? Is the tummy upset something that he's picked up at the vets, or could it be at least partly stress related because of the procedures?
Did he need to go through the procedures? Hopefully the blood test results will come through OK, the tummy upset will stop in a day or so and he'll be back to normal.
He's never had an upset tummy like this, although he's always had occasional vomiting, usually after eating something he shouldn't. Maybe I can expect more problems like this now that he's turned into a dustbin after 4 years of relatively fussy eating.
