What to do if a cat ate a string

Unfortunately, the symptoms of this problem can vary depending on what was eaten, where it is in the body and when it was eaten.

How to help a pet who has eaten an inedible item

If you are sure that the object is small, without sharp edges and very small enough to cause a blockage in the intestines, it makes sense to give the pet pet Vaseline oil directly into the mouth through a syringe: 10 ml for the cat and 5 ml for the kitten.

Repeat the procedure as needed 2-3 times during the day and monitor whether the object came out with the feces.

If there is rope, thread, hair or "rain" sticking out of the anus, it is dangerous to pull them out. You need to cut off the end of the string, put the cat in a carrier, and go to the vet.

Cat swallowed string: risks

If a cat swallows the string, problems will only occur if one part of the string gets stuck in the area between the mouth and the digestive tract, and the other part goes further into the intestines, as it may get caught on the base of the cat's tongue.

One of the most serious problems if a cat swallows a string is a condition that veterinarians call a linear foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. It can lead to intestinal obstruction.

Usually one end of the string gets stuck by wrapping around the base of the tongue or by getting caught in the pylorus of the stomach (that is, the part of the stomach that leads to the small intestine). The peristaltic waves (peristalsis is the involuntary contraction and relaxation of the intestinal muscles) created by the intestines try to propel the free end of the filament through the intestinal tract. But because the front end is stuck, the thread is not pushed through.

The intestines will become "threaded" or folded, making it impossible to remove the thread. It can become even tighter and increase the risk of intestinal perforation, that is, a puncture in the intestine.

Swallowing the string can also cause a serious condition called intussusception. It results in a severe contraction of a particular section of the intestine as it attempts to move along a lodged foreign body. If no action is taken, that section of the intestine can become "embedded" in an adjacent section, resulting in partial or complete GI obstruction, impaired blood flow to the affected intestinal area, and tissue death. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, intussusception can be fatal.

An intussusception in a cat's gastrointestinal tract can be quite a challenge for the veterinarian because of the risk of perforation and difficulty in removing it , according to VIN. Cats that often swallow such foreign bodies may experience discomfort from malnutrition, dehydration or peritonitis, as well as from complex surgical procedures that may endanger their lives. Cats that play and nibble.

A cat gets full of lint: what to do

Under no circumstances should you try to remove the threads yourself.Attempting to remove the threads yourself creates a host of risks: damage to the esophagus, as well as choking or vomiting in the cat, which can lead to aspiration pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs.

You should go immediately to the veterinarian's office and call there first to inform them of the situation. Upon arrival the cat will be examined by the veterinarian. The cat may need anesthesia to allow the vet to carefully examine the mouth and the area under the tongue.

A cat ate string. What to do?

My cat ate string yesterday. I took him to the vet, had him x-rayed. The doctor said: Give the cat some castor oil. He went to the toilet, but hasn't eaten anything since yesterday. He only drinks water. What to do with him?!

Don't worry. My cat also, 3 years ago, ate sewing threads, didn't eat, drank only water, and 3 days later started eating and everything normalized. Stomach juice dissolved the threads. Now he is 14 years old and everything is fine.

Immediately give him a laxative, or he may not come out all at once. Our cat ate a raindrop on New Year's Eve once (we didn't look hard enough). We had to give him laxatives the next day, because part of the raindrop was dragging behind the cat.

Give the cat petroleum jelly. Vaseline oil is not digested in the stomach, comes out in the same form and takes everything extraneous from the stomach with it.
But the strings can get stuck, tangled, cause obstruction, and only surgery can help.

+1 to Vaseline oil, available at the drugstore. The main thing is that the threads do not entangle the intestine, otherwise – only surgery, and only if you notice in time. It is better to take a second X-ray after a few days.

It's nothing bad. My cat ate the sackcloth from the tree and the tree (artificial) meow for 3 days then it all came out by itself

He ate a meter of string that was used to bind cakes. He pooped normally, I remember his parents dragged him. String is a natural product, it might dissolve on its own.

My cat ate the string and I hoped it would dissolve. It took 3 days and she died. If you care about your cat, take her to the vet.

Good afternoon. My cat ate a string for crochet, about 50 cm., immediately, independently, gave him a paste to remove the hair, and then, on the advice of the vet, gave vaseline oil (once 10 ml.), then did not feed for 12 hours. As a result, the thread came out naturally (as a lump in the general mass), exactly after 2 days.

How dangerous is it?

Cats are famous for their inquisitiveness, so they can often swallow objects that are not intended for food. It is not uncommon for pets to have shoelaces, Christmas sprinkles, and threads in their mouths. Pets have so-called stiff tufts on their tongue, their direction does not allow the cat to spit out the thing that got into the oral cavity, so the animal has to swallow it. Even if the tip of the thread ended up in its mouth, the pet can swallow it whole, up to several meters. If a cat has eaten string or dental floss, the problem should not be ignored. Eating such items can cause intestinal blockage and can even be fatal.

