Resident Cat in St. John Island Swallowed Abandoned Sharp Fish Hook & Had to Go Through Surgery

Today, there are two too many bad news about stray cats in Singapore.

The first is the community cat in Redhill which was allegedly gobbled up by a very big python.

And the second is this resident cat at St John Island which has to undergo a surgery.

What Happened

On 17 Aug 2020, Facebook Page Naturely Curious uploaded a post recounting a harrowing experience of one of St John Island’s resident cats, Prince.

The cat was spotted by one of the workers with a fishing hook in its mouth.

The worker attempted to remove the hook but the cat ran away and went into hiding for a few days.

Spotted A Few Days Later In Bad Condition

On Friday, the cat was found but it wasn’t in good shape.

It was tottering, visibly lethargic and dehydrated.

After the cat was sent to the vet, it was found that there was a fishing hook lodged in its stomach.

It had to undergo a surgery that took more than two hours to complete before the hook was finally removed.

Lucky

While there was a hole in the cat’s gun and some “ulceration”, the hook did not pierce through the stomach or cause too much damage to the cat’s throat.

The post recounted that the cat was lucky it was spotted with the fishing hook so they could keep a lookout for it and save its life.

It was also lucky that the vet on duty, Dr Kelly from the Recovery Veterinary Referral Center, was skilful enough to find the hook hidden in the “top corner of the stomach” and pull it out without causing “any further injury”.

The post ended off asking for people to dispose of their fish hooks and baits properly.

You can read the full post below:

Not The First Incident Involving Improperly Disposed Fishing Hooks

Previously, a hook pierced through a 10-year-old girl’s toe when she was walking in East Coast Park.

The girl’s brother took to Instagram to relate the experience, describing how hard it was to remove the hook safely.

Then, the brother had also urged anglers to dispose of their hooks properly and not let any accidents like these happen.

If the hook has gone in any deeper, they’ll have to seek professional help, he said.