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String warning

post #1 of 12
1/7/11 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 
And yes, this has probably been posted before- but I just wanted to share our experience.

Never, EVER let your cat play with string. Yes it's cheap. Yes it's cute. But it has NOT been fun the last few days.

My almost 14 year old was playing with our 1 year old cat Holly. Holly gets into EVERYTHING. She had a 14 inch or so strand of yarn. Well, dd yells "OMG! Mom- I can't find the string I was just playing with Holly!". We looked everywhere. I took the room apart and swept it- and the string was just not there. Poor dd was in tears.

So I went to the vet and they said just wait and see. She's been acting normally- but I've heard horror stories about cats having died or the owner spending big bucks to get a colon resectioned.

I just came home and looked in the litter box. There- encased inside one of her poops- is the string. Yes- yuck, going through all of her poop was NOT fun. I thought there might be something going on b/c she was straining this morning.

We had no idea that she could swallow string that fast. In seconds it was gone. I am just very, very thankful that this story has a happy ending. Because it could have been a much sadder post.

Dd has this 70's type thing hanging from her doorway. A whole bunch of facebook flair she's printed out and hung on string. Guess what she's taking down this afternoon after school? If I don't get to it first.

Cheryl
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post #2 of 12
1/7/11 at 10:32am
Wow you certainly were lucky. It cannot be said enough. You have a good eye!!!

If I play with string, it goes with me when we are done playing. And I will put it in a drawer till next time.
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post #3 of 12
1/7/11 at 11:34am
The only string I play with is Da Bird, so unless they can swallow an entirewand I know it wont be going down. i also use a ribbon I got on a christmas present, but the ribbon is 2" thick and un-swallowable (under direct supervision of course, still not taking any chances)
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post #4 of 12
1/7/11 at 11:40am
our string is always tied to a stick, or still attached to a ball of yarn, and knotted so it can't unravel.
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post #5 of 12
1/7/11 at 12:18pm
You were very lucky she passed it all!

I have one string I occasionally play with mine with. Some braided hemp cord. It gets shut away into a drawer whenever I get tired of playing with them. I get onto anyone else for even tiny thread bits that fall off of new clothing.

I do allow 1 1/2" satin ribbon to be left out as so far none of my cats attempt to chew it. In fact I think they're bored with it..
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post #6 of 12
1/7/11 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
I do allow 1 1/2" satin ribbon to be left out as so far none of my cats attempt to chew it. In fact I think they're bored with it..
Haha same here. I think the thickness of the ribbon makes it move too slow in the air. It must look like a slow motion toy to my cats.
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post #7 of 12
1/7/11 at 12:45pm
I have shoe laces with toys tied to the end. Thankfully none of these guys even try to eat the string. Still gets put away, regardless.
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post #8 of 12
1/9/11 at 8:43pm
you've seen those loose woven cotton throws with fringe? They were bad news for our Pyrhana.... I came home one evening, to something "following" her.... Took a look and it was one of those cotton threads from the throw on the back of the couch.... by the way NEVER PULL ANYTHING, protruding from a cats behind.

We made a fast trip to the vet school where I worked at the time, and she had emergency surgery to remove the string. Fortunately, the vet was able to kind of milk the string out of her intestine with out having to cut into her intestine. It hadn't started to accordion her intestine yet..... VERY LUCKY kitty. She mended well but the cotton throw went away forever!!!!
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post #9 of 12
1/10/11 at 8:10am
Thread Starter 
<<you've seen those loose woven cotton throws with fringe?>>

Uh-oh. We've got at least 2 of them in the house. And we actively use them b/c it just gets too cold.

SIGH. I should probably make those go away too.

This cat. She is WORSE than a toddler. But she can also be so sweet

Cheryl
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post #10 of 12
1/10/11 at 10:54pm
yep, its amazing what the little stinkers can get into. After all the talk about the cotton throws, I discovered that I had stored them in the linen closet, which is NOW the FAVORITE place to sleep for a couple of my furkids...

Guess I should take them away for REAL.....

Good luck with keeping a hawkeye on Holly!

Lisa
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post #11 of 12
1/13/11 at 12:20pm
I remember my parents having a cat that hated store bought cat toys, but loved random cheap things, like Twist ties, tape balls, bed sheets etc... She would eat the tinsel off the tree's, eat our hair ties. It's hard to keep track of things that fall on the ground, or things laying up high, as they can just just about anywhere

Once she was getting really sick, crying, and lethargic so we took her to the vet, turns out one of the regular rubberband hair tie things was wrapped in her stomach causing lots of irritation and pain .
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post #12 of 12
1/13/11 at 5:56pm
You don't have to toss the throws out. Put them away when not in use or, if you sew, get wide bias tape and stitch that around the edges - or use some fabric the same way.
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