When the owner has caught the cat eating thread, it is important not to hesitate. First of all, you will need to take the cat in such a way that he could not resist and scratch the person. Then the pet needs to open its mouth and gently pull out the string if it is left on the tongue. However, the owner may not have time. If the cat has already swallowed a foreign object and no serious deterioration of its condition has been noticed, it is acceptable to provide first aid at home. When the pet ate the floss not so long ago, the first thing the owner needs to do is to try to provoke vomiting. Veterinary doctors recommend preparing a saline solution. To do this you will need to add 2 teaspoons of salt to 1 liter of purified water and mix thoroughly. The resulting composition should be poured into the cat's mouth and wait until he vomits.

If the pet ate the thread a few hours ago, they should have already reached the intestines. In this situation, you should use a syringe without a needle and Vaseline oil. In the oral cavity of the animal is gently injected with a product that helps facilitate the passage of the threads through the gastrointestinal tract. After the manipulation, veterinarians recommend not giving the cat food for 2-3 hours. In addition, the owner should make sure that the pet goes to the toilet. When the threads begin to come out of the anus, the owner is strictly forbidden to try to pull them out. Such a precaution is due to the fact that the probability of damage to internal organs is not excluded.

What to do

Initially, the veterinarian will take all the details of the situation from you and perform a complete external examination of your cat. This is important to assess your cat's overall health and look for any symptoms mentioned earlier. For example, signs of pain and dehydration will require more intensive treatment.

Most cats are strong characters, which means they don't tolerate being poked and prodded as much as dogs do, even if the poking is in their best interest! Therefore, most cats need sedation or an anesthetic to have a full examination, so don't worry if that's what your veterinarian will advise you to do. Dealing with lint can be tedious and painful, so anesthesia is definitely a good thing.

Will my cat be fine after eating the string?

In most cases, cats make a full recovery after eating the string without any long-term complications. However, it is entirely up to the owners to identify the problem and seek professional veterinary care early on.

The longer the problem persists, the more likely it is to develop into a serious problem with intestinal damage, which means a longer recovery period and a much greater chance of complications for your cat. Naturally, more intensive surgery and postoperative care are also more expensive, so it is cheaper to seek help early on.

Unfortunately, cats with linear foreign bodies, folds and peritonitis have a significant risk of short- and long-term complications. Cats can die from eating a lint if this happens, and unfortunately, a large proportion of them die.

Article author: Christian Adams.
An American immigrant living in Metro Manila in the Philippines for over a decade, Christian is a lifelong cat lover and the proud father of two rescued cats, Trixie and Chloe. Both girls used to be among the throngs of homeless people who roam the cities and countryside. Three-year-old Trixie was pulled from a litter found under the porch of a neighbor's house, and two-year-old Chloe was brought home by Christian's young son, Henry, who found the crying kitten in the parking lot.

cat ate a string. 20-25 cm. who has experience? No examples from cat forums, please.

It can get out by itself but if the cat refuses to eat then there is a problem. It can stretch on the tortuous intestines and make an accordion, making an obstruction.

This is very dangerous. Go to the vet as soon as possible. Otherwise there will be an upset stomach. The string can also get stuck in the throat. Give the cat plenty of water or milk and go to the vet!

There are 2 options.
1 option. Nothing will happen. The thread will come out naturally.
Option 2. The thread will not come out and a bowel intussusception or intestinal perforation by a foreign body (in this case, a thread) will occur. In this case an emergency operation will be necessary.
Keep an eye on the cat, if he refuses to eat, vomits or does not stool, then go to the vet immediately. Even one of these symptoms is an urgent, same-day reason to get help from a veterinarian.

As luck would have it. Our cat ate the rope that used to tie up cakes, not the white plastic one like now, but some kind of brown one, it was in the 90s. Pulled it out of my ass, and I'm still alive and well. But pure luck I didn't cut anything.

If a thread gets wrapped around a root of its tongue, you have to fix it well, open its mouth and watch whether it has a spoon and try to pull it out very carefully, if it does not pull it much, cut it and give it 10 ml of vaseline oil, give another 5 ml in the evening, then give it 5 ml 3-4 times a day until it will come out with the faeces. If there is no floss under your tongue, also oil. If the oil comes out, but the feces won't and the floss won't come out – only surgery. and don't drag it out long (a day or a day and a half max), the floss can cut through the intestines

Oh my God, the problem is on a level playing field. Yes the thread has been going in the right direction for a long time. Cats swallow miles of wrapping film and more and are alive!

What to do if you can't get the thread out

More often than not, it happens that pets swallow the string and the owner doesn't have time to follow up. This can be dangerous for the cat, especially if the thread was thick, long or stiff. Often the ingestion of such a foreign object in the animal's body causes vomiting.

