Smudge, a gorgeous 15-year-old cat, worried her owners when she began gagging loudly. As the gagging progressed to vomiting, they decided to bring her to Mountainside Animal Emergency & Specialty to figure out what was going on. When we learned she had been seen chewing grass before the gagging began and had been stretching her neck uncomfortably, we suspected a foreign body.

We performed a sedated nasopharyngeal examination which focuses on the area at the back of the throat. During our exam, we discovered the culprit: a 3-4 cm blade of grass lodged high up behind the soft palate. Once visualized, we were able to smoothly remove the grass blade in one piece.

There was a mild amount of residual inflammation in Smudge's throat, which can cause some mild signs of irritation for a few days. To help prevent further nausea or discomfort, Smudge was given an anti-emetic injection. Smudge recovered quickly and is back to safely enjoying outdoor time at her cabin.