Kitten ate a bit of tin foil

Dear all,

Thank you for all your helpful advice over the last couple of post. I feel bad for only asking questions but it is my first time.

As I write this, Hugo, my 6 month old kitten, has eaten half a small ball of tin foil while I was unaware. I managed to pull the other half out and I read all the stuff about eating tin foil and all. Without being too freaked out about it, can you please tell me what measures I can do while waiting for him to poo it out?

I did dab a bit (finger tip) of vaseline on his front and back paws to see if they will work as a lubricant and I'm thinking if I should make his supper extra wet tonight.

Thanks!

It sounds like you have it under control.

If Hugo starts to vomit or doesn't have his regular bowel
movement then you may want to schedule a vet appointment to check it out.

You are officially on poop patrol now. Let us know what happens!

For now I would just wait and monitor, which you are doing.  Many a kitten has gotten into worse scrapes than this 

Yes and thank you . I just fed him his supper which he gobbled up. I am wondering how much vaseline is too much. And how often?

I wouldn't give very much, plenty of water and wet food though.  And watch out for sore belly, sick, or no bowel movements. You will hopefully find what you want to see in some poop or regurgetated food.  Mouse did a similar thing with an unhealthy amount of red wrapping ribbon two christmasses ago but sicked most of it up a couple of hours later, and a bit more in the litter tray a day or so later.  If the foil ball broke up hopefully what your kitten will have eaten is not a big lump but a few pieces which will be more likely to work their way through.

Thank you.

He pooped earlier this morning, never thought I would be so happy to see him go to the litter box. Nothing out of the unusual in terms of consistency etc (nothing shiny either), his usual morning post-breakfast poop (I think partially started by the bit of ACV that I mix in with warm water and his wet food and maybe the fact that he didn't poop yesterday). He didn't let me touch his stomach and back the entire of last night but let me tickle him on his tummy a little after he did his business this morning . On the whole, Hugo is still eating and playing around.

If I am to keep him hydrated (he has 3 drinking points around my very tiny shoebox apartment) and if he is go on pooping, how long should I keep my eye out for?

forever...if it was dollar store tinfoil it might break down inside but if it was heavy duty r.&*(J)$#Swrap it could slice his intestines. if it was bigger than one inch square I think u should bring him to a vet

It was old tin foil wrap - I assume that this is what you mean by heavy duty? It wasn't bigger than one inch square.

no...I just bought tin foil tonight to wrap leftovers in.

"heavy duty" is what it says on the package, it is thicker than regular.

tin (aluminum)foil from the dollar store is so flimsy u can't properly wrap anything in it, therefore it has no sharp edges that could hurt a cats insides (most likely).

if it was the good stuff I would get her x-rayed

ps...my cat loved playing with an aluminum ball but I always made sure it was MUCH bigger than her mouth and she didn't have it w/o supervision

If he is eating and pooping I do not think there is any need to panic but if no evidence comes out of either end and there is any sign his tummy is a bit tender have a chat with your vet as soon as you can.  The next time you see your vet it would be a good idea to tell them what your boy's been up to in case they want to check it out.

MServant said:

 
If he is eating and pooping I do not think there is any need to panic but if no evidence comes out of either end and there is any sign his tummy is a bit tender have a chat with your vet as soon as you can.  The next time you see your vet it would be a good idea to tell them what your boy's been up to in case they want to check it out.

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I agree. Let's not get the member in an unnecessary panic unless the normal activities change

Thank you all.

A wee bit of relief that Hugo pooped again tonight but I don't see anything yet. I have been feeding him wet food with some pumpkin to see if it can move along. He seems fine so far or even hungrier than usual (strange). I guess I really have to just breath.

Thank you again.

You are always best to try and stay relaxed as our fur friends pick up on our stress and that brings on behaviours and illness all on its own!  When Mouse ate the wrapping ribbon he definitely felt unwell and had a sore belly before he threw up, and it was within a couple of hours of his sneaky theft of the ribbon.

Odds are that it has passed and you missed it.....Especially if you are just doing a visual poop inspection.

You know your cat best if he starts acting unusual. If he is pooping and eating then all is good.
If you want peace of mind and not worry at all anymore you can always have an x-Ray done. Being that it is tinfoil, it will
show up if it is still present.

Thank you all for your suggestions and yes, I might have missed it.

I'll keep an eye out for the next couple of days but he seems back to normal now.

The cat in question is below as he was the day before the tin foil incident- he is a rather big (long) cat.

He's just beautiful!  It might take a few days to pass if he is a big eater, he'll have more to pass! If he has no changes in behaviors you should be OK. Good luck, and give him a kiss for me!

One easter my kitten ate some egg wrappers and I never saw him poop it out and I checked everytime. Every kitten ive ever had has played with scrumpled tin foil or easter egg wrappers and I am pretty sure all have had a nibble and they are all fine. I would not worry unless he looks sick, then Id go straight to vets.

My cats have done that on and off over the years...They WILL poop it out. Just keep an eye on your litterbox over the next few days. Cats seem to eat the weirdest things. One of my cats is obsessed with the blue plastic ties on garbage bags as well as chewing corners on Ziploc bags. We call this habit 'notarizing'. I did of course change the type of garbage bags that I was using.

My little turd lola eats prickles!!!!! So weird. Cats are odd

Beautiful "little" guy. Good luck!

lucentstreak said:

Thank you all for your suggestions and yes, I might have missed it.

I'll keep an eye out for the next couple of days but he seems back to normal now.
The cat in question is below as he was the day before the tin foil incident- he is a rather big (long) cat.

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• lucentstreak
• Apr 22, 2014

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