You said "Sedate the patient and palpate the abdomen with the kitty relaxed."

Nope.    Being just a little more thorough would have shown you the correct diagnosis right away.  Good idea to thoroughly palpate the abdomen because your hands probably would have provided that diagnosis, but  sedating the cat is not the VERY NEXT thing you should do.

View the diagnosis here or close this window and go back and try your very next move.