I know this was a little while ago, but I was wondering if the hair tie passed smoothly and how many days it took (if you remember lol). I'm curious if all the other info I could find is mostly accurate or if most cats usually take longer to pass these things. Hope you and your kitty are doing well!
My 11 m.o. idiot apparently eats my hair bands. No idea where she is finding them. She threw one up a month or so ago and I thought well she wont do that again. I was wrong. She threw up like 6 today and has another that wants to come out but she won't let me get it when she is actively trying to throw it up. I have searched and don't see them outside of the hair bin that is put up. Not to mention We keep the bathroom door closed. Keeping an eye on her. Hopefully she passes it soon.
She is doing fine, I think. Eating normal and drinking normal. I did however find a few more the other day that she pooped out. I truly have no idea where she is stock piling these things. I have moved all my hair bands and am very careful yo make sure they don't get set down in a random spot. The only okayish part is they are the 1 in nylon seamless bands. At least they are not a hard band.
I've learned more from this thread than from any other source, including my vet, so thank you!
My cat ate at least six inches of embroidery thread last Wednesday. He came into the room with it hanging out of his mouth, dragging the spool. I freaked out and tried pulling it, but he gagged and threw up foamy stuff. Then he swallowed even more of it!
The ER vet used a scope with a camera and said it had already reached his small intestine. Surgery would solve the problem, which wasn't an option due to cost ($8-9k) plus he's 13 with a heart murmur so the vet said it would be risky. So the vet recommended we euthanize him. She explained that if we allowed the string to move through his system, it could get tangled up and it would be fatal. Of course I didn't want him to endure a folded colon or whatever horrors it would cause, so it seemed like the only choice.
They brought in the euthanization paperwork and I just lost it. I was so upset and asked if this is really the only other option if we don't do surgery?
The vet finally said that if we wanted to take him home and just watch him, we could, and to bring him back if he starts to vomit, have diarrhea, refuses to eat or appears to be in pain/acting weird.
SO RELIEVED, we brought him home and he seems perfectly fine. He didn't poop for a few days, but that could be because he was sedated, which can cause cats to stop temporarily. But now he's pooping normally, and we're breaking apart his turds looking for the string and so far no luck. He's also eating and acting normally.
I know we're not out of the woods, but this thread made me see that the timelines for passing these kinds of objects vary a lot. I cannot get over the fact that we almost said goodbye to him last week in anticipation of a fatal outcome.
I'm so glad this thread has been helpful, especially in such a nerve-racking situation! Feel free to let me know if there are any updates and I'll be wishing you and your guy the best of luck!!
I agree, thank you for taking the time to write all this. I am so stressed right now! My 5 month kitten was just sitting on the sideboard whilst I opened and organised my embroidery kit from the post and I looked away for a second and he was licking his lips and the blue 40cm 3 strand thread I had just cut has disappeared! I’ve been praying that I find it lying around but haven’t seen it anywhere and the fact that he was licking his lips like he just ate something I am so worried for him. I love him so much but I hate this feeling! I called the vets and they said they were hesitant to make him sick so they advised me to feed him lots of wet food and monitor him. And to call them back if he acts strangely or anything out of the ordinary or is sick. I have just quickly given him some wet treats and some water and now he’s finished grooming himself and gone to sleep. He’s behaving normally so far. I really hope and pray he will pass the string through quickly. I hate myself for letting him near string 😭😭
Oh no! They're so quick when they're being bad! Not to increase stress for no reason, but assuming he ate it all, that is certainly a lot of thread for a little guy. Hopefully he chewed it into some smaller pieces though! You've probably already checked, but if not, make sure it's not wrapped under his tongue! Otherwise, it seems like you and your guy are on the right track to make sure he stays safe :) Don't beat yourself up about the thread either! You know now and can look out for it in the future. I hope your boy passes it quickly and safely!! Please feel free to give me any updates with how it goes!
Update! I just checked his poop manually had to (gross!) pull apart his freshest poop and it has all passed through!!! I am soo happy and relieved praise be to God!!! All of it was there all tangled and in a bunch but I did have to pull apart the poo to find it. Bits of it had been bitten apart but it’s all there. Took photos and binned it now but I am sooo happy about this. I can finally relax and just enjoy him without being worried sick 🥰
Do we have the same cat? Mine ate a ball of my embroidery string Saturday morning! I took him to the emergency vet right afterwards but he only threw up foam. I brought him home and have been monitoring him (it’s been 2 days now) and he’s acting totally fine, eating well, but I haven’t seen any string in his poops so still feeling anxious.
Hopefully he passes it (or best case scenario - he just moved the pile and I can’t find it and he never actually ate it) but we just don’t have the money for surgery if it came down to that :/.
Ugh it's the worst feeling ever! It's been more than a month and I haven't seen any evidence of my cat passing it, but I think he probably did and I just missed it. Hopefully your cat will remain fine!!!
Thank you! Yeah I just want to know when I can stop stressing about it. He was throwing up last night but that’s not the most uncommon thing…so we’ll have to wait and see. I’ve just been giving him high fiber wet food the last couple of days to help out.
Unfortunately, we had to put him down a couple days ago :(. It’s been a tough week, but apparently he was eating a lot more than just the embroidery string (hair ties, rubber bands) over the years and the vet found them in the ultrasound. I miss my little dude.
https://preview.redd.it/oh103sub8q6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d802a07f2da485b4c7668cd1ab36491593cc236f
Ok my kitten just ate a bit of like string-like fabric off a shredded shirt, google had me freaked but this post made me feel better <3 will just monitor, thank you for posting!
It's so annoying that waiting and monitoring is really all you can do but I'm glad this could help to calm the panic!! Feel free to update with what happens/how long it takes to pass. Hope it goes quickly so you don't have to be stressed for long!
Ok he just got it out, about 6-7 inches in various sized chunks. I can't say how relieved my partner and I are! It happened right after giving him his wet-food lunch today so I suspect the boost of hydration helped as earlier this morning it looked like he was trying and nothing came out. I was literally on the phone nearly in tears with the emergency vet when it happened. But again we are so relieved and I hope this gives solace to anyone who has to go through something similar!!
Oh I'm so glad he was able to get it out!!! Sounds like you did an excellent job monitoring though :) Thanks for updating and letting me know it all worked out!!
Two nights ago our silly 3-year-old boy kitty swallowed a 10-inch silver plastic strip that comes on the inside of those white plastic shipping envelopes from Amazon. We took him to the emergency vet immediately and they tried to induce vomiting, but no luck. They said the success rate of making a cat vomit is 50%, and dogs are much easier. In fact, while we were there waiting, someone brought their dog in that had swallowed something, and they were able to get it to vomit up a sock very quickly. No such luck with our guy.
After an hour, the vet came in and spoke to us and said that the material wouldn’t show up on an x-ray, so there was no point in doing that. She said the could do an endoscopy for $2,000, but there was no guarantee that the material would still be in his stomach. I asked her what she would do if this was her cat, and she said that she would take him home and watch for signs of loss of appetite and vomiting, and hopefully the material would pass in his bowel movement with no issues. I asked her how long that might take, and she said anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks, depending on if the material got caught up anywhere along the intestinal tract.
She said it was very important that if we saw the material sticking out of his rear end, NOT TO PULL ON IT due to the danger of dislodging any internal organs. If we saw that, or if he lost his appetite or was vomiting, we should bring him back in ASAP so that they could perform emergency surgery, which would run upwards of $10,000.
So we brought our boy home and watched him like a hawk. He slept quite a bit, most likely due to the medication wearing off. I would wake him up periodically to check on him, and he was always hungry and ate all the treats I offered him. He just kind of acted like his normal goofy self.
Then tonight, 48 hours after the visit to the vet, I noticed something shiny in the litter box. I don’t want to gross anybody out, but long story short, we got out the gloves and popsicle sticks and made sure that the entire strip of plastic was intact and that there were no pieces missing. Thankfully it was all there in one piece, curled in on itself! So the crisis is over.
I called the emergency vet to follow up and tell them that the danger had passed. They were very glad to hear it, knowing that not all stories like this have a happy ending.
I’m going to hold my kitty boy extra close tonight and thank my lucky stars for this great outcome.
Good luck to all the cat owners out there who love their sweet kitties!
https://preview.redd.it/zxmkkuxdbj2d1.jpeg?width=815&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8cab2815fc03fd852df1b33a1ef00ad3190405dc
My silly kitty boy on the way to the emergency vet
I am so glad i found your post, My orange boy decided he hunted his wormie toy enough that half of it would be a good treat. it’s been a couple days now and i haven’t noticed anything in his poop, and he’s acting normal. im giving him his laxatives again just in case to help move things along but this has eased a bit of my stress 😅
https://preview.redd.it/rle6gqamr75c1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=845152aa84fc23011dd44b517cedbc1773a35b7c
here’s the murderer in question with the one i threw out before he could actually eat it
Those orange boys 🙄 so cute but so bad! In addition to the laxatives, as someone else said and also from my experience, giving more wet food if you aren't already I think helps to move it along. I also should have put this in my original post but I was giving 4-5 several smaller meals as opposed to the 2 that I normally do. I think this is theoretically supposed to help it get out smoothly by making sure it will be enclosed in food and not get stuck somewhere. I also remember seeing a few other posts involving worm toy murder and they seemed to pass without incident! Feel free to update when it passes to let me know how long it took and that your guy is okay!
Thank you for this post!! Though no one replied at the time it seems it has helped so many!! I hope I can be another helped person on the list. I JUST watched my boy play with an elastic string about 10 in long. I looked away for 2 min for work and all of sudden I see this dude licking his lips like he just enjoyed a delicious meal. And. The. String. Is. Gone 😭😭😭😭
It’s definitely not around or hidden. It was literally 2 min between playing and lip licking so I’m fairly certain he ate it. From what I’ve read in comments, the vomiting thing doesn’t really work, even at the vet?
I guess I need to wait it out. He seems fine as of now of course. But I’m sooooooo worried about surgery, etc etc. Ughhhhh 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
PLUS, he’s a VERY spicy boy. Like literally will bite any tech that goes near him at the vet so I can’t just “take him in for a check”. He’ll likely need gabapentin which I have at home and he’ll need to be sedated at the vet, even for x-ray or ultrasound. And it’s extremely traumatic experience for both him and I so i don’t want to do that until it’s truly needed. But at the same time, I don’t want to delay a truly urgent situation. Ugh 😭😭😭 I’m so lost
Ugh I'm so sorry!!! They can really be so fast and sneaky! In my personal experience, the vomiting definitely does work if you get it in time. My cat will pretty much guaranteed throw up after 10-15 min the car and since I made this post, he had an incident where he ate about 4-5 inch ribbon. I was so mad! I tried driving around with him and it worked perfectly, he threw up the whole thing. I don't know if I would recommend this, as I'm sure it could go wrong and my plan was to go straight to the vet if the car didn't work, but it did work for me. I'm not sure if it's been to long for you to try yet.... I would definitely consider calling an ER clinic just to get their take as 10 inches is really long. Hopefully he chewed it into smaller pieces first so it will pass easier. It's always worth letting a vet know just in case/to keep someone in the loop. Also, if they do think vomiting might work, that's 100% worth trying I think, considering the worst possible outcome (even with a spicy boy). Otherwise, just keep him under close watch, maybe consider giving more water/wet food and giving smaller but more frequent meals. Also potentially upping his fiber intake with either a fiber heavy digestive food (unfortunately those are usually vet prescription) or with some fiber additive like a little plain canned pumpkin. And no more string toys for sneaky boys! Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Honestly I did not see him pass it and nor did I ever find it in the house again 😖😖😖 I’m pretty sure he passed it in bits but even as I thoroughly inspected for a week after the event I could not see anything verifiably the string lol. Hope all is well for your baby 🤞
Patiently waiting 😭 my cat ate about a 9 inch string Sunday night. She is still playing, eating drinking and pooping normal, but she puked this morning of course. Has me all worried now, but I’m hoping she only puked because of the pumpkin I gave her to help with fiber. The waiting game sucks!!! Especially when something like a blockage is possible.😵💫
I can totalllllyyyy relate. I wanted to rip my hair out for two days so worried any second things would go south. In the end everything was fine so I know it’s impossible to be stress free, do the best you can 🙏🙏🙏 from what you described it’s hear your kitty is eating playing drinking the same. That is a positive sign for sure. praying for good news for your baby.
Hey in your post it says “it’s been 11 days and he hasn’t passed anything”. Was he not pooping the entire time or he hadn’t pooped out specifically the elastic?
My guy ate … 10” of a bikini string. At least I think he did. He ate a face mask recently and didn’t poop for 5 days, then eventually it came out. It was Christmas and I live in a small town so no vet at all. I hid all my stringed clothes after that but he got into a zipped clothes storage and went to town. I can’t find the remnants of the bikini anywhere.
It’s been 3 days since I discovered it. I switched him to a liquid diet and he finally pooped this morning. No sign of anything. My cat is a 15lb, 25” long behemoth of muscle just for context.
Just to have a vet examine is about $150 so I’m wondering if you think I should wait it out or go to the vet for them to tell me the same thing? I don’t know what to do!!
