That old string thing...

[jein]

Siiiigh...

Hi guys, meet my beloved 8 year old large chunk of a cat (aptly named Fancy):

fancypants.jpg

• jein
• Feb 17, 2015

She has a penchant for being worse than a toddler when it comes to putting things in her mouth. My house is BABY proofed because of this. I crafted a new toy for her recently, being the doting kitty-mom I am. Half a fishing rod, tied through it with some yarn... some very securely tied yarn. It was a hit, of course. I kept it right by my desk, seemingly out of reach, but when I went to play with her with it Sunday, half the string had mysteriously vanished. Could've got caught on something... could've been eaten, I don't know.

I've turned the house upside down and can't find it. I never saw her eat it, but... cue me having a huge meltdown which I am still currently having. She just got over an episode of random Vestibular Syndrome so I'm... yeah, I have no nerves left. I'm a nervous WRECK.

String missing is about... maybe 12" long? Just cotton.

She has been eating normally (like a pig), drinking plenty of water, super playful as always. Tummy isn't sore (she's got a really severe belly-rub addiction). It's now Tuesday and she's had three A+ grade BM's which I have dug through with my only pair of chicken tongs. C'est la vie.

Since she has produced no yarn and hasn't even vomited at all, I gave her some hairball lubricant today and am waiting for the next BM which should happen within the next couple hours.

My question is, about how long till I can feel pretty comfortable that she didn't eat the string? How long till she might actually pass it? She's extremely regular. Since she's got a sensitive tummy, I have to keep up with her bathroom habits anyway. So... advice, wisdom, group-hug for everyone else that's endured this?

 

[pushylady]

My cat Pushy ate a fairly lengthy piece of kitchen string (tied up round the roast chicken) unbeknown to us. He was "off" all week, and we made an vet appointment, but he passed the string the night before. Couldn't believe it! The vet said to just keep an eye on him as he seemed to have passed it alright.

His symptoms were different from your Fancy: he lost his appetite, was lethargic, and did not want to be patted or cuddled. He also only had very greasy, loose stools.

So it's been 3 days now and she's acting normally? My inclination would be to keep watching her closely. The problem is, and I'm sure you're well aware, that string can be extremely dangerous when ingested. I can only speak from my experience that when my cat ate string he became ill very quickly. Boy, we got lucky with him passing it fine! Be prepared to rush her in to the vet if she starts looking ill.

 

[jein]

My cat Pushy ate a fairly lengthy piece of kitchen string (tied up round the roast chicken) unbeknown to us. He was "off" all week, and we made an vet appointment, but he passed the string the night before. Couldn't believe it! The vet said to just keep an eye on him as he seemed to have passed it alright.

His symptoms were different from your Fancy: he lost his appetite, was lethargic, and did not want to be patted or cuddled. He also only had very greasy, loose stools.

So it's been 3 days now and she's acting normally? My inclination would be to keep watching her closely. The problem is, and I'm sure you're well aware, that string can be extremely dangerous when ingested. I can only speak from my experience that when my cat ate string he became ill very quickly. Boy, we got lucky with him passing it fine! Be prepared to rush her in to the vet if she starts looking ill.

Thank you for responding! I badly needed someone to hold my hand for a second. lol

So far, Fancy has had no symptoms like that at all. She's by my side 24/7 too, except for when I sleep, which makes the disappearing string even more mysterious. I really, really hope she didn't eat it. Lord.

Fancy is a very large-build cat. She's 15 pounds, as tall as my tom. If she did eat it, does that maybe give her more of an advantage of passing it versus a smaller cat, you think? I'm just worried. Is there anything else besides the hairball remedy paste that I can do?

Glad to hear your Pushy handled his mishap. Cats and their need to eat things they shouldn't, ugh!

 

[di and bob]

It may be lucky that it was cotton, it could break down from the stomach acids. I would say that if she continues to have BM's and acts fine for a week you should be fine. Did you check your vacuum cleaner? Check the roller and the bag you may have sucked it up and didn't even realize it, it could have been partially hidden. In between couch cushions is another good spot, as is under the bed. If the string gets caught in her intestines it will cause pain and she'll have to be brought in immediately. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[jein]

 
It may be lucky that it was cotton, it could break down from the stomach acids. I would say that if she continues to have BM's and acts fine for a week you should be fine. Did you check your vacuum cleaner? Check the roller and the bag you may have sucked it up and didn't even realize it, it could have been partially hidden. In between couch cushions is another good spot, as is under the bed. If the string gets caught in her intestines it will cause pain and she'll have to be brought in immediately. Good luck and keep us posted!