If a few minutes have passed and the cat has not vomited, the owner should help and induce the gag reflex in the cat. To do this, it is recommended to pour water and salt into the pet's mouth at the rate of: 1 tsp of salt per 1 liter of liquid. It is not necessary to pour all the water into the pet, it is enough to wait for the necessary reaction. The vomit should also contain the ill-fated swallowed thread.

How to help the cat, if more than 2 hours have passed

If the cat ate the floss, and more than 2 hours have passed, and the animal has not vomited, you should monitor its well-being. If the cat remains playful and its appetite does not deteriorate, it means that the thread has already entered the intestines and that it has to wait for its natural release.

To prevent the risk of several meters of thread becoming entangled in the cat's body, you should speed up the process of the object's exit by giving the animal a laxative. It is best to use a syringe to inject the pet in the mouth with Vaseline oil. After that it is necessary to:

• Make sure that the cat goes to the toilet.
• Check whether the thread has started to come out: whether the tail of the thread is peeking out of the animal's anus. If you can see the tip of the floss, it is forbidden to pull it out so as not to traumatize the cat's intestines!
• Carefully cut off the thread without touching the anus so that it does not interfere with the cat.
• Continue to monitor the cat and trim off the floss gradually until it comes out completely.

The cat has swallowed the yarn from the ball! What do I need to do to safely retrieve it? Help please.

If the cat swallowed it whole, there's hardly anything you can do. If the thread is small, it's okay – it will come out naturally)) . I've had a cat swallow rain from a Christmas tree without any health consequences.

It is necessary to keep the thread away from cats, because if they start chewing it, they cannot spit it out (they have these "pimples" on their tongues bent inside, and the thread clings to them). And if the cat has already eaten the string, you can only wait until it poops it out. And henceforth do not leave the thread in a place accessible to the cat.

If it's from the ball (yarn) – it shouldn't be too bad, most likely it will come out by itself.
If it's a very thin, strong thread then you'd better at least watch it very carefully and talk to your vet about it.

How long is the string? Run to the vet, if you tangle in the gut – kiddo, ask him for advice! You can give vasilin, if it shows a piece of gut. Do not pull it under any circumstances. Only cut it off! If he tells you to wait for the wind – you will have to pick in the shit, be ready.

If it's sticking out of his mouth, you can pull it out gently. I swallowed one once with a needle. It was horrible. But when I took it out, I didn't know what was wrong with the needle. I pulled it gently, and there was a needle on the end. The good thing was that it came out with a blunt end. Since then, I never put the sewing kit box in an accessible place or leave it unattended when I'm sewing. If swallowed completely a small piece will come out on its own.

If the thread is woolen, it will come out with the cat's gagging (cats often swallow their own wool), but if it's synthetic, it's better to let the cat swallow a few tablespoons of vegetable oil or vaseline. If in a few hours the cat feels worse, hurry to the vet. But usually, if the length of the thread is small, it comes out by itself.

I would go to the vet if I were you. If it reaches the intestines and gets tangled there, the cat could die.

What a mess!!! The cat ate half of the string from a sack of potatoes.

When I came home from work, I look at the thread hanging from the side of his mouth, when I try to pull it out, he has a gag reflex and the feeling that it is somewhere inside there is stuck or mixed up. Do you think it will come out with the feces? And what to do in such cases.

Do not pull it out (( it is dangerous) Wait for tomorrow at least: watch the general condition (lethargic/active), stools, appetite. If all day tomorrow there will be no stools, the morning after tomorrow it is worth to show the doctor. If you feel nauseous, especially after eating, it is better to go to the clinic. They will take an X-ray and look at your abdomen.

Very dangerous situation(((( It depends on how the thread is laid inside, if in a lump, there is a chance that it will go through, if along the length, it can pull on the intestines. I've seen a case where a cat tried to pull a string out of his mouth (the owners), and the beginning of the string got caught in the root of the tongue loop, intestines were torn in several places, but it was too late(((( And now it's even difficult to give advice, because the options from "poop itself, give Vaseline just in case" to "urgently X-ray with barium and prepare for surgery.

Oh, my God. For some reason it seems to me that the thread wrapped around his tongue, because if he just swallowed, it would come out, and here there was resistance. I feel bad already(((((((((((

And the thread is polyethylene, I am very worried. I will call the doctor in the morning. The cat seems to be behaving normally, sleeping, no lint in the mouth.

In principle it might come out naturally. See tomorrow in the "stools". If you do not see the stool tomorrow, you should be worried.

I also decided so, pulled only lightly, as soon as I felt resistance, stopped torturing him and cut the tail

A friend in such a situation still took the cat to the clinic. It was just before the New Year, she had to leave, how could she leave the cat in such a situation, it doesn't matter. We took the cat to the vet, cut it open, took out the tape. The cat with the stitches in a blanket took with them to another city to celebrate the New Year. )) Fortunately, were on the car. What can we do. Too bad about the cat:) He was also given vaseline before surgery. Did not help.