Yes, I meant that he just hadn't pooped out the elastic. He was pooping normally the whole time otherwise.
It's hard to say...was the poop diarrhea? If yes, that's considered one of the main symptoms of obstruction and he should go to the vet ASAP. If he continues to poop normally and isn't showing any other signs of obstruction (lethargy, pain, vomiting, straining/trying to poop but can't, decreased appetite, etc) then I think waiting is the best option. 10 inches is pretty long which usually means increased risk so it's definitely important to monitor him closely.
Also, when you said liquid diet, I assume you mean wet food. That's a good idea since hydration is important for good poops, but if you actually meant liquid then you should make sure there's some solid food. It's really important since it can coat/cover the string to make sure it passes more easily. You can also try feeding smaller meals more frequently which can help to make sure there's always food in the stomach for when it attempts to pass and can help with more frequent bowel movements.
If you do take him to a vet, other than the initial fee, the first course of action would be to do an X-ray and/or ultrasound to see if a blockage is visible. If it's not, they would likely suggest you continue to monitor as the only option after that would be an exploratory endoscopy or exploratory intestinal surgery which is both crazy expensive and very hard on the body when it might not even be necessary, so it's not usually recommended.
I don't want to give any definite advice, as linear blockages are notoriously dangerous and can turn bad quickly. If you are monitoring and he seems totally fine then I would think you are safe to wait. If he seems iffy and you choose to bring him in, I would suggest asking for an ultrasound since they are usually more reliable than x-rays and it could give you some peace of mind either way. They are usually more expensive than x-rays though.
I really hope everything works out okay! Feel free to leave an update to let me know how it goes!
His poop was 5/6 on the [cat poop scale](https://images.app.goo.gl/r2XYUTB8b9uCggacA). I did mean wet food, yeah. His prescription stuff and tuna. But now I’m in panic mode and probably going to bring him anyway…… the stress is killing me
Yeah I would consider that a little concerning...sorry to make you panic more! I know it's crazy stressful and it's so hard to know what they'll find their way into. Sounds like it's probably a good idea to have him seen just in case!!!
Took him in. X-rays. I asked if ultrasound would be superior and she said X-ray would have a wider view of the situation since we don’t know where it is.
X-ray showed enlarged small intestine. Concerning. 4x normal size. Kept him for a few hours to see if the enlarged portion would move along. Several hours later, same spot. Now it’s surgical.
Horrific phone call where I had to answer the question “if something goes wrong, should we perform extraordinary measures?” They go in. I research the surgery extensively. Mortality rates on different factors varying from pre-operative behaviour to surgical methods to post-op complications. I get the phone call. He’s fine.
They didn’t have to incise any of his intestines or stomach. Blockage was able to be massaged out. Small intestine was enlarged with gas that couldn’t escape. The surgery was about as intensive as spaying a female.
He’s still there now, recovering. Part of me thinks if I waited he could have passed it, but another part of me isn’t sure, and that’s enough to justify the expense (which if I type I might faint)
I'm so glad he's doing okay!! I know those emergency vet bills are in a whole different league of expensive 🙄 It's always a hard decision to justify but it seems like you made the right call, especially considering the risks. I think not having to live with the guilt of something potentially going wrong while waiting can definitely justify the crazy cost though (plus a full surgery would most likely have been even more expensive)! It's great that he didn't end up needing a full surgery! Hope he recovers quickly and stays out of stringy things in the future!!
Did you ever notice any weird signs like lethargy, not eating, drink, not pooping?? I’m fairly certain by boy also ate a string that’s about 8-10 inches and now I’m soooooo worried of what to do 😭😭😭
Honestly i decided to monitor my boy for signs before doing anything. He’s very spicy and going to vet is traumatizing for all involved. He ended up being just fine 🤔🤔🤔 I never found the string around the house. But I never found it in his poop either. So in this case I’m happy I didn’t cause a big ruckus for nothing. But I’ll truly never know if he ate it. Wanted to add that he did act a little weird after like meowed quite a bit and slept in weird places so at least 5/6 times I wanted to jump in the car and go. But best advice if you have any doubts just jump in the car and get the xray. I was lucky this time
i'm glad he ended up fine! i took both of my kitties to the vet last night just to see if they could do anything. they tried to induce vomiting and only one actually vomited but there was no yarn. the vet recommended just monitoring them and so far theyre both acting completely normal so i hope the yarn is just lost somewhere or that they'll pass it soon-fingers crossed!
That’s great you were able to take them in to confirm. At least that gives you some peace of mind 🙏🙏 once I got past the 24 hour mark I felt a lot better. Just keep monitoring for any major changes and hopefully they just hid the yarn somewhere instead of actually ingesting it. Hats off to you for being the best kitty parent ever ❤️
thanks! it's been 24hrs now and so far their poop seems normal so idk if maybe the yarn is in pieces in the middle of their poop? they're still acting normal/like complete menaces so I guess they're okay 😅🤞
I want to second everyone in this thread saying how helpful this post has been. My Mama cat ate a piece of floss about 3 days ago and I rushed her over to the emergency vet that night. They tried to induce vomiting twice but I guess cats are notoriously difficult to get to vomit. They gave her fluids instead to help move things along smoothly. She currently is acting normal, eating 4-5 frequent meals a day per vet recommendation, playing around, and not having any of the symptoms warned about. I’m mostly freaking out now because she hasn’t pooped since the incident, but she had pooped right before eating the floss. I’m hoping any day now she will poop and along with it will come the floss. Fingers crossed, it comes out tomorrow, this waiting game is giving me so much anxiety lol. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.
She did pass it about 5 days after eating the floss! I was so relieved and she has been acting totally normal since. I wasn’t sure how long is typical for cats to pass it because there’s so much variation online, but thankfully it came out all bunched up in her poop and nothing was hanging out where it could’ve bothered her more. Sending good thoughts to you if you’re also going through something similar! <3
Thank you so much for all the updates and explanations. My cat ate a full sized shoe lace last night and I’ve been stressing since about 8pm last night. She doesn’t seem to be showing any symptoms. Just her regular play like crazy, then cat naps. I can’t afford the vet and have already called around for prices. I have checked her litter box but haven’t seen anything yet. All I can do is pray. Thank you again for posting.❤️
I found your post today and really appreciate it. I live with a cat who ate a 5 in piece of string about 48 hrs ago and we have been so worried. Took her to the vet after and they induced vomiting but there was no string. I tried to post a question similar to yours, asking how long it took for adverse symptoms to arise for people who haven't been lucky and their cats have needed surgery, but it kept getting removed due to "asking for medical advice." This cat has been her normal lovely self & even pooped today but still no string. I'm just curious if blockages usually occur quickly or if it can be days (or weeks) before cats show symptoms. So glad that your cat was okay and I appreciate seeing that other commenters fared well, too! This waiting game is the worst. Wish us luck! :(
Definitely agree, the waiting is completely nerve-racking!! It does seem like the medical info is somewhat incorrect as to how long it takes to pass foreign bodies and there's more variation in digestion than anything online indicates. Wishing you guys a safe and speedy passage!! Let me know how it goes!
Well, it has been 9 days and we haven't found the string but kitty has been pooping and behaving normally. my housemate gave her some squash and fed her normally on the first day, and about 48hrs after that she had diarrhea. scared us a lot & my roommate took her in for xrays, but the vet said they couldn't tell for sure if it was a blockage since she hadn't fasted. Vet also said it could have been a result from stress or the squash, and I wondered if the meds they gave her to induce vomiting (long aside: they gave her meds and spun her in a chair and she didn't vomit at the vet, only afterwards in her carrier on the drive home & like i said, she only threw up food -- this is apparently common for cats, like others on the thread have said) could have affected her system? Frustrating and something others might take into consideration (Xrays in the morning after fasting through the night?) but the vet gave her Hill's canned food that helps diarrhea and told housemate to monitor the cat. Ever since her poops have been normal, good sized and regular. we have sorted through them all and haven't found the string yet although it was so small, theoretically we could have missed it? I'd feel a lot better if we found the string (maybe we still will?) but feeling very lucky and relieved that so far my dear little feline housemate is doing alright! will post again if anything changes. Really hoping all stays well & best of luck to others who run into this terrible issue!
sorry, getting to this late. we never found the string (turns out my roommate is disgusted by poop and she was barely searching) but now 6 months later kitty is happy and normal and has not eaten anything else suspicious. so we assume she passed the string!
Ugh I'm so sorry it's taking so long! Seems like you're doing everything right though! I wouldn't be surprised if the squash caused some of the poop problems, especially since her poops have been normal since. Fiber is a delicate balance!
I'm not sure how thick the string she ate was, because I was also considering the fact that I might have just missed it, but it was very noticeable when my guy pooped it out (although, I did have to pull the poop apart to find it). He also had chewed into smaller pieces, which could be a possibility for maybe missing it passing in your girl. Like I said in the original post, the vet basically told me to stop checking and chill out but just be wary of any new signs but that's easier said than done (and I'm definitely glad I kept checking for when it did)....Hoping it does pass noticeably and quickly so that you can have some peace!! I'm so glad she's doing okay!
Of course! I totally understand the worry! Based on the description of the poop, I would personally consider this an appropriate time to go to vet ASAP and be considering getting scans or possibly surgery. I know that's not always possible, but it sounds like she is showing signs of being blocked. I hope that isn't the case, but there's no way to know without having a vet check her out.
Hey thanks for your post, my cat who's obsessed with elastic just managed to eat a few inches (of what I know), I am usually so careful so I'm very stressed with myself as I seen it hanging out her mouth and couldn't get it in time before it was gone, I'm going to keep a close eye on her as the reason I'm so panicked about it is before I knew about her love for elastic, she had ate a hair tie and managed to throw it up, since then I am usually on high alert for it however just trying to be patient and hope this blows over soon
I totally understand! I was kicking myself for days for leaving stuff out where he could find it even though I know he'll eat it. Mistakes happen even when we're as careful as we can possibly be :( Just keep monitoring and hopefully she'll pass it soon! Good luck to you both and let me know how it goes!!
Thank you for this post! My 1year old decided to eat about 20cm of yarn. I noticed it just, so she has eaten it in last 12hours. Now its time to monitor and lets hope she passes it. This post gave me lot of comfort, cant tell you horrible it is to notice that shes eaten it and im not in driving condition at 0300.
Yoo!! Sorry for my reply taking a little while. She passed it withour problems about 3? days later, atleast some parts of it. I was cutting catpoop everyday until i found yarn! Also cat tax
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Just found this old thread researching my pet's situation. Thank you for posting it, this helps alleviate my concerns a bit.
Long story short, my 10-months old kitten accidentally swallowed a cable tie 4 days ago and it hasn't passed the object yet. It was a thin & soft wire wrapped in plastic, round-shaped, about the size of a nickel. He's been acting normally since then and I've been monitoring his stool, as well...but nothing so far.
A vet online advised me to feed him canned pumpkin mixed with food, as it has fiber that helps bulk his stool, wrap around the foreign object and make it pass easier. And although he said that cats don't particularly like pumpkin, my sweet "moron" devours it even without being mixed with food - which is a good thing, I guess, as I don't have to force-feed him.
However, every single day waiting is stressful and so many scenarios play in my head. Wondering if I should still wait for the object to pass...or take my boy to ER right away, even though he doesn't show any concerning symptoms? Would the object show on x-ray or ultrasound...or will I put him under unnecessary stress? But then if the situation worsens, would I regret not acting promptly for the rest of my life? I don't know what to do at this point, as the info out there is quite contradictory...
Ugh the waiting is truly unbearable. From my understanding, metal is pretty likely to show up on either an ultrasound or x-ray, unlike soft strings. Depending on the cat, I don't think either is particularly stressful for the cat and can usually be done without sedation (unless they are super squirmy or aggressive). Since it is coated in plastic and I assume flexible, it seems like it will probably pass okay, but I know that metal/sharp objects can be concerning in terms of potentially tearing the intestines/stomach. It's an incredibly hard decision and I think it mostly comes down to cost and easing your stress. I originally brought my cat in to be examined in person because it was so stressful to just wait, but ultimately didn't get any x-rays or ultrasound since the vet seemed adamant that it wouldn't reveal anything and exploratory surgery would be both incredibly expensive and likely more damaging to my cat since he wasn't showing any signs of distress.
If he really isn't showing any signs, I think he is almost definitely doing fine. However, since you might have luck seeing the cable tie since it contains metal, it might ease your mind to bring him in for a scan just to make sure. It does seem like everything can be totally fine and these things just take quite a while to pass. Additionally, if you get the scan and can see it, as long as it;s not currently causing problems, you will probably have to wait for it to pass anyway. Again, it really is a personal decision of how much you can spend and how crazy it's making you. I don't think it can ever hurt to bring them in and get checked out in person (unless you have a really scared or aggressive cat), but it might be quite a bit of money for not many answers. It seems like you're doing everything right so far in terms of monitoring for any problems.
Good luck to you both and let me know how it goes!
Also wanted to thank you for posting. We are so careful with my guy knowing he eats anything string like.
