My cat ate a long piece of yarn

[CharityLynn]

My daughter was playing with my kitties with long pieces of string when one didn't want to play she just left the string with the cat. Well I was looking at the cat and saw the last bit of yar go down. I did open her motuh and could not see any sign of the yarn.

What should I do? Just observe? Does she need to see a doctor? Any advice is appreciated.

TIA,

CharityLynn

 

[mla1977]

You may want to take to cat to the vet. It could get tangled up in its intestines. The vet may be able to get it before surgery is required.

 

[MerMom60_94]

I agree that I would at least call the vet. I once had a kitten swallow a long elastic string off one of his toys. It did make it through to the other end but we had to follow him around with scissors and cut it off a piece at a time as it came out. Whatever you do, you don't want to pull it out as it exits because you could cause injuries. Poor kitty. Hope she's ok.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

my friend's dog had a thread coming out of his butt and every time she went to pull it out, he would howl in pain....She takes him to the DR, got x-rays, and sure enough, he had swallowed a needle and thread!!! and it had made it most of the way through the body--- a minor surgery took care of it---OUCH!!!
BTW--I'm saying this b/c my feeling is that the yarn will pry poop out...

 

[Minnesota!]

You may want to take to cat to the vet. It could get tangled up in its intestines. The vet may be able to get it before surgery is required.

Ditto. My husband's cat had to have emergency surgery b/c it was wrapped around his intestines. Not fun...

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

definitely call your vet.

however, this happened to me a couple weeks ago with my cat and dental floss. Our vet said not to bring her in, but to feed her right away. This will increase the chances that the thread will get balled up in the mass of food and pass through easier.

luckily, for us it did pass through without incident.

Hope you have good luck as well!

 

[kacaju]

do your best to look under her tongue. Sometimes the string can form a *u* around their tongue and that is an emergency.

 

[DizBelle]

How much length are we talking here?

 

[Alex&Evan'sMom]

Please call your vet for your kitty's safety. Our sweet Sam swallowed a piece of carpet thread(we did not know she did until emergency surgery) and became ill. We had to go to 3 vets until we found out what was wrong and by then it was too late. I don't mean to scare you, just want to let you know how dangerous it can be.

 

[kimmar067]

....wait till she p**ps a sweater.....






























....SRSLY, I'd call the vet quickly, especially if she is still a kitty...

 

[CharityLynn]

It was probably about a foot long.

 

[HeatherH]

DEFINITELY call your vet now. It can be a huge medical emergency. The yarn can twist your cat's intestines. From an article on the subject:

If an animal eats a string or similar object, it is termed a "linear foreign body". What happens if a cat ingests a linear foreign body? The intestines can become blocked or stressed/pulled/torn as the string bunches up and binds during intestinal peristalsis (wavelike muscular contractions).

Clinical signs may include any of the following:

* vomiting or dry heaves
* anorexia or decreased appetite
* straining to defecate or diarrhea
* painful abdomen
* fever
* depression
* dehydration (due to vomiting)

So the answer to this question is... call your vet as soon as you notice your cat ate the string to find out the best course of action for your pet and the circumstances.

So CALL NOW. Your kitty is depending on you.

 

[scottishduffy]

My kitty has a serious death wish and will eat any string or curling ribbon he gets to.

It has only happened to us once, and from then on I keep the apartment clear of the stuff. he ate about a 6-8 inch strand of curling ribbon. I got the second piece out of his mouth and pulled it out (about 5 inches) but the other piece had already gone down.

I took him to the vet who wasn't able to get the thread out. The vet said to watch his poo Very carefully over a couple of days. If he pooped out the curling ribbon in a couple days we would be fine (because sometimes they pass it). If the ribbon did not pass or the cat began to act sick or stop eating then he would need surgery.

Thankfully, Matisse passed the curling ribbon. When he did I found he ate more than I originally had seen. He passed pink poo, blue poo, and green poo. Niiiiiiice.

This is why Kitty is no long allowed near ribbon and I don't buy it anymore. Stupid cat has a death wish.

 

[CharityLynn]

Thanks for all the advice. Right now we are struggling a bit financially so I am going to tkae the wait and see approach, watch her like a hawk and the second she starts acting funny I will make an appointment even if I have to borrow the money from my parents. I love my kitty so much. She is almost a year old and I really can't imagine my life without her. I feel so bad because my 6yr old DD is feeling bad that she gave the yarn to Zelda. I keep telling her it isn't her fault, Zelda was just dumb enough to eat it.

 

[ahutton]

A friend had a similar experience lately. He was told keep the cat well hydrated, give them a hearty dose of hairball remedy as it will help keep things moving and if it didn't pass in a couple days or the cat exhibited signs of distress (well outlined above) to bring the cat in.

 

[DMRick]

It's a shame that so many cartoons show cats playing with yarn. Cats should never have yarn. They use to sell these foam like toys that you put between your thumb and pointer finger, and squeeze to flatten, then let go and they would pop in the air. Our vet office did more surgery's getting those out of cats than most anything, until they started to be recalled, since kids were swallowing them. They actually swelled up..it was awful.
Hope it all 'comes out' OK.

 

[christiane]

The safest plan would have been for you to take your cat to the vet immediately after she ate the yarn. Your vet could have induced vomiting.

It's probably too late now as the yarn has likely left the stomach. A foot of yarn is a concerning amount & there is a possibility it will get hung up in the intestines causing a blockage or worse a perforation if the yarn acts like a saw as it moves through.

You need to watch her like a hawk for symptoms -loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy, trouble in the litter box etc.

If you see the end of the yarn coming up from either end, do not pull it! Cut off as much as you can & contact your vet for advice.

 

[surfergirl602]

My cat will chew on anything that's a tie, a string, ribbon, elastic... the ties on garbage bags. Plastic bag handles. He drives me crazy and I have to always watch him.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

My cat ate my DD's belt and the surgery to remove it cost $1500...

I waited for her to poop it out, but she didn't. It was stuck. I always have to watch her....she likes to find twist ties, string, etc.

Good luck!

 

[DizBelle]

A friend had a similar experience lately. He was told keep the cat well hydrated, give them a hearty dose of hairball remedy as it will help keep things moving and if it didn't pass in a couple days or the cat exhibited signs of distress (well outlined above) to bring the cat in.

This is a good suggestion. Keep her loaded up on the lube to keep things moving and to keep the yarn from binding.

Honsestly, I think she's going to be fine.