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Sophie ate a hair elastic...

post #1 of 19
3/18/10 at 5:43pm
Thread Starter 


She's never done this before. She was in a kittenish, psycho mood, pining to go outside because of the sunny day, and plus she saw me getting ready to leave somewhere.

So she found a broken hair elastic, started gnawing on it, and consumed 3/4s of it.. so at least 2" of elastic is in her.

As soon as I saw her chomping on it, I couldn't believe it, because in the 4 months I've had her, she's never shown the slightest interested in eating non-food things, and she doesn't generally find hair elastics all that fascinating either.

I raced over to try and yank on the strand protruding from her mouth, but she was squirmier and faster than me, and raced off to swallow it. She must have noted my reaction to this, because I don't think I've ever seen her so terrified/guilty (not sure which).

I called the vet immediately, and they said to watch for lethargy and food consumption/elimination the next 24 hours. It's been about 3 hours now, and she hasn't done either. She's calm, sleeping now, but I wouldn't say abnormally lethargic. It's probably too soon to tell. She wanted me to top off her kibble bowl earlier, but she didn't eat from it.

I'm a little nervous. I really hope it passes through, and certainly upset that she would do this in the first place.

Anyone have knowledge in this area - what is the likelihood of it passing through without blockage?
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post #2 of 19
3/18/10 at 6:09pm
The first thing to do is to inspect her mouth... Strings and elastics can get stuck in the back of their tongues, and block the passage, tissue starts dying and that can be big trouble.
Open her mouth wide, and look under her tongue and all the way on the back of her mouth; make sure it is not stuck. If it is, do not try to pull it, it can be wrapped inside already - take her to the ER immediately.

Watch out for vomit, That's a big sign of blockage. She can still poop for a while, digestive matter she had before eating the elastic.

The chances of passing through without a problem? I would say very high, considering it is a small elastic - 2" would be harder to wrap around something and get stuck then a larger peace... FYI, cats are known to be attracted for elastic bands...

Just keep an eye on her... Inspect her mouth and watch for vomiting... Yes, lethargy for sure, but vomit will come first if she eats or drinks.
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post #3 of 19
3/18/10 at 8:31pm
Argh, I know what you're going through. My stupid plumber stupidly left several small pieces of elastic lying around last week, and I found Possum struggling to swallow one. I pulled it out of his mouth but I don't know how many more there were.

I made a frantic call to the vet, and was advised to give him 3 ccs of Laxatone hairball remedy three times a day, for three days. That's a lot of Laxatone; the idea is to coat the object so it passes smoothly. It will also soften the stool so be prepared for that.

Carolina is right about signs of a blockage. My vet told me to be on the lookout for around three days for vomiting, litter box changes, crouching, lethargy, lack of appetite, or that sixth sense one sometimes gets that all is not well with the cat.

Apparently, serious blockages aren't subtle, they are dramatic, and can develop quickly. So keep a close watch. It's possible it will pass through the cat (don't pull it if it doesn't come out entirely; snip it and wait). Or stay inside, hopefully without causing symptoms.

Good luck, and please keep us posted. Possum is fine so far and I'm sending vibes that Sophie will be, too! (But I still want to murder the plumber.)
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post #4 of 19
3/18/10 at 8:36pm
Call your local vet or er vet ... They will give you some instuctions on what to watch for and how to aid it going thru
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post #5 of 19
3/19/10 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all your tips guys...

We are 30 hours past the elastic ingestion.

So far she has been eating and drinking normally. She's peed at least one, and had one bowel movement early this morning.

Yesterday night, she was absolutely psychotic, racing around the house, jumping on the counters and on my tv and scratching things -- basically being as bad as she could for like an hour... I tried feeling her tummy, thinking maybe she was doing this because she was in pain, but she let me do that without showing any signs of discomfort. And when I went to bed, she curled up with me and settled down.

Today, she has been calm and very good. A lot more relaxed than yesterday, but she has still played and chased bugs outside on her leash. This evening, she has been very sedate, and sleepy, but I think its typical cat laziness. Not an abnormal kind (I hope!).

Will she eventually stop eating/start vomiting if there is a blockage? Or should I take her in if I don't see another bowel movement in X amount of hours (how long?). I'm not worried yet, but I'm not sure if I should be getting worried?
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post #6 of 19
3/19/10 at 10:32pm
I would say if she starts vomiting she needs to get to a vet. I'm not sure about eating since Mama ate heartily with her rectal prolapse. She literally had her intestine hanging out of her rear end and she was happily eating. I felt so bad when they sedated her and she threw up. She had eaten a lot too. Not sure of she had vomited while she was out with this issue for 3 days(took me that long to get the neighbor's carrier and then catch her) but she was still there on a daily basis eating. She never stuck around long enough for me to get her until the 3rd day and that is just how long I knew about, not sure if it had been longer.

I'd say of she stops eating or starts vomiting then you have a problem and she needs to get to a vet ASAP. I'd say it should pass without a problem, it's such a small piece I can't see if causing issues by getting caught and twisting around things.

Taryn
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post #7 of 19
3/19/10 at 10:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina View Post
FYI, cats are known to be attracted for elastic bands...
I'm not sure how true this is, but I've heard that (at least in rubber bands) it's the fat used to make it "stretchy." I guess rubber bands actually have a small amount of animal fat in them.