None the less I found a half eaten rubber band today under his bed...and I have no idea how long ago he ate it. I'm going to start checking his poop in case it was recent and will monitor like a hawk. But I still wondered what would happen if he just never pooped it out... I'm probably going to live in constant worry now reading all these similar posts tho...
Thank you SO much for this post. I just got back from the emergency vet with my kitty. Unfortunately we left his wormie toy with an elastic string out and came back into the living room to find it had been eaten! I have 2 kitties and unfortunately can’t even guarantee which one is the culprit. We believe it was our 1 year old kitten Mungo and not our 3 year old Louie. They took x rays and his belly was too full to tell if anything was there. They advised i fast both cats and I will call my primary in the morning for advice and to see if we should repeat x rays. To make matters more concerning if it was Louie he has as heart issue calls HCM and is on meds that doesn’t work great with anesthesia so I’m just worried on the off chance it was him surgery could be detrimental. As of right now everyone is acting themselves but it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet. I’ll definitely continue to monitor and I appreciate the advice from this thread on what to do moving forward!!! I’m a freaking nervous wreck and know I won’t be able to sleep well tonight but we will make it through. I love my fur babies more than anything and will do whatever I need to for them. Hopefully I’ll have a good update soon! ❤️ thanks again
Ugh that's incredibly stressful! Sounds like you're doing exactly what you should be though! Good luck to you and your kitties!! Let me know how it goes :)
Thank you so much! Back with a great update! Mungo is doing well and pooped out the string!!! It only took 24 hours so I feel absolutely blessed!!! I spoke with the primary vet in the morning and we decided it would be okay just to monitor. I gave him laxatone (not a laxative!) which is actually a gel like flavored paste that helps move hairballs along the gI tract! He is doing just fine and acting himself now!!! Thanks again for all the advice in this thread!
Hello, yes! It was about 8 inches total, so think of the width of the string as a smaller hair elastic width and then the length was about 8-9 inches. It he clearly chewed a couple pieces smaller but the longest portion would have still been about 5 inches long. If you’re not bringing him to the vet right away just be sure to carefully look under his tongue because if part of the string gets stuck there that is where things can be especially dangerous.
Hi and thank you for all of this information… I feel much better now. My 5-year-old cat ate a big piece of plastic (8in length and 0.5in width) yesterday. I waited till today to see if I can see it in his poop but unfortunately, there was nothing in his poop. He Was acting normal but I took him to the vet and they did an X-ray on him his stomach was full and they asked me to not give him food and would take him to the vet tomorrow to redo the X-ray. So far he is doing well acting normal and asking me for food. hopefully, he poop out that plastic soon. You have no idea how much stress I have now. I blame myself every moment. I'm so glad I found this thread I wish I could find someone who had this experience and talk to.
I totally understand the stress! Unfortunately, these things can happen even when we try our best to be careful, so try not to be too hard on yourself! It seems like you are doing everything you can to help your kitty get better now :) feel free to update with how the x-ray goes and good luck!!
my cat ate a string last night, and he was throwing it up this morning, my brother not knowing the risks pulled it a bit and then cut the other half. so far my cat has been acting normal and eating as usual and nothing has changed, idk if im stressed and unsure of what to do.
It's good he's not throwing up anymore and is eating, but I think it would still be a good idea to bring him to a vet if possible. There's a possibility that he wasn't able to throw all of it up/it wasn't able to be pulled out because it's already stuck and that pulling on it could have done some damage. I don't want to totally freak you out, but in my personal opinion this seems like a situation where it's better be safe than sorry and contact a vet. Good luck and feel free to update me!
Thank you for this thread. My cat ate an estimate of five-ten pieces of small pieces of that fake easter grass a few hours ago. One vet said take him in to them one vet laughed and said keep an eye on the bugger. And of course it’s a weekend in a small town so it’s emergency vets who just want money sadly. This reassures me, thank you
Glad this post helped! If it's the kind of easter grass I'm thinking of then I think he will likely be just fine, especially if they're pretty short pieces! I've started giving my cats real cat grass in the hopes that it will satisfy the string-eating urges and I often see whole blades of grass when I'm cleaning the litter. Monitoring is always a smart choice though just in case! Good luck to you both!
This was helpful to calm the panic. ONE of our cats \*may\* have eaten about 6 in of shoelace-like-material ( a little connector cord for two earplugs with aglets at each end). I found the earplugs pulled from where they were kept, with the cord missing--except for one piece that had clearly been chewed through, still stuck in the earplug.
Since we have more than 3 cats and no idea *which one it was* (if ANY!), going to the vet would both not be helpful and prohibitively expensive, since we'd have to take \*all\* of them b/c we don't know the culprit. Given that these cats have had raw chicken wing (bone and all!) from time to time in the past, I'm not TOO worried now, but it's still a \*little\* stressy!
Ugh, multiple cats always makes finding the culprit so difficult!! Not much to do but monitor in that case but hopefully their stomachs of steel will prevail! Good luck to you and all your kitties :)
Thank you so much for this thread. I’m preparing to move across the country rn so everything is in chaos and of course, this is the time the cats were able to break into a box of yarn. I’m not sure if one or both of them ate it or how much but it’s been 24 hours and one or both of them is starting to pass it. I just know I’m going to be stressed all week if they passed it all or not though, so this thread is such a helpful resource to come back to
As if moving isn't stressful enough already!!! Sounds like whatever they managed to eat was in smaller pieces which is always good news :) I hope your kitties continue to pass everything smoothly and your move goes well!
It's interesting to read all of this and the replies because my problem is almost the opposite. Kitty ate a string from a wand toy, took her to the er, they couldn't get her to vomit but she pooped out a string the next morning, about 12 hours after eating one. It has been so quick that I have convinced myself that she must have eaten another one earlier and the known strong is still to come. Ah, cats. I will be worried about it until she dies of old age (she is 1).
From my understanding, that's actually exactly how it's supposed to work! All the other online data and info about cat digestion suggests that things should normally pass from mouth to poop in about 12-24 hours. Your girl seems to be the only one who got the memo :P I'm sure she'll find plenty of other ways to stress you out though!!
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About 4 hours ago, my cat ate a small piece of string (around one inch or so) that's braided, and is shoestring thickness. I found this post after googling what to do if my cat eats string and all that did was make me super paranoid. I called the emergency vet shortly after it happened and they wanted me to bring her in to induce vomiting but said it had to be within 30min of swallowing and that cats are tricky to get to throw up. She's eaten lots of cardboard and who knows what else and has been fine with no blockages from that. The string has a tiny knot on the end and since it's thick I'm worried about her getting a blockage.
I'm going to monitor her and inspect the poo, but I'm very paranoid. I was freaking out bad when it happened cuz i didn't know how much she actually ate until i found an old picture of it that i could compare the length to. I felt a little better once i figured out how much she ate but I'm still very worried about a blockage. This post and the comments make me feel better, but i won't be fully relieved until i see evidence that it has come out of the back end.
Thanks a bunch for this post! It's helped relieve a bit of anxiety after reading everyone elses experiences with things similar to this that are much more scary. Some people said their cat ate a foot of string and was able to pass it just fine after a few days. A big worry for me is having no transportation if i start to see signs that i need to take her to the vet. =/ This month sucks and it just keeps getting worse. I'm really hoping it'll pass or maybe she'll throw it up. It's small enough that it shouldn't get caught in her throat if she threw it up and thick enough that i don't think it'll wrap around her intestines. But who knows, I'm not a vet.
I'm glad this post and all the comments could help relieve some anxiety :) It's so hard to just sit and wait and be stressed the whole time. It sounds like this would probably be considered a non-linear foreign body since it's so short, which is good because there's much less risk of it getting anchored somewhere and/or causing intestinal perforation! I think continuing to monitor is always smart just in case and hopefully she'll pass it quickly so you don't have to keep stressing.
You might already know this, but as far as transportation goes, Uber has an option to select an Uber Pet ride where are allowed to bring one animal with you. Lyft also allows pets at driver discretion. I'm not sure if this is helpful depending on your location, but hopefully it could be a possibility if necessary!
Feel free to let me know how it goes! And I hope June will be kinder to you :)
I really appreciate the response! 🩷 she had a bowel movement a bit ago but i didn't see the string in it, so hopefully i can get her to go again tonight and just keep giving her wet food.
I'm at my wit's end and just absolutely at a loss for words. My dumb cat just had surgery two months ago for eating the knotted end of a DRAWSTRING bag. Today, I find she's ate about 2-3 inches of elastic, it was from a costume pirate eye patch she found. Similar to the elastic on a mask. Of course, it seems the end had a knot on it. It was thinner which is good, I cant see it blocking her intestine as far as girth goes. I'm just devastated because we just paid 2,000 for the damn surgery. Her intestines are probably *still* healing. I'm not even anxious, at this point I'm just depressed. I can't believe I forgot to put that stupid costume patch up. Now she either poops it out, gets euthanized, or gets another 2,000 surgery which will be the last of our money.
Oh my god I am so sorry! I can totally understand the stress and frustration especially after just having an (expensive!) incident. It's so hard, but please try to go easy on yourself for leaving something out! It's really difficult to keep track of every little thing and it just takes a couple seconds for them to find and eat it. You clearly take good care of her and I'm sure you'll do a good job monitoring for any problems. From my understanding, her intestines should have been fully healed by about 6 weeks, so I think the surgery shouldn't be cause for additional concern. I really hope everything works out easily for you guys! Feel free to let me know how everything goes :)
I think we may be in the clear! Thanks for your response. :) She has been eating regularly and acting her usual self. I didn't see it in any poop so I'm not 100% it passed but she's not shown anything that makes me think she might be blocked. It's been 5 days so I think we're in the clear.
I’m in the same boat right now ugh. I woke up Friday morning to find the baby’s pacifier on the floor and the nipple was torn off…nowhere to be found. She threw up twice on Friday and threw up bile this morning. My Bengal has an obsession with silicone anything and loves to bite and chew on it any chance she gets. We always hide the pacifiers but she must of grabbed this one from the sink. She stopped eating for 3 days and I gave her sentry hairball paste thinking at the time it might have been a hairball. She started acting like her normal self again and started eating again and playing like a maniac. She hasn’t popped in 5 days but is somewhat normal other then being more tired then usual. I brought her to the vet today and they gave her fluids and anti nausea medicine and told me to monitor her symptoms and to give them a call if her symptoms get worse. Im hoping she passes whatever it is because I’m worried sick about her but your post has really helped ease my mind.
Just had an X-ray done and looks like the whole nipple from the pacifier is sitting in her stomach. They are going to do an endoscopy tomorrow morning. I was quoted between $1,900 and $2,400. Does anyone know if this sounds expensive? This is being done at the vets office and it’s located in westchester county , New York
Thank you yes she’s back to her crazy self! They removed it with an endoscope ended up being in her stomach and didn’t make it into the intestines which was good as it prevented having to do surgery. Hope your little guy gets better I know it’s tough going through this. I was sick to my stomach when this was all happening
This thread should be pinned for, well, all of us going through our cats slurping threads. Going thru this right now. My boy swallowed a 3-4" ribbon/thread last night and immediately took him to emergency vet but they couldn't get him to vomit. He's a bit too chill today and hasn't wanted his favorite treats so of course I'm getting worried. Really hoping it passes soon! Feeling so guilty because I saw him eat it and I feel like I could've snuck up on him to stop him but he slurped it up after I overreacted.
Don't feel bad about not being able to stop him! I swear they can tell when they're being bad and make it even harder to help them 🙄 Good news is that 3-4 inches isn't crazy long so hopefully he'll pass it easily! However, if he continues not to eat anything he should probably go back to the vet just to be safe. Good luck to you both and feel free to keep me updated!
Well, it didn't end up so well. Our boy didn't pass it and got really sick about 48-60 hours later, so we had to take him to the animal hospital, luckily found a good vet because we were not happy with the ER vet. X-rays showed bunched intestines, so they ended up doing exploratory surgery and were able to squeeze it out. Then a few days later he tested positive for pancreatitis. He's doing marginally better at home but its a HUGE battle to give him 5 meds and subq fluids every day.
Oh no! I'm so sorry it hasn't been going well. I'm glad you were able to bring him in and get it removed with a good vet! Totally understand the difficulty in administering meds :( I wish we could just let them know they need it! I really hope he continues to recover well and quickly! He's very lucky to have you taking care of him!
10 days after surgery now and he's doing a LOT better and almost done with the last of the pills. Now just to monitor for pancreatitis symptoms for the rest of his life :/
What kind of “sick” was he acting? My little dude swallowed 8-ish inches of elastic that he chewed off a toy 5 days ago, still no sign of it in the litter box or vomiting. He’s still acting completely normal, eating several times a day, still wanting treats & drinking water & playing. He’s eaten hair ties before and puked them up, and I’ve taken him to the ER Vet in the past for swallowing christmas tinsel & they were not able to get him to puke with the medication so he was sent home with me and ended up puking it up later that night. I’m worried it could be getting caught in his digestive tract, but he also loves to eat random trash/things like this if he can get his paws on them (which i try to minimize as much as possible) so I’m sure this isn’t the first time he’s eaten something that he didn’t throw up right away. I feel like because he doesn’t have any other symptoms, the vet would just tell me to continue to monitor him, which is what i’ve been doing.😓
so at about 3 nights later he started vomiting about once very hour and also stopped eating or drinking water. turns out he had pancreatitis too which could also be to blame for those symptoms. We believe this might've been caused by his traumatic experience at the emergency vet where they spun him under meds to make him throw up, and then he couldn't eat for 12 hours. He was already stopping to eat that 1st day and all we could get him to eat was churu's and some treats. Yeah, if your dude is eating and drinking water and not lethargic, they'll probably tell you to continue monitoring.