Yeah, it was a very soft cotton. I haven't vaccuumed since Saturday so that's not an issue. It could've gotten caught in the casters of my chair but I checked them and couldn't find it, but I'm about to check them again.

Update-ish? She just had another perfect and on-time BM, no straining or discomfort, but also no string. Conveniently she tells me like a dog does when it needs to go out, so the "fancy princess" gets chaperoned to the litterbox. Every time. lol.

No string though, not even a fluff. Gah, this is making me nuts. That makes 4 normal BM's since Sunday. I feel hopeful but more worried at the same time!

Will keep this thread updated, thanks guys. I will find this mysterious vanishing string, dang it!

 

[stephanietx]

It's possible that she just played with the string and didn't ingest it.  My cats do that with things and it drives me crazy!  If  she continues to have normal appetite and litter box habits, then I'd say not to worry.  However, if you notice any change in appetite, litter box habits, or play habits, then it's time for a trip to the vet.

 

[di and bob]

I was meaning to put a warning out to all too about string and floss. If you've ever played with a cat with string you'll notice that once they get it on the back of their tongue it starts going down into the throat, that is because their tongues are so rough they catch the string and it only goes one way, down! The roughness is there to make sure water goes down into the throat.  I've had to pull string from my cats throats more then once, and I was right there!

 

[jein]

Just an update, sorta.

She's had two more perfectly normal A+ BM's, right on time since my last post, which totals 6 since Sunday when the string mysteriously disappeared. I turned my house upside down hands-and-knees'd it to try and find it and still can't find the string though.

Just really lost. 

 She's still acting perfectly happy and playful, tummy's not sore, eating and drinking etc... I feel like I should've seen it by now, especially since she's so regular. Thoughts?

 

[jdollprincess]

I feel your pain. About 6 months ago I got this stupid kids toy at an amusement park that was a little fuzzy snake thing with a long clear piece of fishing wire attached to it. It was a huge hit with my one cat Tigger, he couldn't get enough of it. After we would finish playing I would put it away in my sock drawer because I knew how dangerous it could be for him to swallow the string part. One night after playing I didn't want to disturb my husband who was in bed so I threw it in my purse for the night and thought I zipped it the whole way shut. The next day I noticed the toy in the middle of the living room floor with the string chewed off. I tore my house apart looking for that string. I was so afraid he ate it and it was gonna perforate his intestines. I also checked his bms daily and never found anything abnormal. He never did get sick and I never did find the string, I guess I'll never know what happened to it. Usually when cats eat something they shouldn't it will become apparent within a day or two and they get VERY sick. I think your probably past the danger zone but it doesn't hurt to keep monitoring her bms and of course watch for abdominal pain and vomiting.

 

[riley1]

This is worrisome.  If it were me I would take my cat to the vet.  Then,again I took him every time I was worried about ANYTHING.  As a new cat person years ago, I thought he had eaten some of a plant & rushed him to the vet.  $200.00 later the vet said "you would have seen some green in his teeth if he ate it".  Think they could have told me that before the blood test?  Sounds like your baby if doing OK.  Maybe you could call your vet for advice.  Ask him how long something like that could stay in a cat's system before something show up. 

 

[jein]

I feel your pain. About 6 months ago I got this stupid kids toy at an amusement park that was a little fuzzy snake thing with a long clear piece of fishing wire attached to it. It was a huge hit with my one cat Tigger, he couldn't get enough of it. After we would finish playing I would put it away in my sock drawer because I knew how dangerous it could be for him to swallow the string part. One night after playing I didn't want to disturb my husband who was in bed so I threw it in my purse for the night and thought I zipped it the whole way shut. The next day I noticed the toy in the middle of the living room floor with the string chewed off. I tore my house apart looking for that string. I was so afraid he ate it and it was gonna perforate his intestines. I also checked his bms daily and never found anything abnormal. He never did get sick and I never did find the string, I guess I'll never know what happened to it. Usually when cats eat something they shouldn't it will become apparent within a day or two and they get VERY sick. I think your probably past the danger zone but it doesn't hurt to keep monitoring her bms and of course watch for abdominal pain and vomiting.

That sounds nerve-racking. For how long did you keep going through his BM's? Glad your baby stayed healthy!

Yeah, so far things are still clear here. She still has a voracious appetite and hasn't vomited once. Apparently vomiting is the first tell-tale symptom in this regard.

I'll continue to keep an eye on her and keep going through her BM's. I watch her like a hawk anyway since she's my "problem child", the digging through BM is not my favorite thing but you do what you gotta do. 

