4 mo old kitten ate fabric mask loop 4 weeks ago - help??

[swankgirl]

Being a Sunday, I wanted to ask the forum for some help.

On Thursday October 21, I came home from work to find a face mask on the kitchen floor with most of the black fabric loops chewed off. I panicked, spoke to the vet about it the following morning, and just observed him very closely + examined his poos over the next 2 weeks. His behavior was fine - he has a really healthy kitten appetite, eats numerous times a day, drinks lots of water, runs and plays with his big brother, normal bowel movements etc. We never saw ANY signs of distress and started to wonder if he stashed the loops somewhere instead of actually eating them. It seemed like a LOT of fabric for such a tiny kitten body and surely there would have been some issues, right?

So he had his first wellness exam on Nov 2, and I took the mask in to show the vet. She seemed to think that if there were no problems in the past 2 weeks, he was likely in the clear or maybe did not in fact ingest them. She said his belly felt fine to the touch, no lumps, pain, or odd red flags. She also said we could x-ray him if I wanted to, but the fabric would not be visible anyway, and I should just continue to monitor him for signs of trouble.

So now it's Nov 14, and I wake up this morning (of course a Sunday when the vets are closed) to find a large hairball - 2 in fact - wadded up on our bed. I pick them up and lay them out on a paper towel, because one is brown and classic hairball appearance, but one is black and almost looks like a poo. Gross as it is, I pulled all the contents apart with chopsticks, and find that one is typical completely matted hair - probably his and mine (both of us brown) and the other is a wadded up segments of the black mask loop from THREE AND A HALF WEEKS AGO. How could this have remained in his stomach this entire time??

Today, he appears to be totally fine - he ate his wet meal at 8am, he also just ate a bowl of dry food at noon, I've seen him drinking water and he's been running up and down the stairs chasing his big brother all morning. No lethargy, no loss of appetite, no pain or soreness when I prod his belly. Do I need to worry? Should I take him to the emergency vet today, even though ostensibly he seems perfectly fine? He was even running at full speed on his wheel last night; my mind is literally blown that these loop bits came up last night. How can I be sure there still is not more fabric inside him? How would I know if some of the fabric made it to his intestines and he has a blockage? I'm not sure what to do. Any help or advice would be SO incredibly appreciated since I can't reach the vet, and going to the ER today just doesn't feel like a necessity. IS it?

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! I had a similar experience with my mackerel brown tabby Kate who is now 13. It involved a shoe lace which she grabbed, bit, and swallowed as my shoe was on the floor next to her. This happened about 12 1/2 years ago and she has not seen a shoelace since, but will try for anything in that shape, including a Q Tip if I get one out to clean the outer portion of her ears. Like you, it was about 3 weeks later when the shoe lace came out with some poop. It was completely in one piece, judging from the length compared to the existing intact lace, so we assumed that was the end of it. Nothing else ensued and the episode passed.

The problem with anything ingested like string is that you don't know if it becomes wrapped around a part of an internal organ or might be sitting someplace potentially waiting to cause a problem. The composition of what was swallowed can make a difference as well.

I don't think that you have an emergency on your hands, as in go to the ER right now. But I would call the vet in the morning and see what the next step would be from her point of view. This may have resolved itself; I am not trying to say that you are facing a huge problem. If, for some reason, you notice an odd symptom tonight which might be related to the loops, then go to the ER.

Why Do Cats Swallow String?

This article is quite informative about swallowed items like the loops and explains why they are so appealing to cats. As Jackson Galaxy says, for cats play is prey.

 

[swankgirl]

Thanks for your reply. It's reassuring to hear that you also experienced the "release" of the item ~3 weeks later. I still cannot believe that fabric has been in his tiny little stomach this whole time. There was QUITE a bit of mask loop missing - we couldn't believe he could even get that amount of fabric bulk down at only 14 weeks, and still have such a voracious appetite, so were honestly leaning toward thinking maybe he didn't actually ingest it (the vet included).

Here is a photo of the mask - you can see, missing nearly all of the loops. I can't help but think that if all of that (!) did in fact go down, not all of it came up last night. But, he does seem just fine. It's worth noting that this kitten has some of the most constant and noxious gas I've ever experienced.... he jumps up on the bed, he has gas. He rolls over on your lap, he has gas. He does a cute lil kitten wake up stretch, and knocks you out with gas. Might the gas be a symptom of a partial bowel obstruction, or is it normal for a 17 week old kitten coming to us on Purina One and adjusting to new and different quality//protein-rich foods? I'm a realllllllly worried mom today.

 

[fionasmom]

The kitten did a good job on that mask, if he did actually ingest that much of it.

As for the gas, usually the go to explanation in an otherwise healthy animal who is not exhibiting other symptoms along with it is a change in diet or even a food allergy. Yes, there are other reasons and intestinal obstructions can be one of them, but that does not mean that it has to be the case for your kitten. In my opinion, which could be all wrong, a major obstruction should show more symptoms by now. It is worth discussing the gas with the vet so that you can see how to resolve it. Even if it has nothing to do with the mask, he should not have that much consistent gas at his age. I would stick with the original plan of calling the vet tomorrow. She needs to know that he did, in fact, eat the mask loops and that they are passing through. She was under the impression that possibly he did not eat them, so she should get this update.

 

[Twylasmom]

I had a similar experience where my cat ate the ribbon from a clothing tag. It was about 8” long. I took her to the vet immediately and they tried to induce vomiting with no success and the next day she got an x-ray and no blockage. After monitoring her overall health and the litter box for a month she vomited up a hair ball with the full 8” of ribbon included.
I do agree the gas might warrant a vet visit but it may be totally unrelated to the mask.

 

[vince]

Cats don't usually have lots of gas, but when they do, it will peel the wallpaper! I also think the gas is unrelated to eating the mask strings, but definitely needs to me investigated.