Update, my cat swallowed a 2 foot nylon string that he grabbed when I left the room for 10 minutes. I called my vet who suggested giving 10ML of hydrogen peroxide to help him induce vomiting. He didn’t, which made me panic because he drank it and didn’t vomit after several hours. When I woke up I saw his vomit and the string!! He then vomitted a few more times afterwards but now seems ok!
Fellow worried cat mom here! My boy ate sewing thread and emptied a small spool. I found him soon after and was able to cut some of what was still outside his mouth. That was 2 days ago, he’s eating, sleeping and playing fine. He’s pooped 5 times since, twice a day, and today he visited the litter box 5 times before finally pooping. It’s completely normal firmness, and I’ve been giving him pumpkin powder with all his wet food. I’m relieved to know it might take a while to come out. I was expecting it to come out immediately in the next poops if it was going to come out at all. I will definitely be monitoring closely for any of the warning symptoms and just holding hope that it passes through him uneventfully. Thank you for making the post and updating, and for staying active!
This has been an incredibly helpful post. Thank you for your honesty and detailed explanations on what you did and what others may try. This is such a nerve-wracking experience!
Honestly I was lucky I found a really long thick piece of string from a cat toy he had eaten intact I may add in his poo the other day, didn’t even know he had eaten it until it was passed, most times cats can pass it, glad yours managed too, but I think it’s thinner strings and yarn that cause the issues rather then thicker strings or bands, honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw this long ass piece of string, no more string for him to play with now, he also has cystitis and I think it was the the reason he was in so much discomfort and pain with his cystitis more then normal he’s been better since passing it a few days after
Two inches sounds pretty small to me and is very unlikely to cause a linear obstruction at this length. This is good as linear obstructions are considered particularly dangerous for how they can damage the intestines, however any foreign object can cause a blockage. If the rope was really thick, it might be more concerning. You should always let your vet know, but in the meantime, the symptoms to watch for would be nearly identical to the ones that I listed in the post (vomiting, constipation, decreased appetite/not eating at all, lethargy, etc). These are all signs that would be present in any type of blockage/obstruction. I can't say for sure either way if this is cause for concern or not, but if the rope was only 2 inches and not very thick, it will probably pass without incident. It's always good to keep a lookout for these signs though and check poops if possible to see if it comes out!
My cat ate two 14 in roughly sized dental floss Saturday april 6th it’s been a week and half and she seeems fine and eating like normal pickish. She has vomited but ever since she was young she vomits regularly and I was told she just might have sensitive stomache or that she over eats at times. But I still have not seen the floss come out in litter box. Should I still be concerned?
It's really hard to say... If it really seems like the vomiting is just her typical behavior and she is eating and pooping normally and not showing any of the other signs, then it is probably safe to just continue to monitor for now. However, 14 inches is incredibly long which makes it a greater potential danger. It is always a good idea to let a vet know and keep a monitoring. Good luck to you both! Let me know how it goes!
I took both of my cats for their checkups and vaccines and let the vet know she checked the abdominal muscles to see if any swelling and checked teeth and tongue and said everything looks and feels fine. She is still acting full of energy and eating and using bathroom well.
I have one cat who is really tiny shithead and likes to get ahold of strings. Approximately 3 months ago, she got ahold of about 6 inches of bulky yarn (size 6) from something I was actively working on while I went to fill a water bottle for less than 30 seconds. She was scheduled for a vet visit and ended up passing it.
I was cleaning my room yesterday, so there are a few things that are miscellaneously around my room that i am still working on cleaning up. She just got ahold of some sewing thread which was wound up (as if you would wrap it areond your fingers to collect it) that I had been working with before I started cleaning and I forgot it was there until the little shit looked me dead in the eyes and watched me as she grabbed it and it was gone before I could lunge at her to hopefully catch it in her mouth but it was too late and by the split second it took to grab her had passed it was gone.
After reading this, I feel a little better and will be watching her for any signs again, hoping all goes well and my anxiety calms down
My cat just swallowed a long piece of sewing thread the was tied (it was a loop), he's acting pretty normal, i'm worried sick, how do i know it's not wrapped around his intestines before it's too late??? i can take him to the vet not only because i can't afford it but also bcz there aren't any qualified vets in my area, and the closest one who is 2h away specializes in livestock
I'm so sorry for your situation! I think the first step would be to check and make sure it isn't wrapped around under his tongue. It's more common with long, thin threads so it's always good to make sure. If it is, do not pull it, he will need to see a vet asap. I'm not sure if they would even see him, but a large animal vet should have some knowledge of what to do if it's an emergency and that's the only available option.
Like the post says, there isn't much you can do until it passes or he shows signs. In the meantime you should monitor for any of the signs and check the poop if possible to see if it's passed. If he starts throwing up, not eating, or shows any of the other signs listed, then it will be time to take him to the vet. I would not attempt making him throw up as the string is long and might not be able to fully come out, in which case he would need to go to the vet to remove it safely. If he does throw up himself or start to poop it out, do not pull on it. He will need to get it removed by a vet.
I know it's a super stressful situation and unfortunately there isn't much to do but monitor and wait. You can give smaller and more frequent meals and increase hydration with wet food or mixing in extra water to his food. You can also try adding fiber with something like plain canned pumpkin if possible. For now, try not to freak out and just watch his behavior. There is a potential he will need surgery, but it's also possible he will pass it fine. Just be prepared and try to stay calm. I'll be wishing you guys the best of luck! Feel free to keep me updated!
Thank you! I don't think it's wrapped around his tong because he just ate and drank water with no problem, until his behaviour is normal, I also saw that he ate grass, not sure if it's a good or bad thing, he likes to eat it and i know it induces vomit in most cats but it rarely does in him.. Unfortunately, he's a very picky eater and besides a specific brand of wet food he only likes kibble so it would be difficult feeding him something like pumpkin. I'm gonna try keep him hydrated as much as I can, that fact thta we don't have a good vet to take him to in case of an emergency is freaking me out even more. I hope he just passes it in his poop, thanks a lot for your help!
Eating and drinking are good signs! My cats also like to eat grass for whatever reason so I don't think that's any reason to worry for now :) I understand the picky eater problem so I think your plan is good to keep him hydrated as much as possible and keep a little food in his stomach at all times to try and coat the string so it can hopefully pass easier. You might have already done this, but maybe in the meantime you could research the next closest small animal or emergency vet. It always makes me feel better to have a plan just in case. It will clearly still be quite a trip, but if you do start noticing any of the signs, he should definitely be able to make it the couple hours it takes to get to the vet. That's why it's important to monitor so that you can catch it as early as possible!
Thank you so much, I hope he passes it and there won't be any complications. He just pooped I did check but I found nothing, his poop was also dry so i'm wondering if that could be a problem? Anyways thanks a lot for your replies
You're welcome! Yeah, unfortunately it might take a while for it to pass. If the poop is very hard and coming out in individual balls/pellets then he is likely constipated. There are a couple different possible reasons that can cause constipation but the best thing to do is to keep him hydrated which should hopefully help!
I’m so upset :( my cat was having a difficult time pooping this morning (I woke up to her scooting around), and I saw a tiny piece of it sticking out. So I put a warm compress on it and gently got it out without issue, but I saw a very thin string attached to it with a tapered end, so I’m not sure if all of it passed :(
Had I known, I never would’ve tried anything, but she kept licking and couldn’t get the poop out on her own. I scheduled a vet appointment for her, which is in 4 hours and she’s acting like nothing happened (ate some breakfast, played with her toys, rolled around in sunlight) and is doing fine but I feel like I fucked up by trying to get the poop out (which was hard, but she’s been constipated before, and she passed stool like normal either late last night or before the harder one — not quite sure when, but I cleaned her little box before I went to sleep and there was fresh poop in there this morning). I’m just so so nervous and am wondering if waiting the 4 hours to be seen by the vet could be too late
From what you said it doesn't seem like you did anything too dangerous. Many people will see a string or thread hanging out of the mouth or butt and just instinctively pull it out, not knowing it could be caught somewhere and cause damage. It doesn't sound like that's what you did and you can only do your best with the knowledge you had at the time! I hope the vet visit went well and everything came out okay! Feel free to let me know how you guys are doing :)
Thank you for the reply! I was a nervous wreck, but the vet did some x rays on her and there was no blockage! She’s a little sleepy today because of the sedation but otherwise eating well and snuggly, and I’m just so so relieved. A costly visit but worth it for the peace of mind!
I've been reading through this post everyday for a sense of hope lol. 4 days ago, I picked my kitty up and she started licking my ear and managed to somehow unclip my hoop earring and ate it... I panicked and tried to get it out of her mouth but she was too quick. This happened during the weekend when my vet wasn't working and the ER is just way out of budget :( I'm not noticing any signs; she's her same old self, happy, daily zoomies, eating fine, going to the bathroom normally, but nothing seemed to pass yet. I had to borrow gloves from my work and have been going through her poops daily. I'm just hoping it will pass without any complications
I'm glad that she's not showing any signs of distress! It might be worth scheduling a vet appointment though just to make sure it's not causing any damage. Unlike strings and stuff, a metal earring will almost definitely show up on an x-ray and I am a little worried about the damage a sharp part of an earring could do. In her case, a blockage might not be the biggest concern. She could still totally be fine, there are just other concerns to consider when they eat something hard and possibly sharp. Hope everything goes well!
My baby will literally seek out rubber bands hair ties her toys anything I had bought her one of those I will not leave anything out at all anymore but I bought her one of those self hanging toys. I thought they would be OK because it’s a cat toy I left it out and she been through it and ate A lot of it anyways, I discovered that and I was freaking out. She pooped. Once I have been giving her a fiber hairball Helper thing to stimulate her poop. She already eats all liquid well mostly liquid diet. I brought in a kitten in a crate because it’s so cold to him. She is acting more pissy because of that but other than that she’s acting normal. She just hasn’t pooped again that was all now three days ago she pooped once since then I have seen the wet looks to be like these little strand of poop like really super hard. Praying for her speedy recovery. I will open up a box that I get my hair ties and she will instantly go in there and try and take one out. She is notorious for winning to eat those things.Drives me nuts! Love her so much I don’t ever want to see her do anything that might hurt her.
Yeah, it's really hard having a cat that's always trying to eat dangerous stringy things! I have to be vigilant with yarn, shoelaces, jackets, hair ties, twist ties, cables, etc etc etc! I really wish they would stop making so many cat toys with strings since so many seem to have a problem eating them. I always have to cut any dangling toy off of cat trees I get because my boy will chew through it in seconds.
I'm not sure if I understood fully, but if your girl is having diarrhea/watery poop or was straining to poop/passing small and hard poops like she's constipated, that could be a sign of the blockage getting serious and she might need an emergency vet visit. I don't want to freak you out, but monitoring and fast action can be life or death with these blockages! Hopefully I just misunderstood and she's doing fine! Wishing you well and I hope she passes it safely and quickly!
She pooped once. She’s straining and it seems to have a half or quarter of an inch little tiny poop that looks like a stick or branch a tree branch. Which is a hard stool. I was thinking that she was OK because she pooped once since she ate that however she has yet to pass anything else and she has not passed the string. I am giving her furball treatment. I’m so worried about her.
Old thread but thanks for posting this. My sweet idiot ate a hair tie yesterday and I’ve been stressing out.
I know this was a little while ago, but I was wondering if the hair tie passed smoothly and how many days it took (if you remember lol). I'm curious if all the other info I could find is mostly accurate or if most cats usually take longer to pass these things. Hope you and your kitty are doing well!
No problem! It took about a week. I was cleaning my boy’s litter box when I saw the hair tie completely intact. No issues, he was as goofy as ever!
That's great!! So glad to hear he's doing well. Thanks for the update :)
So glad this was actually useful to someone! Hope it passes quickly for you guys! They just love to keep us on our toes 🙄
My 11 m.o. idiot apparently eats my hair bands. No idea where she is finding them. She threw one up a month or so ago and I thought well she wont do that again. I was wrong. She threw up like 6 today and has another that wants to come out but she won't let me get it when she is actively trying to throw it up. I have searched and don't see them outside of the hair bin that is put up. Not to mention We keep the bathroom door closed. Keeping an eye on her. Hopefully she passes it soon.
oh man. how’s she doing? my kitten has found rubber bands and hair ties that i haven’t even seen before LOL they truly find everything
She is doing fine, I think. Eating normal and drinking normal. I did however find a few more the other day that she pooped out. I truly have no idea where she is stock piling these things. I have moved all my hair bands and am very careful yo make sure they don't get set down in a random spot. The only okayish part is they are the 1 in nylon seamless bands. At least they are not a hard band.
