2 Cats, 1 missing screw.

jellybeans

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
23
Purraise
3
So for years I've had this wooden box with my name engraved in it, and for years I've really not used it at all.  The last time I remember looking inside, all I kept in there was a loose, maybe 3/4", screw--and a tab of pre-printed Christmas postal stamps with my grandma's address and name etc. that I stole like 15 years ago because I thought it was cute.

At some point, I decided to use that box to prop up a shelf on my computer desk that the cats like to walk across because it didn't have enough support.  NOW.  I don't recall if there was anything in there at the time of me doing this, though I like to hope I threw out that damned useless screw and moved the tabs elsewhere, but when I came home from work one evening to find the box knocked to the floor, suddenly I'm really starting to worry.

What is one to do in this predicament??  I feel like if I found the tabs neatly tucked away somewhere, I can assume I cleaned out that box and chucked the screw.  But since both the screw and the tabs are missing in action, I have this dreaded feeling that one of my girls ate the screw...

Both seem okay right now, but BOTH have a history of eating things they shouldn't.  The more I try not to worry about it, the more I feel like a bad parent who's putting the death sentence on one of his kids.  I know that at the first sign of a problem, a simple x-ray or ultrasound would have no problem of finding a bloody screw inside my cat, but after the whirlwind year I had between both my girls last year (dropping a combined $10,000 on vet bills), I just don't know if I should dole out the money for an x-ray for each cat when in the end, neither of them may have eaten anything...

GAHHH.  I'm so panicked.  Suggestions??
 

sisco1111

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 25, 2015
Messages
97
Purraise
8
watch your cat's behavior.     Most likely if one of your cats ate it, they will not act normal.   Watch for very watery eyes,  abnormal behavior, no interest in food or water,  cough, runny nose, and yowling, which is a sign of pain.     good luck with your cats and keep us updated!   
     Also,    sometimes a screw won't show up in an x-ray.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

jellybeans

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
23
Purraise
3
I mean so far they both seem fine, but I'm hesitant to accept that nothing is wrong because the last time one of them had a foreign body obstruction, it was something she ate 4 months prior that stayed in her stomach the whole time before trying to pass and getting lodged right at the beginning of her small intestine.  Obviously after 2 weeks or so I thought to myself "well she must be fine" and by the time she needed the emergency surgery I didn't even know what the removed object was at first
 

robbie watson

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Messages
13
Purraise
3
If the screw is metal, it should show up on x-ray. I see no reason why it shouldn't.
 

sisco1111

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 25, 2015
Messages
97
Purraise
8
 
If the screw is metal, it should show up on x-ray. I see no reason why it shouldn't.
The screws we use are mixed with metal, but mostly not.   I can't remember what the other material is.   Whatever it is, it doesn't show up in x-rays for some reason.....
 
Top