String - what are the symptoms?

I came home for lunch yesterday to find that my cats had taken one of my bookmarks hostage and given it the torture treatment. I have no idea which one (or both!) did it, and I don't know if they actually ingested any of the tassle. I found the little tassle strings in a pile on the floor. What are the symptoms that I should be watching for? Last night, they both were eating and drinking, playing, using the litterbox. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Depending on how much string was ingested is the key here. You can help them by giving them a little bit of mineral oil twice a day to help things along. Basically you will be looking for straining at the litter pan with no results, lack of energy or appetite. The problem with string, tinsel, ribbon, rubber bands, etc is that sometimes the excess gets wrapped around the intestine and it is a slow process before anything out of the ordinary shows.

Thanks for the quick reply Mary Anne. I have no idea how much if any they actually ingested. They aren't prone to eating stuff, but it really scared the bejeebers out of me to find that. I'll pick up some mineral oil. How much should I give them? Is that something that goes with kitty food, or something I need to administer to them?