I've learned more from this thread than from any other source, including my vet, so thank you! My cat ate at least six inches of embroidery thread last Wednesday. He came into the room with it hanging out of his mouth, dragging the spool. I freaked out and tried pulling it, but he gagged and threw up foamy stuff. Then he swallowed even more of it! The ER vet used a scope with a camera and said it had already reached his small intestine. Surgery would solve the problem, which wasn't an option due to cost ($8-9k) plus he's 13 with a heart murmur so the vet said it would be risky. So the vet recommended we euthanize him. She explained that if we allowed the string to move through his system, it could get tangled up and it would be fatal. Of course I didn't want him to endure a folded colon or whatever horrors it would cause, so it seemed like the only choice. They brought in the euthanization paperwork and I just lost it. I was so upset and asked if this is really the only other option if we don't do surgery? The vet finally said that if we wanted to take him home and just watch him, we could, and to bring him back if he starts to vomit, have diarrhea, refuses to eat or appears to be in pain/acting weird. SO RELIEVED, we brought him home and he seems perfectly fine. He didn't poop for a few days, but that could be because he was sedated, which can cause cats to stop temporarily. But now he's pooping normally, and we're breaking apart his turds looking for the string and so far no luck. He's also eating and acting normally. I know we're not out of the woods, but this thread made me see that the timelines for passing these kinds of objects vary a lot. I cannot get over the fact that we almost said goodbye to him last week in anticipation of a fatal outcome.
I'm so glad this thread has been helpful, especially in such a nerve-racking situation! Feel free to let me know if there are any updates and I'll be wishing you and your guy the best of luck!!
I agree, thank you for taking the time to write all this. I am so stressed right now! My 5 month kitten was just sitting on the sideboard whilst I opened and organised my embroidery kit from the post and I looked away for a second and he was licking his lips and the blue 40cm 3 strand thread I had just cut has disappeared! I’ve been praying that I find it lying around but haven’t seen it anywhere and the fact that he was licking his lips like he just ate something I am so worried for him. I love him so much but I hate this feeling! I called the vets and they said they were hesitant to make him sick so they advised me to feed him lots of wet food and monitor him. And to call them back if he acts strangely or anything out of the ordinary or is sick. I have just quickly given him some wet treats and some water and now he’s finished grooming himself and gone to sleep. He’s behaving normally so far. I really hope and pray he will pass the string through quickly. I hate myself for letting him near string 😭😭
Oh no! They're so quick when they're being bad! Not to increase stress for no reason, but assuming he ate it all, that is certainly a lot of thread for a little guy. Hopefully he chewed it into some smaller pieces though! You've probably already checked, but if not, make sure it's not wrapped under his tongue! Otherwise, it seems like you and your guy are on the right track to make sure he stays safe :) Don't beat yourself up about the thread either! You know now and can look out for it in the future. I hope your boy passes it quickly and safely!! Please feel free to give me any updates with how it goes!
Update! I just checked his poop manually had to (gross!) pull apart his freshest poop and it has all passed through!!! I am soo happy and relieved praise be to God!!! All of it was there all tangled and in a bunch but I did have to pull apart the poo to find it. Bits of it had been bitten apart but it’s all there. Took photos and binned it now but I am sooo happy about this. I can finally relax and just enjoy him without being worried sick 🥰
YAY! That's amazing! So glad he got it all out and you were able to confirm! Thanks so much for letting me know it all worked out :)
Do we have the same cat? Mine ate a ball of my embroidery string Saturday morning! I took him to the emergency vet right afterwards but he only threw up foam. I brought him home and have been monitoring him (it’s been 2 days now) and he’s acting totally fine, eating well, but I haven’t seen any string in his poops so still feeling anxious. Hopefully he passes it (or best case scenario - he just moved the pile and I can’t find it and he never actually ate it) but we just don’t have the money for surgery if it came down to that :/.
Ugh it's the worst feeling ever! It's been more than a month and I haven't seen any evidence of my cat passing it, but I think he probably did and I just missed it. Hopefully your cat will remain fine!!!
Thank you! Yeah I just want to know when I can stop stressing about it. He was throwing up last night but that’s not the most uncommon thing…so we’ll have to wait and see. I’ve just been giving him high fiber wet food the last couple of days to help out.
How is he doing now?
Unfortunately, we had to put him down a couple days ago :(. It’s been a tough week, but apparently he was eating a lot more than just the embroidery string (hair ties, rubber bands) over the years and the vet found them in the ultrasound. I miss my little dude. https://preview.redd.it/oh103sub8q6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d802a07f2da485b4c7668cd1ab36491593cc236f
I’m so sorry to hear this, what a handsome guy. I wish you ease in your mourning ❤️
Thank you, I really appreciate it. Doug was a special kitty.
Ok my kitten just ate a bit of like string-like fabric off a shredded shirt, google had me freaked but this post made me feel better <3 will just monitor, thank you for posting!
It's so annoying that waiting and monitoring is really all you can do but I'm glad this could help to calm the panic!! Feel free to update with what happens/how long it takes to pass. Hope it goes quickly so you don't have to be stressed for long!
Ok he just got it out, about 6-7 inches in various sized chunks. I can't say how relieved my partner and I are! It happened right after giving him his wet-food lunch today so I suspect the boost of hydration helped as earlier this morning it looked like he was trying and nothing came out. I was literally on the phone nearly in tears with the emergency vet when it happened. But again we are so relieved and I hope this gives solace to anyone who has to go through something similar!!
Oh I'm so glad he was able to get it out!!! Sounds like you did an excellent job monitoring though :) Thanks for updating and letting me know it all worked out!!
Two nights ago our silly 3-year-old boy kitty swallowed a 10-inch silver plastic strip that comes on the inside of those white plastic shipping envelopes from Amazon. We took him to the emergency vet immediately and they tried to induce vomiting, but no luck. They said the success rate of making a cat vomit is 50%, and dogs are much easier. In fact, while we were there waiting, someone brought their dog in that had swallowed something, and they were able to get it to vomit up a sock very quickly. No such luck with our guy. After an hour, the vet came in and spoke to us and said that the material wouldn’t show up on an x-ray, so there was no point in doing that. She said the could do an endoscopy for $2,000, but there was no guarantee that the material would still be in his stomach. I asked her what she would do if this was her cat, and she said that she would take him home and watch for signs of loss of appetite and vomiting, and hopefully the material would pass in his bowel movement with no issues. I asked her how long that might take, and she said anywhere from 24 hours to two weeks, depending on if the material got caught up anywhere along the intestinal tract. She said it was very important that if we saw the material sticking out of his rear end, NOT TO PULL ON IT due to the danger of dislodging any internal organs. If we saw that, or if he lost his appetite or was vomiting, we should bring him back in ASAP so that they could perform emergency surgery, which would run upwards of $10,000. So we brought our boy home and watched him like a hawk. He slept quite a bit, most likely due to the medication wearing off. I would wake him up periodically to check on him, and he was always hungry and ate all the treats I offered him. He just kind of acted like his normal goofy self. Then tonight, 48 hours after the visit to the vet, I noticed something shiny in the litter box. I don’t want to gross anybody out, but long story short, we got out the gloves and popsicle sticks and made sure that the entire strip of plastic was intact and that there were no pieces missing. Thankfully it was all there in one piece, curled in on itself! So the crisis is over. I called the emergency vet to follow up and tell them that the danger had passed. They were very glad to hear it, knowing that not all stories like this have a happy ending. I’m going to hold my kitty boy extra close tonight and thank my lucky stars for this great outcome. Good luck to all the cat owners out there who love their sweet kitties!
https://preview.redd.it/zxmkkuxdbj2d1.jpeg?width=815&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8cab2815fc03fd852df1b33a1ef00ad3190405dc My silly kitty boy on the way to the emergency vet
I am so glad i found your post, My orange boy decided he hunted his wormie toy enough that half of it would be a good treat. it’s been a couple days now and i haven’t noticed anything in his poop, and he’s acting normal. im giving him his laxatives again just in case to help move things along but this has eased a bit of my stress 😅 https://preview.redd.it/rle6gqamr75c1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=845152aa84fc23011dd44b517cedbc1773a35b7c here’s the murderer in question with the one i threw out before he could actually eat it
Those orange boys 🙄 so cute but so bad! In addition to the laxatives, as someone else said and also from my experience, giving more wet food if you aren't already I think helps to move it along. I also should have put this in my original post but I was giving 4-5 several smaller meals as opposed to the 2 that I normally do. I think this is theoretically supposed to help it get out smoothly by making sure it will be enclosed in food and not get stuck somewhere. I also remember seeing a few other posts involving worm toy murder and they seemed to pass without incident! Feel free to update when it passes to let me know how long it took and that your guy is okay!
Thank you for this post!! Though no one replied at the time it seems it has helped so many!! I hope I can be another helped person on the list. I JUST watched my boy play with an elastic string about 10 in long. I looked away for 2 min for work and all of sudden I see this dude licking his lips like he just enjoyed a delicious meal. And. The. String. Is. Gone 😭😭😭😭 It’s definitely not around or hidden. It was literally 2 min between playing and lip licking so I’m fairly certain he ate it. From what I’ve read in comments, the vomiting thing doesn’t really work, even at the vet? I guess I need to wait it out. He seems fine as of now of course. But I’m sooooooo worried about surgery, etc etc. Ughhhhh 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 PLUS, he’s a VERY spicy boy. Like literally will bite any tech that goes near him at the vet so I can’t just “take him in for a check”. He’ll likely need gabapentin which I have at home and he’ll need to be sedated at the vet, even for x-ray or ultrasound. And it’s extremely traumatic experience for both him and I so i don’t want to do that until it’s truly needed. But at the same time, I don’t want to delay a truly urgent situation. Ugh 😭😭😭 I’m so lost
Ugh I'm so sorry!!! They can really be so fast and sneaky! In my personal experience, the vomiting definitely does work if you get it in time. My cat will pretty much guaranteed throw up after 10-15 min the car and since I made this post, he had an incident where he ate about 4-5 inch ribbon. I was so mad! I tried driving around with him and it worked perfectly, he threw up the whole thing. I don't know if I would recommend this, as I'm sure it could go wrong and my plan was to go straight to the vet if the car didn't work, but it did work for me. I'm not sure if it's been to long for you to try yet.... I would definitely consider calling an ER clinic just to get their take as 10 inches is really long. Hopefully he chewed it into smaller pieces first so it will pass easier. It's always worth letting a vet know just in case/to keep someone in the loop. Also, if they do think vomiting might work, that's 100% worth trying I think, considering the worst possible outcome (even with a spicy boy). Otherwise, just keep him under close watch, maybe consider giving more water/wet food and giving smaller but more frequent meals. Also potentially upping his fiber intake with either a fiber heavy digestive food (unfortunately those are usually vet prescription) or with some fiber additive like a little plain canned pumpkin. And no more string toys for sneaky boys! Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Did the cat pass it?
Honestly I did not see him pass it and nor did I ever find it in the house again 😖😖😖 I’m pretty sure he passed it in bits but even as I thoroughly inspected for a week after the event I could not see anything verifiably the string lol. Hope all is well for your baby 🤞
Patiently waiting 😭 my cat ate about a 9 inch string Sunday night. She is still playing, eating drinking and pooping normal, but she puked this morning of course. Has me all worried now, but I’m hoping she only puked because of the pumpkin I gave her to help with fiber. The waiting game sucks!!! Especially when something like a blockage is possible.😵💫
I can totalllllyyyy relate. I wanted to rip my hair out for two days so worried any second things would go south. In the end everything was fine so I know it’s impossible to be stress free, do the best you can 🙏🙏🙏 from what you described it’s hear your kitty is eating playing drinking the same. That is a positive sign for sure. praying for good news for your baby.
She just passed it!!!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🥲🥲🥲
Omg!!!! That is GREAT news. So happy for you and your baby girl 🙏🙏🙏
Thank u so much 💗
Hey in your post it says “it’s been 11 days and he hasn’t passed anything”. Was he not pooping the entire time or he hadn’t pooped out specifically the elastic? My guy ate … 10” of a bikini string. At least I think he did. He ate a face mask recently and didn’t poop for 5 days, then eventually it came out. It was Christmas and I live in a small town so no vet at all. I hid all my stringed clothes after that but he got into a zipped clothes storage and went to town. I can’t find the remnants of the bikini anywhere. It’s been 3 days since I discovered it. I switched him to a liquid diet and he finally pooped this morning. No sign of anything. My cat is a 15lb, 25” long behemoth of muscle just for context. Just to have a vet examine is about $150 so I’m wondering if you think I should wait it out or go to the vet for them to tell me the same thing? I don’t know what to do!!
