Swallowed string

[Ash]

I think Tommy swallowed a piece of cotton string! I'm not sure though. He was playing with it and I meant to take it away but got distracted .... now I can't find the string anywhere. It was about 7 inches long, a very soft cotton string. Is this dangerous? What do I have to look out for? Will it find its way out on its own?

[Traci]

First look everywhere for it..under furniture, etc. If you can't find it, he may have ingested it. Also look under his tongue in the mouth.

Signs to watch for include vomiting (including water), inappetance, lethargy, distended abdomen, constipation, painful abdomen....any and all which would occur within 24-48 hours after ingestion. If you see a string in his stools in the litterbox, chances are he is expelling it...however, if you see a string protruding from his anus, DO NOT pull on it because you don't know where the other end is (could be wrapped around an intestine, etc)...in that case, you'd want to get him to your vet immediately for a barium x-ray. (although it's questionable if your vet is familiar with this)

[Ash]

I searched the whole appartment already. If he swallowed it it must have happened just before feeding time, about 5 hours ago.

[Sonique]

For what it's worth my other cat used to eat string... >.>
I hated it when she did that... but she was always okay. It'd normally come out in her stools.

[Ash]

Thanks, Sonique. Yes, I know, it 'should' come out by itself. And it was a very soft cotton string which was half falling apart already ... not a strong string like dental floos or sewing yarn etc. So I hope he'll be alright. We have not found it anywhere, and I just checked the pile of cat and dog hairs my cleaner swept up - nothing. So it looks very likely he swallowed it.

As a child I had a cat who liked to eat rubber bands ...

[Phoebe's human]

Since it was half falling apart, I'd say the chances are your cat will pass it without any problems.

My previous cat, who lived to be almost 13 in spite of several chronic health problems, was inclined to eat string, thread, dental floss, twist-ties, paper clips, staples, rubber bands, and just about anything else that happened along.

I took her to the vet about these incidents only twice. One was a twist-tie I was concerned about since it had metal in it, but there was no problem there. The other was a piece of dental floss that was emerging from her rectum. The vet removed it easily.

The other items I retrieved from her mouth before they went down the hatch, or waited until they came out in the stool.

[Ash]

It's amazing what their insides can take! Staplers !

Well, so far he shows no signs of ill effect (about 40 hours later).

[whitekittee]

Now, I am no veterinary health expert, but I can tell you from experience that your feline will expell the swallowed string via defecation. My cat swallows things all the time-- I mean, I can't be on top of her 24/7. She's nice and healthy (Well, except for that pus thing, but that is another issue). I say you give it time. A string is likely to give her no more than a minor stomach ache at worst.

[Ash]

Thanks for reassuring me! As I said, he's completely fine so far and we're scanning his poo - , nice little extra job for us! Serves me right for leaving a string-game unsupervised!

[Traci]

Jane, unfortunately that is not always the case. Many cats swallow strings, threads and other items that won't pass through the stomach or intestines, and many of them end up wrapped around an intestine, causing perforation, hemorrhage, blockage and even death. In these cases, surgery is necessary to remove the object.

Never assume if your cat swallows something they aren't supposed to, that it will pass through the stools...it is NOT always the case, and owners need to be aware of the symptoms of a potential blockage. Keep such items out of reach to the cats at all times.