Cat ate a Rubber Band

isadora44

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
183
Purraise
1
Location
Gresham, OR
Seems as if my cat has eaten a rubber band (unsure if it was a whole one or a broken piece) and I'm not sure what to do.

Last night, I noticed a very small amount of blood in her stool, I decided to keep a close eye on it. When I came home today, I carefully cleaned out the litter box and found a piece of stool with a piece of rubber band sticking out if it (possibly the culprit?)....no more blood though.

She seems perfectly normal, very frisky, playful and affectionate (as usual). Eating and pooping normally. I picked her up and felt her belly and there's no sign of any pain. Should I just continue to keep an eye on her and take her to the vet if anything changes?

Edit: I just dissected the stool (that was lovely) to see how big the piece was. It's pretty long and not intact....so I'm guessing she got the whole thing out. Still continue to keep an eye on her? Or is this an emergency?
 

debskats

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 16, 2007
Messages
219
Purraise
2
Location
Iowa
I can't say whether or not this is an emergency for your kitty, but several years ago one of my cats ate a rubber band. I called the vet and they just told me to check her stools really well over the next 48 hours to make sure she passed it, and if she didn't, then I'd need to take in her. Fortunately, she did pass it.

It sounds as though your kitty did pass the rubber band, but at the very least I'd give your vet a call.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

isadora44

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
183
Purraise
1
Location
Gresham, OR
Thanks for the info. I tend to get really worked up about these things because my cats are like children to me. I'll give the vet a call...hopefully they're open today.
 

buzbyjlc10

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
1,981
Purraise
5
Location
State College, PA and Haddon Township, NJ
Originally Posted by Isadora44

Thanks for the info. I tend to get really worked up about these things because my cats are like children to me. I'll give the vet a call...hopefully they're open today.
If they're not open, their voicemail should inform you of an emergency vet in the area that you could call... if they don't, try google or the phone book... I'd think she passed it all and will be ok
 

jellybella

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
2,314
Purraise
3
Location
UPNY
Originally Posted by DebsKats

I can't say whether or not this is an emergency for your kitty, but several years ago one of my cats ate a rubber band. I called the vet and they just told me to check her stools really well over the next 48 hours to make sure she passed it, and if she didn't, then I'd need to take in her. Fortunately, she did pass it.

It sounds as though your kitty did pass the rubber band, but at the very least I'd give your vet a call.
This was the advice I got the last time Bella got the urge to chew rubber bands
.

Watch for changes in eating, if the kitty is vomiting, not using the box. Not a bad idea to call the vet and let them know what happened. They will very likely tell you to wait and observe (and start looking in every nook and cranny for rubber bands
)
 

semiferal

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 15, 2005
Messages
1,890
Purraise
9
Location
in my apartment
If she continues to act okay, she probably is okay. Signs to watch for would include vomiting, diarrhea (especially bloody), no bowel movement for over 36 hours or so, lack of appetite, and lethargy.

For the future, it would be a very good idea to keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on hand for these kinds of emergencies. If you catch your cat eating something like a rubber band or a ribbon or something similar, give 2 tablespoons by mouth with a syringe and the cat will vomit within a couple of minutes. This has to be done pretty quickly after the fact but I've used it myself with great success.
 

sofiecusion

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
1,756
Purraise
4
Location
Wisconsin
Can't leave anything like that laying around. Summer ate a string once, and then 4 months later ate scotch tape from a poster! Now I know not to have anything like that laying around! I no longer use scotch tape for posters....the scotch tape did not show up on the xray...

Even vets cats eat stuff. The vet who did Summer's surgery said hers ate stuff 4 times and had to have it removed. The vet they have now said she always wondered how people could let their cats eat stuff until one of hers ate a needle and thread right in front of her!

Gotta love the kitty's chewing obsessions.
 

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
http://www.thecatsite.com/Misc/172/T...isclaimer.html

None of us here are qualified to give medical advice so please take the kitty to the vet or talk to the vet (as I believe you have already).


Originally Posted by semiferal

If she continues to act okay, she probably is okay. Signs to watch for would include vomiting, diarrhea (especially bloody), no bowel movement for over 36 hours or so, lack of appetite, and lethargy.

For the future, it would be a very good idea to keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on hand for these kinds of emergencies. If you catch your cat eating something like a rubber band or a ribbon or something similar, give 2 tablespoons by mouth with a syringe and the cat will vomit within a couple of minutes. This has to be done pretty quickly after the fact but I've used it myself with great success.
 
Top