Cat Ate Pencil

[wealthy1]

Hello,

Yesterday One (or both) of my two cats decided to eat half a colored pencil. Neither show signs of discomfort. I immediately gave them fur ball medicine and some pumpkin to help expel the items.

Considering this is a wood pencil. I don't believe lead pencils are used anymore. However, how concern should I be?

 

[neely]

I'm sorry this happened and assume you promptly put the colored pencils away. I tend to be a very cautious person so if it were me I'd call the vet ASAP to ask their advice. I wouldn't take any chances, therefore, if your vet's office is closed please call the nearest emergency vet clinic. It never hurts to call for peace of mind.

Best of luck, please keep us posted on both your cat's progress.

 

[vyger]

Hello,

Yesterday One (or both) of my two cats decided to eat half a colored pencil. Neither show signs of discomfort. I immediately gave them fur ball medicine and some pumpkin to help expel the items.

Considering this is a wood pencil. I don't believe lead pencils are used anymore. However, how concern should I be?

The most common wood used for pencils is cedar. It is a very soft wood and doesn't make hard sharp splinters when it breaks which is why it is semi safe for kids. It is also very easy to sharpen, because it is so soft. Pencils don't contain any lead. Even the regular #2 is made with graphite which is a form of carbon. Colored pencils are made with either a wax base or a water base color. Both are not toxic. So as far as what it is made from there is nothing toxic, not even the outside paint which many people chew on.

Now whatever drew your cats to chew on them is a mystery since there is nothing food related in pencils. It would be my guess that they did the same thing people do, which is bite them and then discovered it is fun to chew on. That nice soft good smelling cedar is fun to bite because it is so soft. But the eating part is a mystery unless it's just a case of "I took the energy to chew it up, I might as well swallow it too." Maybe you should lock away the paste and the crayons while you still can.

Cellulose, which is what wood is made from, is not digestible. However, when wood gets wet it gets soft which is why they use steam to make wood flexible so they can bend it. Hopefully the little pieces of chewed up cedar will become flexible and just wander through the gut along with rest. Remember cats eat things like mice and birds including the bones so it's a good chance a little bit of cedar will not be a problem. But then I am an old fashion parent and when the kids ate coins by accident we waited and counted the change rather than running to the emergency room and paying through the nose for xrays of pennies doing what everything else was doing, which was making their way through to the other end.

 

[wealthy1]

The most common wood used for pencils is cedar. It is a very soft wood and doesn't make hard sharp splinters when it breaks which is why it is semi safe for kids. It is also very easy to sharpen, because it is so soft. Pencils don't contain any lead. Even the regular #2 is made with graphite which is a form of carbon. Colored pencils are made with either a wax base or a water base color. Both are not toxic. So as far as what it is made from there is nothing toxic, not even the outside paint which many people chew on.

Now whatever drew your cats to chew on them is a mystery since there is nothing food related in pencils. It would be my guess that they did the same thing people do, which is bite them and then discovered it is fun to chew on. That nice soft good smelling cedar is fun to bite because it is so soft. But the eating part is a mystery unless it's just a case of "I took the energy to chew it up, I might as well swallow it too." Maybe you should lock away the paste and the crayons while you still can.

Cellulose, which is what wood is made from, is not digestible. However, when wood gets wet it gets soft which is why they use steam to make wood flexible so they can bend it. Hopefully the little pieces of chewed up cedar will become flexible and just wander through the gut along with rest. Remember cats eat things like mice and birds including the bones so it's a good chance a little bit of cedar will not be a problem. But then I am an old fashion parent and when the kids ate coins by accident we waited and counted the change rather than running to the emergency room and paying through the nose for xrays of pennies doing what everything else was doing, which was making their way through to the other end.

Thank you for the reply. I’ve been watching them and they have been able to poop with no problem. I’m going to keep wat Hong them.

 

[LTS3]

Pencils don't contain any lead. Even the regular #2 is made with graphite which is a form of carbon.

Huh Growing up all the teaches called regular pencils "Number 2 lead pencils" and those are what could only be used on those standardized tests with the fill-in-the-bubble answer sheets.

Hope your cats continue to do well despite eating colored pencils