31/07/2026
🐾 Friday Foreign Body: Milo’s Mystery Gag 🐾
Gorgeous 5-year-old Milo came in at lunchtime with a history of gagging and repeated “reaching”. She was still eating well, but clearly uncomfortable, and mum was understandably worried. Milo also has a bit of a track record for getting into things she shouldn’t, so we suspected a foreign body might be behind it all.
To investigate, Milo was placed under a light general anaesthetic for a full oral, nasal and pharyngeal exam. At first, all we could see was some redness, swelling and mild mucosal infection at the back of the throat. But a closer look with a dental mirror revealed a flash of green…
After careful extraction, out came a whopping 10cm blade of grass that had been lodged just behind her soft palate! 😳🌿
Milo is already looking and feeling so much more comfortable now that it’s out, and we’re expecting a speedy recovery.
🌱 Grass blades stuck behind the soft palate (in the nasopharynx) are a surprisingly common issue in cats, and persistent gagging or retching is one of the classic warning signs. Other possible culprits for these symptoms include other foreign bodies, oral trauma or burns, and even polyps! This is why a proper vet exam is so important any time gagging doesn’t settle on its own.
If your cat is gagging, retching, or pawing at their mouth and it’s not resolving, don’t wait it out, book them in with us. 💚
