A nearly 40-pound feline named Biggie was recovering at a Southern California veterinary hospital Wednesday after undergoing a crucial surgery to alleviate his constipation one night earlier.
"The surgery went well, there were no complications," said Dr. Amy Carr, a critical care specialist who assisted with the surgery at California Veterinary Specialists in Murrieta. "He’s doing amazingly well for all of his issues."
Biggie suffered from constipation, and doctors say the stool stuck in his colon was immovable without surgery. The operation removed a chunk of his colon, along with the irking stool, which Dr. Carr said was "as hard as concrete."
Clinicians discovered Biggie actually weighed 38 pounds on the surgery hospital’s scale -- they previously said he was 37 pounds.
Biggie’s enormous size concerned the surgical team, who feared Biggie might not survive an operation due to his decreased lung capacity from all the fat in his chest. But doctors had no other choice.
Doctors also diagnosed Biggie with fatty liver syndrome and placed an esophageal feeding tube in him to ensure he gets enough calories to recover from the syndrome.
Doctors plan to release the heavyset cat back to the Riverside Cat Hospital on Thursday, where the next step will be to put Biggie on a strict, long-term nutritional plan to reduce his immense size.
U.S. & World
Two pet food companies, Royal Canin and Hills, have even offered to sponsor Biggie with free food and nutritional specialists to help with caring costs.
The Riverside Cat Hospital is asking the public for any donations in helping cats in need healthy. You can donate the GoFundMe page here.
