Mechanical Ileus Due to Fecaloma

A 3-month-old Piedmontese calf has not been eating for about 3 days and has been unable to defecate for about 2 days. The history reports that the animal nursed from its mother twice a day and had free access to feed and hay. There are no waterers or other water sources in the individual pen where it is kept, so its only source of hydration since birth has been its mother's milk. Following the problems it developed, the calf has already received treatment with IM antispasmodics, oral laxatives, and an enema, without a resolutive outcome. Clinical examination reveals a partially distended abdomen, intermittent abdominal pain, with faint borborygmi on auscultation of the right flank. The presence of intermittent bouts of pain and peristaltic sounds, albeit faint, point toward a diagnosis of mechanical ileus. Body temperature 39°C (102.2°F), mild dehydration, slightly accentuated episcleral vessels. In the photo, lumbar kyphosis and a back deviated as a result of a pain episode can be observed. Urethral obstruction was ruled out.