Helping a cat with an obstructed gut....Holistic alternatives to surgery.

I just had a friend call saying there was an emergency. A friend of her's had a cat that had been sick, not eating and vomiting for a couple of days. That was all the history I got. Obviously I couldn't get the temperature nor feel the belly. Additionally the cat had vomited up a 1" piece of plastic (see photo). Their vet had taken a single X-ray and was recommending an immediate exploratory. $2500! For my 2nd Opinion I said what I would have done is give the cat BARIUM PASTE and follow it through. Which they did. The next morning they took another picture at 8 am and said that some the barium was hung up in the small intestine. I said I would NOT do surgery, but do another shot at 2 pm to see if it had moved. It had! I suggested they give 1-2 tbsp of MINERAL OIL to help move it on. It moved on! The deal is that barium relaxes the gut wall and especially if the cat is still doing fairly well and remains hydrated there is time to slide foreign body along. Historically, I was able to avoid at least 90% of the exploratory surgeries and get the object to pass. The exceptions would be string, thread or ribbon, which can produce a fatal situation no matter what you do. Obviously the decision TO CUT or NOT TO CUT is a delicate and dangerous one! The eager-to-cut vets always look good, no matter the outcome. If they fail or if the patient dies then it was obviously the owner's fault and they still get the full bill. If they get the object they look even better because they clearly and miraculously "saved my cat's life!". If they tried the aggressive approach to try to slide it out and, god forbid, bad things happen, the vet will be on the carpet, there will be a lawsuit, and perhaps worse consequences. This is why there are no TRULY HOLISTIC VETS. I't's too dangerous to do the right thing in this modern world.