Eats Rubber Bands & Strings

[Tweeti2U]

I have a 5mo male Kitten, he was abanded found him in my carport, he was about 1 hour born, but my concern is that he likes to eat rubber Bands and strings, i tried to get him to throw up but will not when i catch him, i have checked his bowels but it normal,, my question is this normal for cats to eat these items???

Also he walks around crying like if he is lost, could it be from him having no contact with his mother or siblings, since he was raised without them. Other than that his very playful and eats well. What age should he have his shots ??? A Concerned Mommy

[davet]

as a concerned mommy you had better do your very best to avoid all contact with rubber bands and strings...firts it is very difdficult to diagnaose an intestinal problem cause by strings...a tring dcan get in the gut and exctend and cause sever cutting of the gut wall...and it does not sho up on xray ...usually the only way to diagnose is on surgery or necropsy--which is surgery after they die...same with rubgber bands...thy just odont show up on xray and lots of times do not pass...be very carefull

walking around a crying probably is from new environment etc...and the shots should start about two weeks aftyer weaning so i suspect soon...

[Guest]

IT is not a good idea for the kitten to eat string or rubber bands.

We have a 10 mo old cat that recently ate a hair band my wife puts her hair up with. Our older cat loves to play with them so when she got it out of the drawer herself we didnt think anything about it. Well sure enough my wife looks over and there she is swallowing it. Luckily it had just a little bit of metal on it so it showed up in x-ray to confirm it. But actually the rest of it showed up as well.

All the info I got from two vets (my regular one and the one that had a surgical tool to go down her throat and into her belly to get it) said that it could pass. But being elastic it could catch on stomthing and rip it open like intestine or stomach. They also said it is dangerous for her to throw it up as it could catch on something coming up and rip as well. Well sure enough as they knock her out so they can put the scope down her throat, she threw up the rubber band.

So I guess I am saying it is risky to assume they will pass it or throw it up, so do your best to keep that stuff out of the paws of your kitty. You just never can tell with these crazy cats sometimes. Some play with stuff like that, and some eat it

Jason

[Phoebe's human]

Some cats seem to have a real taste for things like rubber bands.

One cat I had ate rubber bands, strings, threads, dental floss, ribbons, yarn, and I found her with paper clips dangling from her mouth more than once. She also loved plastic bags of any kind, as well as twist-ties, which often have metal in them.

One thing I learned is that if your cat has a thread dangling from the rectum, you DON'T try to yank it out. This could cause a serious problem in the intestines because you don't know how much thread is still inside the cat or where it is. Pulling at it can tighten it around the intestines.

(I must admit that I pulled a few threads from my kitty's hind end, though, if they wanted to come out easily. I was taking a big chance, and I don't recommend it. I did take her to the vet at least twice for swallowed objects.)

[davet]

re phoebes post about not pulling the thread...i agree but i used to do it in the office but knew when to stop...i once pulled a thread, carefully that was stikin out the recterm...pulle iabotu one foot of thread and found it was attached to a swewing needle...the cart chewed the thread with a needle abttached and the thread pulled the needle through without penetrating...kinda of a rare occurance and i think it was shear luck that the needle didn't penetrate....the lady owner recognixed the thread and needle as one she had used about 5 days vbefore and wondereed where it went...

[Phoebe's human]

What a story! A REALLY lucky kitty, I'd say.

Cats seem so intelligent but also lack what humans call common sense, maybe.

[Linda1629]

It is funny what they will eat. I had to stop using tinsel on the Christmas tree because I would find tinsel in the cats' stools and sometimes hanging out their butts.

[Phoebe's human]

Linda, I'm sure my cat would have eaten tinsel too but I didn't happen to use any during her lifetime!

I learned to look at her rear end regularly, though, and to dread seeing some strange item dangling from her rectum.

[Tweeti]

Thank you everyone for your advise, i have learned alot, he is a very playful kitten and is in to everything, i have kept all strings and rubberbands off hands to him, he dose enjoy playing with the plastic bags crawls inside them and slides all over the floor with them. But i have checked his bowls and all seems to be alright but i am still keeping and eye on him. Again thank you all and lets keep i touch.

[missmoosh75]

I HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH MY THEN 6 YR OLD MALE TABBY. HE WANTED TO EAT EVERYTHING! STRING, TWINE, RIBBON, THE BROOM BRISTOLS, BASICALLY ANYTHING HE SHOULDN'T. HE HAD TO HAVE SURGERY BECAUSE HIS GUT WAS SO FULL OF STUFF HE STARTED VOMITING AND BLOCKED UP EVERYTHING, ALL THE WAY TO HIS INTESTINES. $1500 LATER, HE STILL LOOKS FOR THINGS. BASICALLY YOU CANNOT KEEP ANYTHING LIKE THIS AROUND. HE/SHE WILL EAT IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!!! GOOD LUCK!