My Domino is CRAZY for rubber bands or anything that's elastic. He will hunt these things off of my desk and out of my purse. We have a big length of elastic tied around and into a circle, with a big bow on it that he plays with. We made sure it's long and with the big bow to avoid him trying to swallow it. He's never made any attempts to swallow at all, but I'm always watching just in case...
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post #8 of 19
3/19/10 at 11:01pm
Tico - You did well in contacting your vet right away. But it sounds like they didn't speak with you long enough. Are they open in the am? Here almost all the vets are open Saturday until noon. If so, call and ask more questions and what they want you to do now.


And I absolutely hate it when one of the cats grabs something and runs with it. I end up having to chase them all over the house, because it's usually something they should not have, until they drop it or until I can get close enough to grab the item or cat.
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post #9 of 19
3/20/10 at 5:26am
My tortie kitten loves to play with hair bands and the rubberbands I use to keep the tub faucet off. She will only usually play with them and/or drop them into her water glasses, but I try to keep them all put up because she will certainly haul them off. I wouldn't put it past her to try eating one.
I hope your baby is ok and everything goes alright!
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post #10 of 19
3/20/10 at 5:51am
Sounds like Sophie is doing okay. 30 hours should be enough time for her to pass it, did you inspect her poop?

Someone else advised large doses of laxatone and that is what I would have recommended too, AFTER calling the vet, (which I know you did.)

Also as someone mentioned, never ever try to pull something out once a cat has swallowed something, out of the throat or out of the anus. You don't know what it might be tied up with.

I just want to comment on this:

Quote:
Yesterday night, she was absolutely psychotic, racing around the house, jumping on the counters and on my tv and scratching things -- basically being as bad as she could for like an hour..
This is not "bad" behavior, this is normal behavior for a cat. Cats have spurts of energy where they run around like crazy, it's quite common and
normal for them.


.
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post #11 of 19
3/20/10 at 10:18am
Thread Starter 
Well, she's still eating normally, no vomit that I can find, and as spunky as she usually is. But she only pooed a small hard amount through the night (with no elastic, unless its disintegrated And that's the only BM she's had since Friday morning, which is not typical for her.

So I called the vet, and they suggested bringing her in to check her out.

I'm still not really worried, but the BM's not being normal size and consistency make me wonder, so I figure I'd better be safe than sorry. I reeeeally hope I don't have to pay for an x-ray, but I will if I have to. We have an appointment in an hour.

Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
This is not "bad" behavior, this is normal behavior for a cat. Cats have spurts of energy where they run around like crazy, it's quite common and normal for them.
Thanks for putting my mind at ease about this. Sometime I wonder if she is a devil kitty!!
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post #12 of 19
3/20/10 at 10:21am
Ah, I'm glad you are bringing her in. an x ray usually isn't too expensive. I mean...I know it's all relative, but...I think they run around $40 range, or less, at least around here they do.

I hate tearing myself away from this board today, there is so much going on, but I have to leave now. I'll check in on Sophie when I get home.
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post #13 of 19
3/20/10 at 12:18pm
Keep us updated! And you scoop her litter box enough to know what's right and wrong for her stools, so it's very good that you're acting on what you noticed is not normal for her.

I hope she doesn't need surgery.
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post #14 of 19
3/20/10 at 3:09pm
Thread Starter 
$120 later (sigh) they can't see the elastic. The vet thinks maybe it broke into smaller pieces, and it may be hiding in her smaller intestine, but everything looks okay for now. I just have to keep watching her, and bring her in asap if she starts vomiting. He said I may never find it when its eliminated. Well, at least I feel better knowing they can't see a blockage for now.
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post #15 of 19
3/20/10 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tico View Post
Well, at least I feel better knowing they can't see a blockage for now.
That's a relief. I hope it passes soon and without any sort of complication.

I shut away all of our hair ties (that aren't in use) in drawers to keep them away from kitties. None have shown any inclination to eat them, but they try to eat the hair that gets tangled in the hair ties that DH uses.
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post #16 of 19
3/20/10 at 11:34pm
Maude would just find them and so did Attitude. I haven't had long hair since Nov 2008 and Maude was still playing with the rubber bands and so was Attitude when they found them and I have no idea where they came from considering I haven't had long hair, thus not used them, in over a year. I know it wasn't Paul using them either considering he's totally bald.

Taryn
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post #17 of 19
3/21/10 at 9:27am
I remember a thread where the person's cat had an obstruction from ingesting her long hair. I don't remember what forum it was in. Glad I have short hair!

One thing to remember is that cats can't spit out. Their tongues are designed to take in. So once they get a hair or thread or whatever in their mouths, they are usually forced to swallow it, and that's why it's so important to police your household for threads, things unraveling, dental floss, long hair, rubber bands etc.

I'm always checking the edges of the carpet, and my blankets, curtains, and clothes for threads coming out.
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post #18 of 19
3/23/10 at 4:49pm
Hi there - I had the same problem with Liev (twice!), and both times he's later thrown it up. He actually didn't throw it up the first time until over four weeks after he swallowed it - the vet figured that it may have been sitting in his stomach and/or area where hairballs are created. He was perfectly fine that whole time - eating normally and going to the bathroom normally, it was just when he was running around and excited and landed hard after jumping down from something that he threw it up!

Just keep an eye on her for symptoms of discomfort - from the extensive reading/consulting I did, hair elastics generally get broken down/passed fairly easily (more so than string or elastic bands).

Hope all goes well!!

Sonja
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post #19 of 19
3/23/10 at 9:44pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, four weeks?!

Well, I think we are in the clear. She is still eating, drinking and pooping. I've stopped inspecting for the elastic (it's kinda gross and I may never find it anyways...) I'll just keep an eye out for any changes in her habits over the next few weeks. I'm glad to hear that these things usually pass without problem.
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