An endoscope is an instrument that allows us to look inside the body with a camera and take small biopsy samples without having to perform surgery.  General anesthesia is still required, but this is considered a minimally invasive procedure. 

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Just like people have colonoscopies, we can use the endoscope to look inside the stomach, small intestine, and colon to take samples. Cats are prone to intestinal diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal cancer, and using the endoscope allows us to look for and biopsy areas of interest without making any incisions. We can also remove some foreign bodies from the stomach without having to perform a more invasive surgery! 

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Cats can also get nasal disease, especially polyps, foreign bodies, and tumors.  Any cat with chronic discharge, a bloody nose, or recurring upper airway disease should be considered for rhinoscopy.  Using a special instrument, we can look from the front end as well as the back end of the nasal passage, and biopsy tissues or remove any foreign bodies (like a blade of grass!).

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