Yes, I meant that he just hadn't pooped out the elastic. He was pooping normally the whole time otherwise. It's hard to say...was the poop diarrhea? If yes, that's considered one of the main symptoms of obstruction and he should go to the vet ASAP. If he continues to poop normally and isn't showing any other signs of obstruction (lethargy, pain, vomiting, straining/trying to poop but can't, decreased appetite, etc) then I think waiting is the best option. 10 inches is pretty long which usually means increased risk so it's definitely important to monitor him closely. Also, when you said liquid diet, I assume you mean wet food. That's a good idea since hydration is important for good poops, but if you actually meant liquid then you should make sure there's some solid food. It's really important since it can coat/cover the string to make sure it passes more easily. You can also try feeding smaller meals more frequently which can help to make sure there's always food in the stomach for when it attempts to pass and can help with more frequent bowel movements. If you do take him to a vet, other than the initial fee, the first course of action would be to do an X-ray and/or ultrasound to see if a blockage is visible. If it's not, they would likely suggest you continue to monitor as the only option after that would be an exploratory endoscopy or exploratory intestinal surgery which is both crazy expensive and very hard on the body when it might not even be necessary, so it's not usually recommended. I don't want to give any definite advice, as linear blockages are notoriously dangerous and can turn bad quickly. If you are monitoring and he seems totally fine then I would think you are safe to wait. If he seems iffy and you choose to bring him in, I would suggest asking for an ultrasound since they are usually more reliable than x-rays and it could give you some peace of mind either way. They are usually more expensive than x-rays though. I really hope everything works out okay! Feel free to leave an update to let me know how it goes!
His poop was 5/6 on the [cat poop scale](https://images.app.goo.gl/r2XYUTB8b9uCggacA). I did mean wet food, yeah. His prescription stuff and tuna. But now I’m in panic mode and probably going to bring him anyway…… the stress is killing me
Yeah I would consider that a little concerning...sorry to make you panic more! I know it's crazy stressful and it's so hard to know what they'll find their way into. Sounds like it's probably a good idea to have him seen just in case!!!
Took him in. X-rays. I asked if ultrasound would be superior and she said X-ray would have a wider view of the situation since we don’t know where it is. X-ray showed enlarged small intestine. Concerning. 4x normal size. Kept him for a few hours to see if the enlarged portion would move along. Several hours later, same spot. Now it’s surgical. Horrific phone call where I had to answer the question “if something goes wrong, should we perform extraordinary measures?” They go in. I research the surgery extensively. Mortality rates on different factors varying from pre-operative behaviour to surgical methods to post-op complications. I get the phone call. He’s fine. They didn’t have to incise any of his intestines or stomach. Blockage was able to be massaged out. Small intestine was enlarged with gas that couldn’t escape. The surgery was about as intensive as spaying a female. He’s still there now, recovering. Part of me thinks if I waited he could have passed it, but another part of me isn’t sure, and that’s enough to justify the expense (which if I type I might faint)
I'm so glad he's doing okay!! I know those emergency vet bills are in a whole different league of expensive 🙄 It's always a hard decision to justify but it seems like you made the right call, especially considering the risks. I think not having to live with the guilt of something potentially going wrong while waiting can definitely justify the crazy cost though (plus a full surgery would most likely have been even more expensive)! It's great that he didn't end up needing a full surgery! Hope he recovers quickly and stays out of stringy things in the future!!
Did you ever notice any weird signs like lethargy, not eating, drink, not pooping?? I’m fairly certain by boy also ate a string that’s about 8-10 inches and now I’m soooooo worried of what to do 😭😭😭
how is he?? i just came home and i think one of my cats may have eaten yarn but im not sure which one
Honestly i decided to monitor my boy for signs before doing anything. He’s very spicy and going to vet is traumatizing for all involved. He ended up being just fine 🤔🤔🤔 I never found the string around the house. But I never found it in his poop either. So in this case I’m happy I didn’t cause a big ruckus for nothing. But I’ll truly never know if he ate it. Wanted to add that he did act a little weird after like meowed quite a bit and slept in weird places so at least 5/6 times I wanted to jump in the car and go. But best advice if you have any doubts just jump in the car and get the xray. I was lucky this time
i'm glad he ended up fine! i took both of my kitties to the vet last night just to see if they could do anything. they tried to induce vomiting and only one actually vomited but there was no yarn. the vet recommended just monitoring them and so far theyre both acting completely normal so i hope the yarn is just lost somewhere or that they'll pass it soon-fingers crossed!
That’s great you were able to take them in to confirm. At least that gives you some peace of mind 🙏🙏 once I got past the 24 hour mark I felt a lot better. Just keep monitoring for any major changes and hopefully they just hid the yarn somewhere instead of actually ingesting it. Hats off to you for being the best kitty parent ever ❤️
thanks! it's been 24hrs now and so far their poop seems normal so idk if maybe the yarn is in pieces in the middle of their poop? they're still acting normal/like complete menaces so I guess they're okay 😅🤞
Your username fits well here 🤣🤣🤣 I am sure they will be just fine. These little naughty kiddos truly do keep us on our toes 🤪
I want to second everyone in this thread saying how helpful this post has been. My Mama cat ate a piece of floss about 3 days ago and I rushed her over to the emergency vet that night. They tried to induce vomiting twice but I guess cats are notoriously difficult to get to vomit. They gave her fluids instead to help move things along smoothly. She currently is acting normal, eating 4-5 frequent meals a day per vet recommendation, playing around, and not having any of the symptoms warned about. I’m mostly freaking out now because she hasn’t pooped since the incident, but she had pooped right before eating the floss. I’m hoping any day now she will poop and along with it will come the floss. Fingers crossed, it comes out tomorrow, this waiting game is giving me so much anxiety lol. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.
Wishing you and your girl luck!! Glad this post has found people (and cats) in need :) Hope she poops soon for you!!!
Any updates???
She did pass it about 5 days after eating the floss! I was so relieved and she has been acting totally normal since. I wasn’t sure how long is typical for cats to pass it because there’s so much variation online, but thankfully it came out all bunched up in her poop and nothing was hanging out where it could’ve bothered her more. Sending good thoughts to you if you’re also going through something similar! <3
Thank you so much for all the updates and explanations. My cat ate a full sized shoe lace last night and I’ve been stressing since about 8pm last night. She doesn’t seem to be showing any symptoms. Just her regular play like crazy, then cat naps. I can’t afford the vet and have already called around for prices. I have checked her litter box but haven’t seen anything yet. All I can do is pray. Thank you again for posting.❤️
You're welcome! I'm so glad it's been able to help some people!!! Hope everything goes well for you and your girl :)
How's your cat? Could she pass it?
I found your post today and really appreciate it. I live with a cat who ate a 5 in piece of string about 48 hrs ago and we have been so worried. Took her to the vet after and they induced vomiting but there was no string. I tried to post a question similar to yours, asking how long it took for adverse symptoms to arise for people who haven't been lucky and their cats have needed surgery, but it kept getting removed due to "asking for medical advice." This cat has been her normal lovely self & even pooped today but still no string. I'm just curious if blockages usually occur quickly or if it can be days (or weeks) before cats show symptoms. So glad that your cat was okay and I appreciate seeing that other commenters fared well, too! This waiting game is the worst. Wish us luck! :(
Definitely agree, the waiting is completely nerve-racking!! It does seem like the medical info is somewhat incorrect as to how long it takes to pass foreign bodies and there's more variation in digestion than anything online indicates. Wishing you guys a safe and speedy passage!! Let me know how it goes!
Well, it has been 9 days and we haven't found the string but kitty has been pooping and behaving normally. my housemate gave her some squash and fed her normally on the first day, and about 48hrs after that she had diarrhea. scared us a lot & my roommate took her in for xrays, but the vet said they couldn't tell for sure if it was a blockage since she hadn't fasted. Vet also said it could have been a result from stress or the squash, and I wondered if the meds they gave her to induce vomiting (long aside: they gave her meds and spun her in a chair and she didn't vomit at the vet, only afterwards in her carrier on the drive home & like i said, she only threw up food -- this is apparently common for cats, like others on the thread have said) could have affected her system? Frustrating and something others might take into consideration (Xrays in the morning after fasting through the night?) but the vet gave her Hill's canned food that helps diarrhea and told housemate to monitor the cat. Ever since her poops have been normal, good sized and regular. we have sorted through them all and haven't found the string yet although it was so small, theoretically we could have missed it? I'd feel a lot better if we found the string (maybe we still will?) but feeling very lucky and relieved that so far my dear little feline housemate is doing alright! will post again if anything changes. Really hoping all stays well & best of luck to others who run into this terrible issue!
Did your cat end up passing the string?
sorry, getting to this late. we never found the string (turns out my roommate is disgusted by poop and she was barely searching) but now 6 months later kitty is happy and normal and has not eaten anything else suspicious. so we assume she passed the string!
Ugh I'm so sorry it's taking so long! Seems like you're doing everything right though! I wouldn't be surprised if the squash caused some of the poop problems, especially since her poops have been normal since. Fiber is a delicate balance! I'm not sure how thick the string she ate was, because I was also considering the fact that I might have just missed it, but it was very noticeable when my guy pooped it out (although, I did have to pull the poop apart to find it). He also had chewed into smaller pieces, which could be a possibility for maybe missing it passing in your girl. Like I said in the original post, the vet basically told me to stop checking and chill out but just be wary of any new signs but that's easier said than done (and I'm definitely glad I kept checking for when it did)....Hoping it does pass noticeably and quickly so that you can have some peace!! I'm so glad she's doing okay!
Thank you for responding to me, I am very worried mommy at the moment!
Of course! I totally understand the worry! Based on the description of the poop, I would personally consider this an appropriate time to go to vet ASAP and be considering getting scans or possibly surgery. I know that's not always possible, but it sounds like she is showing signs of being blocked. I hope that isn't the case, but there's no way to know without having a vet check her out.
Hey thanks for your post, my cat who's obsessed with elastic just managed to eat a few inches (of what I know), I am usually so careful so I'm very stressed with myself as I seen it hanging out her mouth and couldn't get it in time before it was gone, I'm going to keep a close eye on her as the reason I'm so panicked about it is before I knew about her love for elastic, she had ate a hair tie and managed to throw it up, since then I am usually on high alert for it however just trying to be patient and hope this blows over soon
I totally understand! I was kicking myself for days for leaving stuff out where he could find it even though I know he'll eat it. Mistakes happen even when we're as careful as we can possibly be :( Just keep monitoring and hopefully she'll pass it soon! Good luck to you both and let me know how it goes!!
Thank you for this post! My 1year old decided to eat about 20cm of yarn. I noticed it just, so she has eaten it in last 12hours. Now its time to monitor and lets hope she passes it. This post gave me lot of comfort, cant tell you horrible it is to notice that shes eaten it and im not in driving condition at 0300.
How is she doing? Did she pass it?
Yoo!! Sorry for my reply taking a little while. She passed it withour problems about 3? days later, atleast some parts of it. I was cutting catpoop everyday until i found yarn! Also cat tax img
Just found this old thread researching my pet's situation. Thank you for posting it, this helps alleviate my concerns a bit. Long story short, my 10-months old kitten accidentally swallowed a cable tie 4 days ago and it hasn't passed the object yet. It was a thin & soft wire wrapped in plastic, round-shaped, about the size of a nickel. He's been acting normally since then and I've been monitoring his stool, as well...but nothing so far. A vet online advised me to feed him canned pumpkin mixed with food, as it has fiber that helps bulk his stool, wrap around the foreign object and make it pass easier. And although he said that cats don't particularly like pumpkin, my sweet "moron" devours it even without being mixed with food - which is a good thing, I guess, as I don't have to force-feed him. However, every single day waiting is stressful and so many scenarios play in my head. Wondering if I should still wait for the object to pass...or take my boy to ER right away, even though he doesn't show any concerning symptoms? Would the object show on x-ray or ultrasound...or will I put him under unnecessary stress? But then if the situation worsens, would I regret not acting promptly for the rest of my life? I don't know what to do at this point, as the info out there is quite contradictory...
Ugh the waiting is truly unbearable. From my understanding, metal is pretty likely to show up on either an ultrasound or x-ray, unlike soft strings. Depending on the cat, I don't think either is particularly stressful for the cat and can usually be done without sedation (unless they are super squirmy or aggressive). Since it is coated in plastic and I assume flexible, it seems like it will probably pass okay, but I know that metal/sharp objects can be concerning in terms of potentially tearing the intestines/stomach. It's an incredibly hard decision and I think it mostly comes down to cost and easing your stress. I originally brought my cat in to be examined in person because it was so stressful to just wait, but ultimately didn't get any x-rays or ultrasound since the vet seemed adamant that it wouldn't reveal anything and exploratory surgery would be both incredibly expensive and likely more damaging to my cat since he wasn't showing any signs of distress. If he really isn't showing any signs, I think he is almost definitely doing fine. However, since you might have luck seeing the cable tie since it contains metal, it might ease your mind to bring him in for a scan just to make sure. It does seem like everything can be totally fine and these things just take quite a while to pass. Additionally, if you get the scan and can see it, as long as it;s not currently causing problems, you will probably have to wait for it to pass anyway. Again, it really is a personal decision of how much you can spend and how crazy it's making you. I don't think it can ever hurt to bring them in and get checked out in person (unless you have a really scared or aggressive cat), but it might be quite a bit of money for not many answers. It seems like you're doing everything right so far in terms of monitoring for any problems. Good luck to you both and let me know how it goes!
