string?

I was wondering about the signs/symptoms of a cat who is having trouble digesting string.... I am not sure, but I think that my kitty may have eaten about 6 inches of curling string (the kind used to wrap presents). It was in the floor when I came home the other day, but, for all I know he may have hidden the other half some place. He has been known to eat string before though... (he threw it back up last time). I don't know where he finds these things! Anyways. So far, so good. He's eating and drinking fine and doesn't seem to be lethargic at all. He's had two bowel movements since, but no string (or pieces of) in either. Is there anything that I should do for him or anything in particular to watch out for? Is it possible for him to just digest it or to pass it along? Thanks for your help!

If he did eat the string, and it does get stuck, you will notice vomiting, constipation, not eating, or signs that he is just not feeling well. It is possible for them to pass these things, but keep a lookout for signs of trouble. It's also possible that they can start to pass it, but it's stuck along the way. If you notice string coming out of his rear, don't pull on it, and get him to the vet asap.

Yes.. Zoey has eaten mice tails before and it always takes a couple bowel movements before I finally see it. I've since cut off all the tails off the mice...

My neighbor's friend's cat ate 10 inches of blind string.. the string that hangs from the blinds.. he threw up 4 inches of it then stopped eating and started vomiting.. she took him to the vet and he had to have surgery. They found 10 inches of it in him. Crazy stuff.

I am really careful now about leaving strings around .. and dental floss..

Poor baby! I hope he just passes it with no problem.

My Max has a thing for ribbon (that you put on presents) so I have to be super careful. The only thing he has ever succeeded in eating was the little strip of plastic that comes off a tampon wrapper. It passed through him whole, luckily, and came out exactly like it went in. Now all my trash cans are covered and I am totally paranoid about anything remotely resembling string.

I've been in a similar situation for the past 2 1/2 weeks. I came home one evening and found half of the 10 foot cotton string that was attached to my cat's toy had been chewed and was now missing. I cannot find the string. She's been eating fine and I have found no traces of it in her bowl movements. She also is still her frisky playful self. I've even checked my vacuum cleaner...nothing there. It's possible my cat did not eat the string and left it somewhere. I'll keep looking for it and also keep an eye on her.

Well, I have discovered at least part of the string that was missing... There was about 3 inches of it in Bandit's litter box, so at least some of it came out ok. I hope there's none still left in there! So far, so good. The problem is, that I am pretty sure that the piece he ate would have been longer, so I'm still keeping an eye out. Thanks everyone!

Kristi

You can give your kitty some catnip to eat, or some canned pumpkin or even hairball treatment to introduce fiber into the system and help push the rest of it through (hopefully)

One of my cats ate string once and was passed well.

Hope Bandits doing okay!!!

kristi, This is what happen to my Buddy! A weekago.. Take your take to the vet.. It might not be able to pass it.. My bud had to have surgery to pass it.. It is VERY dengarious to let your cat have string! I try and keep anything that is stringy up from my two cats.. I hope this helps..

kristi how is kitty doing??

OK, I just have to comment that it much be a grey cat thing because Levi once ate part of a tail off a toy mouse just like Zoey likes to do, but the kicker is it was one of those big fussy mice. I found it a day or too later in the litter box.

Hi everyone! Well, I think the string crisis is probably over. I did find a piece of it nicely passed in the litterbox, but there has been no more sight of string, so its possible that that was all that he ate... He is acting normal, eating well, and using the litterbox regularly. So, I suppose that things are going well. Thanks for helping us out guys!

Kristi, I am so glad to hear is doing well.. Thank god right!

My Sammy has an obsession with the curling ribbon too. Fortunately, he has always vomited it or passed it.
Not to be out-done, my other male, Max, took it upon himself to chow down on some sewing thread that I had set aside for just a minute. I had been hemming my daughter's dress and the needle was still attached to the thread! Of course this happened at 11 pm on a Sunday. I called the local 24-hour animal hospital and they just told me to bring him in the next morning. So I waited until the next morning to take him to my own vet. They x-rayed him and the needle was already in the small intestine. He said surgery would be risky and costly. We decided to wait and sure enough, Max passed the needle, thread still attached, the next day! I was so happy to see that needle that I almost kept it......almost. Anyhow, my own vet had some advice that I thought I might pass on: If any pet swallows a needle, or anything else sharp, immediately feed him cotton balls (break up the cotton balls to make them easier to swallow) My vet says that this always works. What happens is the sharp object is passed through the digestive tract cushioned by the cotton, lessening the chance of punture.

OMG, I would have been so upset if my cat would have eaten a needle. I do sympathize with everyone, I have a string eating cat too. Actually, Mabel is called "hoover" during these times... my husband was working on something that had little screws... and sure enough Mabel was looking all innocent standing there, and the next minute she had swallowed a screw!

Her last incident involved her chewing off the clear fishing line type string off of an ornament and eating that... happily I found it in the litterbox...

It's always frustrating isn't it? I even go around the house checking for things and it always seems she finds something to eat she's not supposed to.

crazymomof4, If Buddy would have done that I think I wouldhave had a heartach!!! OMG.. I freaked out when he swallowed that stupid yarn!