 
This is worrisome.  If it were me I would take my cat to the vet.  Then,again I took him every time I was worried about ANYTHING.  As a new cat person years ago, I thought he had eaten some of a plant & rushed him to the vet.  $200.00 later the vet said "you would have seen some green in his teeth if he ate it".  Think they could have told me that before the blood test?  Sounds like your baby if doing OK.  Maybe you could call your vet for advice.  Ask him how long something like that could stay in a cat's system before something show up. 

I'm a bit of a hypochondriac too when it comes to my cat. She's very precious to me, I'm sure you all can understand. Luckily the vet is 10 minutes from here and has a 24/7 emergency line. But we're iced here where I live so the roads are very dangerous. More than that though, vet trips are so traumatic for Fancy. She doesn't get aggressive, she just gets so terrified, like shaking. It's just really hard on her, so I have to be careful to remain level-headed and not put her through it unless it's necessary. I will call the vet today though and ask them their opinion.

 

[jein]

Also, thank you guys for responding to my thread. I'm a newbie here, but I own 4 cats and am a very dedicated round-the-clock cat mom.  It's really relieving to me to be able to talk to/get advice from other kittie parents here, so I really appreciate your opinions and helpfulness. I get horrible anxiety whenever anything even slightly afflicts one of my cats so, it's been helpful. I don't know why I didn't register sooner!

The quest for the vanishing string continues, and I will definitely keep this thread updated! 

 

[pushylady]

Glad to hear she's still doing OK. It is very worrisome in these situations. I totally understand about not wanting to put Fancy through the stress of a vet visit though when you think it's most likely unnecessary. It's awful to see a cat shaking like that.

 

[reba]

I can so relate to this.  One of my teenager kittens ate several feet of dental floss.  I stupidly cut off a long piece and left it in the bathroom trash.  Luckily it was more like regular string than waxed floss.  Her stomach kept grumbling and I could figure out why.  Then one day she thew up this huge piece of it and then  I looked over and there was a long string hanging from her mouth which she re-swallowed.  About 24 hours of panic, she pooped it out.  It was unbelievable long.    Then, about two months after she was playing tug o war with a cat toy and she swallowed that.  Then there was a small piece of sewing thread hanging out of drawer and she got a hold of that, but not for long because her mother had a hissy fit. 

People don't mention it as much, but a lot of cat toys are dangerous.  There really should be some product safety standards that say, keep the mfgs from attaching ribbon to a cat toy.

 

[jein]

Glad to hear she's still doing OK. It is very worrisome in these situations. I totally understand about not wanting to put Fancy through the stress of a vet visit though when you think it's most likely unnecessary. It's awful to see a cat shaking like that.

It is. Either way, the vet said chances were I would've seen it within 24-48 hours if she had ingested it, especially since Fancy is so regular and eats so much. It's been a week now come tomorrow, and after almost a dozen perfect bowel movements and no vomiting, not even a cough, it's looking like I'm having JDollPrincess's situation she commented about. I will continue to keep an eye on Fancy though for a while, and continue to check her BM's. I know better than to ever have a sigh of relief when it comes to owning 4 cats, but I'm at least feeling better. There is a possibility I accidentally broke it off when I was looking for something by my desk, but who the heck knows where it went after that. lol

 
I can so relate to this.  One of my teenager kittens ate several feet of dental floss.  I stupidly cut off a long piece and left it in the bathroom trash.  Luckily it was more like regular string than waxed floss.  Her stomach kept grumbling and I could figure out why.  Then one day she thew up this huge piece of it and then  I looked over and there was a long string hanging from her mouth which she re-swallowed.  About 24 hours of panic, she pooped it out.  It was unbelievable long.    Then, about two months after she was playing tug o war with a cat toy and she swallowed that.  Then there was a small piece of sewing thread hanging out of drawer and she got a hold of that, but not for long because her mother had a hissy fit. 

People don't mention it as much, but a lot of cat toys are dangerous.  There really should be some product safety standards that say, keep the mfgs from attaching ribbon to a cat toy.

That sounds like a nightmare! Yeah, many cat owners can probably relate. I was thinking earlier that someone totally needs to use some kind of organic string that can be broken down in digestion fluids, but is still capable of being used as a toy. This story is SO common that you'd think someone would invent something!

So happy to hear your kitten stayed healthy. A couple years ago, I caught Fancy swallowing a six inch very thick string. It was a handle to a gift bag and was wrapped in many thin gold foil threads. But I did the hydrogen peroxide 3% and got her to run in circles for 15 minutes with the laser light and up it came entirely. THAT would've caused a vet visit and surgery, I'm sure of it. Sigh, she's my problem child. lol