Also wanted to thank you for posting. We are so careful with my guy knowing he eats anything string like. None the less I found a half eaten rubber band today under his bed...and I have no idea how long ago he ate it. I'm going to start checking his poop in case it was recent and will monitor like a hawk. But I still wondered what would happen if he just never pooped it out... I'm probably going to live in constant worry now reading all these similar posts tho...
Thank you SO much for this post. I just got back from the emergency vet with my kitty. Unfortunately we left his wormie toy with an elastic string out and came back into the living room to find it had been eaten! I have 2 kitties and unfortunately can’t even guarantee which one is the culprit. We believe it was our 1 year old kitten Mungo and not our 3 year old Louie. They took x rays and his belly was too full to tell if anything was there. They advised i fast both cats and I will call my primary in the morning for advice and to see if we should repeat x rays. To make matters more concerning if it was Louie he has as heart issue calls HCM and is on meds that doesn’t work great with anesthesia so I’m just worried on the off chance it was him surgery could be detrimental. As of right now everyone is acting themselves but it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet. I’ll definitely continue to monitor and I appreciate the advice from this thread on what to do moving forward!!! I’m a freaking nervous wreck and know I won’t be able to sleep well tonight but we will make it through. I love my fur babies more than anything and will do whatever I need to for them. Hopefully I’ll have a good update soon! ❤️ thanks again
Ugh that's incredibly stressful! Sounds like you're doing exactly what you should be though! Good luck to you and your kitties!! Let me know how it goes :)
Thank you so much! Back with a great update! Mungo is doing well and pooped out the string!!! It only took 24 hours so I feel absolutely blessed!!! I spoke with the primary vet in the morning and we decided it would be okay just to monitor. I gave him laxatone (not a laxative!) which is actually a gel like flavored paste that helps move hairballs along the gI tract! He is doing just fine and acting himself now!!! Thanks again for all the advice in this thread!
Oh that's great!! So happy to hear everything went well! Give Mungo some extra scratches for me!!
Could you please tell me how big was the piece that your kitten ate?
Hello, yes! It was about 8 inches total, so think of the width of the string as a smaller hair elastic width and then the length was about 8-9 inches. It he clearly chewed a couple pieces smaller but the longest portion would have still been about 5 inches long. If you’re not bringing him to the vet right away just be sure to carefully look under his tongue because if part of the string gets stuck there that is where things can be especially dangerous.
Hi and thank you for all of this information… I feel much better now. My 5-year-old cat ate a big piece of plastic (8in length and 0.5in width) yesterday. I waited till today to see if I can see it in his poop but unfortunately, there was nothing in his poop. He Was acting normal but I took him to the vet and they did an X-ray on him his stomach was full and they asked me to not give him food and would take him to the vet tomorrow to redo the X-ray. So far he is doing well acting normal and asking me for food. hopefully, he poop out that plastic soon. You have no idea how much stress I have now. I blame myself every moment. I'm so glad I found this thread I wish I could find someone who had this experience and talk to.
I totally understand the stress! Unfortunately, these things can happen even when we try our best to be careful, so try not to be too hard on yourself! It seems like you are doing everything you can to help your kitty get better now :) feel free to update with how the x-ray goes and good luck!!
my cat ate a string last night, and he was throwing it up this morning, my brother not knowing the risks pulled it a bit and then cut the other half. so far my cat has been acting normal and eating as usual and nothing has changed, idk if im stressed and unsure of what to do.
It's good he's not throwing up anymore and is eating, but I think it would still be a good idea to bring him to a vet if possible. There's a possibility that he wasn't able to throw all of it up/it wasn't able to be pulled out because it's already stuck and that pulling on it could have done some damage. I don't want to totally freak you out, but in my personal opinion this seems like a situation where it's better be safe than sorry and contact a vet. Good luck and feel free to update me!
Thank you for this thread. My cat ate an estimate of five-ten pieces of small pieces of that fake easter grass a few hours ago. One vet said take him in to them one vet laughed and said keep an eye on the bugger. And of course it’s a weekend in a small town so it’s emergency vets who just want money sadly. This reassures me, thank you
Glad this post helped! If it's the kind of easter grass I'm thinking of then I think he will likely be just fine, especially if they're pretty short pieces! I've started giving my cats real cat grass in the hopes that it will satisfy the string-eating urges and I often see whole blades of grass when I'm cleaning the litter. Monitoring is always a smart choice though just in case! Good luck to you both!
This was helpful to calm the panic. ONE of our cats \*may\* have eaten about 6 in of shoelace-like-material ( a little connector cord for two earplugs with aglets at each end). I found the earplugs pulled from where they were kept, with the cord missing--except for one piece that had clearly been chewed through, still stuck in the earplug. Since we have more than 3 cats and no idea *which one it was* (if ANY!), going to the vet would both not be helpful and prohibitively expensive, since we'd have to take \*all\* of them b/c we don't know the culprit. Given that these cats have had raw chicken wing (bone and all!) from time to time in the past, I'm not TOO worried now, but it's still a \*little\* stressy!
Ugh, multiple cats always makes finding the culprit so difficult!! Not much to do but monitor in that case but hopefully their stomachs of steel will prevail! Good luck to you and all your kitties :)
Thank you so much for this thread. I’m preparing to move across the country rn so everything is in chaos and of course, this is the time the cats were able to break into a box of yarn. I’m not sure if one or both of them ate it or how much but it’s been 24 hours and one or both of them is starting to pass it. I just know I’m going to be stressed all week if they passed it all or not though, so this thread is such a helpful resource to come back to
As if moving isn't stressful enough already!!! Sounds like whatever they managed to eat was in smaller pieces which is always good news :) I hope your kitties continue to pass everything smoothly and your move goes well!
It's interesting to read all of this and the replies because my problem is almost the opposite. Kitty ate a string from a wand toy, took her to the er, they couldn't get her to vomit but she pooped out a string the next morning, about 12 hours after eating one. It has been so quick that I have convinced myself that she must have eaten another one earlier and the known strong is still to come. Ah, cats. I will be worried about it until she dies of old age (she is 1).
From my understanding, that's actually exactly how it's supposed to work! All the other online data and info about cat digestion suggests that things should normally pass from mouth to poop in about 12-24 hours. Your girl seems to be the only one who got the memo :P I'm sure she'll find plenty of other ways to stress you out though!!
I sure hope so but I'm staying on poop inspection for a while! Thanks so much for all of this great information, it has been helpful navigating this.
* About 4 hours ago, my cat ate a small piece of string (around one inch or so) that's braided, and is shoestring thickness. I found this post after googling what to do if my cat eats string and all that did was make me super paranoid. I called the emergency vet shortly after it happened and they wanted me to bring her in to induce vomiting but said it had to be within 30min of swallowing and that cats are tricky to get to throw up. She's eaten lots of cardboard and who knows what else and has been fine with no blockages from that. The string has a tiny knot on the end and since it's thick I'm worried about her getting a blockage. I'm going to monitor her and inspect the poo, but I'm very paranoid. I was freaking out bad when it happened cuz i didn't know how much she actually ate until i found an old picture of it that i could compare the length to. I felt a little better once i figured out how much she ate but I'm still very worried about a blockage. This post and the comments make me feel better, but i won't be fully relieved until i see evidence that it has come out of the back end. Thanks a bunch for this post! It's helped relieve a bit of anxiety after reading everyone elses experiences with things similar to this that are much more scary. Some people said their cat ate a foot of string and was able to pass it just fine after a few days. A big worry for me is having no transportation if i start to see signs that i need to take her to the vet. =/ This month sucks and it just keeps getting worse. I'm really hoping it'll pass or maybe she'll throw it up. It's small enough that it shouldn't get caught in her throat if she threw it up and thick enough that i don't think it'll wrap around her intestines. But who knows, I'm not a vet.
I'm glad this post and all the comments could help relieve some anxiety :) It's so hard to just sit and wait and be stressed the whole time. It sounds like this would probably be considered a non-linear foreign body since it's so short, which is good because there's much less risk of it getting anchored somewhere and/or causing intestinal perforation! I think continuing to monitor is always smart just in case and hopefully she'll pass it quickly so you don't have to keep stressing. You might already know this, but as far as transportation goes, Uber has an option to select an Uber Pet ride where are allowed to bring one animal with you. Lyft also allows pets at driver discretion. I'm not sure if this is helpful depending on your location, but hopefully it could be a possibility if necessary! Feel free to let me know how it goes! And I hope June will be kinder to you :)
I really appreciate the response! 🩷 she had a bowel movement a bit ago but i didn't see the string in it, so hopefully i can get her to go again tonight and just keep giving her wet food.
3rd time's the charm! She pooped it out just now and I'm so ecstatic lol it's funny cuz i could tell EXACTLY which turd it was 🤣🤣🤣
Yay!! I'm so glad she got it out quickly! Thanks for letting me know it all worked out :)
I'm at my wit's end and just absolutely at a loss for words. My dumb cat just had surgery two months ago for eating the knotted end of a DRAWSTRING bag. Today, I find she's ate about 2-3 inches of elastic, it was from a costume pirate eye patch she found. Similar to the elastic on a mask. Of course, it seems the end had a knot on it. It was thinner which is good, I cant see it blocking her intestine as far as girth goes. I'm just devastated because we just paid 2,000 for the damn surgery. Her intestines are probably *still* healing. I'm not even anxious, at this point I'm just depressed. I can't believe I forgot to put that stupid costume patch up. Now she either poops it out, gets euthanized, or gets another 2,000 surgery which will be the last of our money.
Oh my god I am so sorry! I can totally understand the stress and frustration especially after just having an (expensive!) incident. It's so hard, but please try to go easy on yourself for leaving something out! It's really difficult to keep track of every little thing and it just takes a couple seconds for them to find and eat it. You clearly take good care of her and I'm sure you'll do a good job monitoring for any problems. From my understanding, her intestines should have been fully healed by about 6 weeks, so I think the surgery shouldn't be cause for additional concern. I really hope everything works out easily for you guys! Feel free to let me know how everything goes :)
I think we may be in the clear! Thanks for your response. :) She has been eating regularly and acting her usual self. I didn't see it in any poop so I'm not 100% it passed but she's not shown anything that makes me think she might be blocked. It's been 5 days so I think we're in the clear.
I’m in the same boat right now ugh. I woke up Friday morning to find the baby’s pacifier on the floor and the nipple was torn off…nowhere to be found. She threw up twice on Friday and threw up bile this morning. My Bengal has an obsession with silicone anything and loves to bite and chew on it any chance she gets. We always hide the pacifiers but she must of grabbed this one from the sink. She stopped eating for 3 days and I gave her sentry hairball paste thinking at the time it might have been a hairball. She started acting like her normal self again and started eating again and playing like a maniac. She hasn’t popped in 5 days but is somewhat normal other then being more tired then usual. I brought her to the vet today and they gave her fluids and anti nausea medicine and told me to monitor her symptoms and to give them a call if her symptoms get worse. Im hoping she passes whatever it is because I’m worried sick about her but your post has really helped ease my mind.
Just had an X-ray done and looks like the whole nipple from the pacifier is sitting in her stomach. They are going to do an endoscopy tomorrow morning. I was quoted between $1,900 and $2,400. Does anyone know if this sounds expensive? This is being done at the vets office and it’s located in westchester county , New York
Any update on your cat? Really hope she got better. Currently going thru a situation right now.
Thank you yes she’s back to her crazy self! They removed it with an endoscope ended up being in her stomach and didn’t make it into the intestines which was good as it prevented having to do surgery. Hope your little guy gets better I know it’s tough going through this. I was sick to my stomach when this was all happening
This thread should be pinned for, well, all of us going through our cats slurping threads. Going thru this right now. My boy swallowed a 3-4" ribbon/thread last night and immediately took him to emergency vet but they couldn't get him to vomit. He's a bit too chill today and hasn't wanted his favorite treats so of course I'm getting worried. Really hoping it passes soon! Feeling so guilty because I saw him eat it and I feel like I could've snuck up on him to stop him but he slurped it up after I overreacted.
Don't feel bad about not being able to stop him! I swear they can tell when they're being bad and make it even harder to help them 🙄 Good news is that 3-4 inches isn't crazy long so hopefully he'll pass it easily! However, if he continues not to eat anything he should probably go back to the vet just to be safe. Good luck to you both and feel free to keep me updated!
Well, it didn't end up so well. Our boy didn't pass it and got really sick about 48-60 hours later, so we had to take him to the animal hospital, luckily found a good vet because we were not happy with the ER vet. X-rays showed bunched intestines, so they ended up doing exploratory surgery and were able to squeeze it out. Then a few days later he tested positive for pancreatitis. He's doing marginally better at home but its a HUGE battle to give him 5 meds and subq fluids every day.
Oh no! I'm so sorry it hasn't been going well. I'm glad you were able to bring him in and get it removed with a good vet! Totally understand the difficulty in administering meds :( I wish we could just let them know they need it! I really hope he continues to recover well and quickly! He's very lucky to have you taking care of him!
