Dry-heaving: Should I Watch Or Take To The Vet?

Spartacus just threw up the tiniest bit of hair, and then about 5 minutes after that had two "dry heaves" and nothing was produced except for a little bit of liquid.

It's been about 15 minutes since then and nothing has happened and he is being playful.

The main reason I am concerned is that yesterday I came home to find that he had opened a drawer where I keep rubber bands and I found some on the floor, and only a piece of one.. and so there is a chance he ate it as I couldn't find the rest of it. I read online not to panic immediately and if he ate it just to observe for any signs; it's been about 30 hours since he might have eaten one. No diarrhea. He ate breakfast and will get dinner in an hour or so.. so I'll observe his appetite?

I really don't want to go to the emergency vet and would prefer to wait it out until tomorrow to see if the dry heaving continues. I guess I want to know .. at what point does this warrant the vet?

Hi. Try some butter/margarine or raw egg yolk (whites must be cooked) to help lubricate his system. That helps with hairballs, and anything else that might need some help getting down the digestive chute.

You said he had no diarrhea, but did he have a normal bowel movement? The above foods could lead to a bit of diarrhea if given a lot of any of them. Nonetheless, depending on his normal bowel schedule - and the size of the rubber band you think he might have digested - you probably need to dig through the next BM. If anything else about his behavior starts to change, then have a vet see him. If the size of the band wasn't big, you may never find it.

FeebysOwner said:

Hi. Try some butter/margarine or raw egg yolk (whites must be cooked) to help lubricate his system. That helps with hairballs, and anything else that might need some help getting down the digestive chute.

You said he had no diarrhea, but did he have a normal bowel movement? The above foods could lead to a bit of diarrhea if given a lot of any of them. Nonetheless, depending on his normal bowel schedule - and the size of the rubber band you think he might have digested - you probably need to dig through the next BM. If anything else about his behavior starts to change, then have a vet see him. If the size of the band wasn't big, you may never find it.

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Thanks for your reply! He had a normal bowel movement early this morning. When you say dig through; do you mean literally? haha lol. I will, if that's what what you mean; not just with me eyes. I'll try what you said about the lubricating foods. I'm hoping we are o.k. so far he is still fine seen the dry-heaving. The rubber band was one of those large-ish purple ones that comes on brocolli.. but they break really easily and are really weak, so I'm crossing my fingers he broke it up.

Yeah, I DO mean dig through (put it in a sealable plastic bag, that you can squish around after closing it). But, I know the type of rubber band you are talking about, it couldn't have been a very big piece. I would be hard pressed to think it didn't get demolished with the digestive juices! Just keep an eye on him for a couple of days.

FeebysOwner said:

Yeah, I DO mean dig through (put it in a sealable plastic bag, that you can squish around after closing it). But, I know the type of rubber band you are talking about, it couldn't have been a very big piece. I would be hard pressed to think it didn't get demolished with the digestive juices! Just keep an eye on him for a couple of days.

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Ok good idea! I wasn't sure how, plastic bag makes that job MUCH easier =D

omg, he pooped this evening and I did what you said and dug in the poo in a plastic bag and I found the purple rubber band in it!! So relieved it is out and he should be feeling o.k. now. (I also gave him some butter, so maybe that helped too). thank you so much FeebysOwner !!

Yay! Ok, I am really obsessive about this stuff - so, have to ask if what you found is pretty close to what of the rubber band that was missing. Sorry, for me, never a stone (or poop in this case) un-turned! Lol. You're probably good!

FeebysOwner said:

Yay! Ok, I am really obsessive about this stuff - so, have to ask if what you found is pretty close to what of the rubber band that was missing. Sorry, for me, never a stone (or poop in this case) un-turned! Lol. You're probably good!

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It was almost the entire rubber band! Like everything I thought was missing and it was still perfectly connected like a rubber band should be!! It was intense to see, hahaha

Of course, i suppose there is the possibility he ate more than one.. so I’ll still keep a close eye on him just in case

Good - and funny! So much about my theory that those bands would easily dissolve with digestive juices. Guess not!!

Oh, yeah, bummer (but reality) about more than one band.Maybe one more baggie-poop search?? It never ends when you have cats!!!!

Probably i should do that; wont do any harm - cats can be so crazy!

Good luck on your next baggie poop search (so much easier tho, isn't it?)!!

When you have a cat with pica (which is repeated eating of non-food items like rubberbands), you get used to the thorough poop smashing to search for ingested plastic, ribbons, string, etc. We patrol our house pretty closely now to remove dangerous items, but still end up poop-smashing in a ziplock bag occasionally.

Just wanted to put out there for future reference, especially if you find you have a kitty who eats things they are not supposed to.
If you ever have a situation where kitty poops something out but it only partly came out and is hanging from the anus, never pull it out. By doing so, you can inadvertently cause damage to the colon. If it's long, you can cut some of what is hanging so it does not get snagged, but bring kitty to the vet so they can safely remove what is still in there.
Glad kitty pooped everything out! I hate having to do poop patrol, and not because it's kinda gross, but the worry and hovering over the litter box, squishing poop in baggies, makes me feel like a crazy person!

Thanks everyone! Second poop came and no items were found, I think we are in the clear! ... Spartacus has pica-like tendencies but I am not sure that he could be diagnosed as having it, i can only imagine how hard that would be.. i saw a jackson galaxy episode that featured two pica cats, it was intense! Ever since we got him we have become so much cleaner and careful, but even so it’s impossible to prevent everything, especially mischiveous cabinet opening (even w my velcro locks). He did once have paper coming out of his anus, which we did not pull.. just waited for it to naturally come out on its own. Thanks again! Im glad i know how to easily search through poop now