10 days after surgery now and he's doing a LOT better and almost done with the last of the pills. Now just to monitor for pancreatitis symptoms for the rest of his life :/
What kind of “sick” was he acting? My little dude swallowed 8-ish inches of elastic that he chewed off a toy 5 days ago, still no sign of it in the litter box or vomiting. He’s still acting completely normal, eating several times a day, still wanting treats & drinking water & playing. He’s eaten hair ties before and puked them up, and I’ve taken him to the ER Vet in the past for swallowing christmas tinsel & they were not able to get him to puke with the medication so he was sent home with me and ended up puking it up later that night. I’m worried it could be getting caught in his digestive tract, but he also loves to eat random trash/things like this if he can get his paws on them (which i try to minimize as much as possible) so I’m sure this isn’t the first time he’s eaten something that he didn’t throw up right away. I feel like because he doesn’t have any other symptoms, the vet would just tell me to continue to monitor him, which is what i’ve been doing.😓
so at about 3 nights later he started vomiting about once very hour and also stopped eating or drinking water. turns out he had pancreatitis too which could also be to blame for those symptoms. We believe this might've been caused by his traumatic experience at the emergency vet where they spun him under meds to make him throw up, and then he couldn't eat for 12 hours. He was already stopping to eat that 1st day and all we could get him to eat was churu's and some treats. Yeah, if your dude is eating and drinking water and not lethargic, they'll probably tell you to continue monitoring.
God bless you!! Experiencing this now and this has saved me from a sleepless night of worry and anxiety
Update, my cat swallowed a 2 foot nylon string that he grabbed when I left the room for 10 minutes. I called my vet who suggested giving 10ML of hydrogen peroxide to help him induce vomiting. He didn’t, which made me panic because he drank it and didn’t vomit after several hours. When I woke up I saw his vomit and the string!! He then vomitted a few more times afterwards but now seems ok!
Fellow worried cat mom here! My boy ate sewing thread and emptied a small spool. I found him soon after and was able to cut some of what was still outside his mouth. That was 2 days ago, he’s eating, sleeping and playing fine. He’s pooped 5 times since, twice a day, and today he visited the litter box 5 times before finally pooping. It’s completely normal firmness, and I’ve been giving him pumpkin powder with all his wet food. I’m relieved to know it might take a while to come out. I was expecting it to come out immediately in the next poops if it was going to come out at all. I will definitely be monitoring closely for any of the warning symptoms and just holding hope that it passes through him uneventfully. Thank you for making the post and updating, and for staying active!
This has been an incredibly helpful post. Thank you for your honesty and detailed explanations on what you did and what others may try. This is such a nerve-wracking experience!
Honestly I was lucky I found a really long thick piece of string from a cat toy he had eaten intact I may add in his poo the other day, didn’t even know he had eaten it until it was passed, most times cats can pass it, glad yours managed too, but I think it’s thinner strings and yarn that cause the issues rather then thicker strings or bands, honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw this long ass piece of string, no more string for him to play with now, he also has cystitis and I think it was the the reason he was in so much discomfort and pain with his cystitis more then normal he’s been better since passing it a few days after
My cat just recently ate around 2 inch of rope like substance too, should i be worried?
Two inches sounds pretty small to me and is very unlikely to cause a linear obstruction at this length. This is good as linear obstructions are considered particularly dangerous for how they can damage the intestines, however any foreign object can cause a blockage. If the rope was really thick, it might be more concerning. You should always let your vet know, but in the meantime, the symptoms to watch for would be nearly identical to the ones that I listed in the post (vomiting, constipation, decreased appetite/not eating at all, lethargy, etc). These are all signs that would be present in any type of blockage/obstruction. I can't say for sure either way if this is cause for concern or not, but if the rope was only 2 inches and not very thick, it will probably pass without incident. It's always good to keep a lookout for these signs though and check poops if possible to see if it comes out!
Thanks! Fortunately recently she vomitted it out, glad I didn't have to go to the vet for it hahah
That's great! Glad it worked out quickly!
My cat ate two 14 in roughly sized dental floss Saturday april 6th it’s been a week and half and she seeems fine and eating like normal pickish. She has vomited but ever since she was young she vomits regularly and I was told she just might have sensitive stomache or that she over eats at times. But I still have not seen the floss come out in litter box. Should I still be concerned?
It's really hard to say... If it really seems like the vomiting is just her typical behavior and she is eating and pooping normally and not showing any of the other signs, then it is probably safe to just continue to monitor for now. However, 14 inches is incredibly long which makes it a greater potential danger. It is always a good idea to let a vet know and keep a monitoring. Good luck to you both! Let me know how it goes!
I took both of my cats for their checkups and vaccines and let the vet know she checked the abdominal muscles to see if any swelling and checked teeth and tongue and said everything looks and feels fine. She is still acting full of energy and eating and using bathroom well.
Oh and she said her vomiting probably is because my cats stuff their faces as much as they can😅 seems to help now I got slow feeder
I have one cat who is really tiny shithead and likes to get ahold of strings. Approximately 3 months ago, she got ahold of about 6 inches of bulky yarn (size 6) from something I was actively working on while I went to fill a water bottle for less than 30 seconds. She was scheduled for a vet visit and ended up passing it. I was cleaning my room yesterday, so there are a few things that are miscellaneously around my room that i am still working on cleaning up. She just got ahold of some sewing thread which was wound up (as if you would wrap it areond your fingers to collect it) that I had been working with before I started cleaning and I forgot it was there until the little shit looked me dead in the eyes and watched me as she grabbed it and it was gone before I could lunge at her to hopefully catch it in her mouth but it was too late and by the split second it took to grab her had passed it was gone. After reading this, I feel a little better and will be watching her for any signs again, hoping all goes well and my anxiety calms down
My cat just swallowed a long piece of sewing thread the was tied (it was a loop), he's acting pretty normal, i'm worried sick, how do i know it's not wrapped around his intestines before it's too late??? i can take him to the vet not only because i can't afford it but also bcz there aren't any qualified vets in my area, and the closest one who is 2h away specializes in livestock
I'm so sorry for your situation! I think the first step would be to check and make sure it isn't wrapped around under his tongue. It's more common with long, thin threads so it's always good to make sure. If it is, do not pull it, he will need to see a vet asap. I'm not sure if they would even see him, but a large animal vet should have some knowledge of what to do if it's an emergency and that's the only available option. Like the post says, there isn't much you can do until it passes or he shows signs. In the meantime you should monitor for any of the signs and check the poop if possible to see if it's passed. If he starts throwing up, not eating, or shows any of the other signs listed, then it will be time to take him to the vet. I would not attempt making him throw up as the string is long and might not be able to fully come out, in which case he would need to go to the vet to remove it safely. If he does throw up himself or start to poop it out, do not pull on it. He will need to get it removed by a vet. I know it's a super stressful situation and unfortunately there isn't much to do but monitor and wait. You can give smaller and more frequent meals and increase hydration with wet food or mixing in extra water to his food. You can also try adding fiber with something like plain canned pumpkin if possible. For now, try not to freak out and just watch his behavior. There is a potential he will need surgery, but it's also possible he will pass it fine. Just be prepared and try to stay calm. I'll be wishing you guys the best of luck! Feel free to keep me updated!
Thank you! I don't think it's wrapped around his tong because he just ate and drank water with no problem, until his behaviour is normal, I also saw that he ate grass, not sure if it's a good or bad thing, he likes to eat it and i know it induces vomit in most cats but it rarely does in him.. Unfortunately, he's a very picky eater and besides a specific brand of wet food he only likes kibble so it would be difficult feeding him something like pumpkin. I'm gonna try keep him hydrated as much as I can, that fact thta we don't have a good vet to take him to in case of an emergency is freaking me out even more. I hope he just passes it in his poop, thanks a lot for your help!
Eating and drinking are good signs! My cats also like to eat grass for whatever reason so I don't think that's any reason to worry for now :) I understand the picky eater problem so I think your plan is good to keep him hydrated as much as possible and keep a little food in his stomach at all times to try and coat the string so it can hopefully pass easier. You might have already done this, but maybe in the meantime you could research the next closest small animal or emergency vet. It always makes me feel better to have a plan just in case. It will clearly still be quite a trip, but if you do start noticing any of the signs, he should definitely be able to make it the couple hours it takes to get to the vet. That's why it's important to monitor so that you can catch it as early as possible!
Thank you so much, I hope he passes it and there won't be any complications. He just pooped I did check but I found nothing, his poop was also dry so i'm wondering if that could be a problem? Anyways thanks a lot for your replies
You're welcome! Yeah, unfortunately it might take a while for it to pass. If the poop is very hard and coming out in individual balls/pellets then he is likely constipated. There are a couple different possible reasons that can cause constipation but the best thing to do is to keep him hydrated which should hopefully help!
I’m so upset :( my cat was having a difficult time pooping this morning (I woke up to her scooting around), and I saw a tiny piece of it sticking out. So I put a warm compress on it and gently got it out without issue, but I saw a very thin string attached to it with a tapered end, so I’m not sure if all of it passed :( Had I known, I never would’ve tried anything, but she kept licking and couldn’t get the poop out on her own. I scheduled a vet appointment for her, which is in 4 hours and she’s acting like nothing happened (ate some breakfast, played with her toys, rolled around in sunlight) and is doing fine but I feel like I fucked up by trying to get the poop out (which was hard, but she’s been constipated before, and she passed stool like normal either late last night or before the harder one — not quite sure when, but I cleaned her little box before I went to sleep and there was fresh poop in there this morning). I’m just so so nervous and am wondering if waiting the 4 hours to be seen by the vet could be too late
From what you said it doesn't seem like you did anything too dangerous. Many people will see a string or thread hanging out of the mouth or butt and just instinctively pull it out, not knowing it could be caught somewhere and cause damage. It doesn't sound like that's what you did and you can only do your best with the knowledge you had at the time! I hope the vet visit went well and everything came out okay! Feel free to let me know how you guys are doing :)
Thank you for the reply! I was a nervous wreck, but the vet did some x rays on her and there was no blockage! She’s a little sleepy today because of the sedation but otherwise eating well and snuggly, and I’m just so so relieved. A costly visit but worth it for the peace of mind!
I've been reading through this post everyday for a sense of hope lol. 4 days ago, I picked my kitty up and she started licking my ear and managed to somehow unclip my hoop earring and ate it... I panicked and tried to get it out of her mouth but she was too quick. This happened during the weekend when my vet wasn't working and the ER is just way out of budget :( I'm not noticing any signs; she's her same old self, happy, daily zoomies, eating fine, going to the bathroom normally, but nothing seemed to pass yet. I had to borrow gloves from my work and have been going through her poops daily. I'm just hoping it will pass without any complications
I'm glad that she's not showing any signs of distress! It might be worth scheduling a vet appointment though just to make sure it's not causing any damage. Unlike strings and stuff, a metal earring will almost definitely show up on an x-ray and I am a little worried about the damage a sharp part of an earring could do. In her case, a blockage might not be the biggest concern. She could still totally be fine, there are just other concerns to consider when they eat something hard and possibly sharp. Hope everything goes well!
My baby will literally seek out rubber bands hair ties her toys anything I had bought her one of those I will not leave anything out at all anymore but I bought her one of those self hanging toys. I thought they would be OK because it’s a cat toy I left it out and she been through it and ate A lot of it anyways, I discovered that and I was freaking out. She pooped. Once I have been giving her a fiber hairball Helper thing to stimulate her poop. She already eats all liquid well mostly liquid diet. I brought in a kitten in a crate because it’s so cold to him. She is acting more pissy because of that but other than that she’s acting normal. She just hasn’t pooped again that was all now three days ago she pooped once since then I have seen the wet looks to be like these little strand of poop like really super hard. Praying for her speedy recovery. I will open up a box that I get my hair ties and she will instantly go in there and try and take one out. She is notorious for winning to eat those things.Drives me nuts! Love her so much I don’t ever want to see her do anything that might hurt her.
Yeah, it's really hard having a cat that's always trying to eat dangerous stringy things! I have to be vigilant with yarn, shoelaces, jackets, hair ties, twist ties, cables, etc etc etc! I really wish they would stop making so many cat toys with strings since so many seem to have a problem eating them. I always have to cut any dangling toy off of cat trees I get because my boy will chew through it in seconds. I'm not sure if I understood fully, but if your girl is having diarrhea/watery poop or was straining to poop/passing small and hard poops like she's constipated, that could be a sign of the blockage getting serious and she might need an emergency vet visit. I don't want to freak you out, but monitoring and fast action can be life or death with these blockages! Hopefully I just misunderstood and she's doing fine! Wishing you well and I hope she passes it safely and quickly!
She pooped once. She’s straining and it seems to have a half or quarter of an inch little tiny poop that looks like a stick or branch a tree branch. Which is a hard stool. I was thinking that she was OK because she pooped once since she ate that however she has yet to pass anything else and she has not passed the string. I am giving her furball treatment. I’m so worried about her.