Cat swallowed long ribbon - need advice

Docs Mom

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I'm glad the surgery went well & they didn't find anymore ribbon....jingles that he heals up well...
Lisa
 

mservant

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Lots more positive vibes for your cat that he heals quickly, and that he has learned that ribbon is scary stuff that he does not want to eat again.   I could see lots of red shiny ribbon in Mouse's poop the day after he had his little adventure and resulting sore belly so I am guessing you would also see some evidence with your cat if anything does find its way through.  I hope he is fine though and any discomfort is now fading.  The soft, easily digested foods sound sensible too.  I hope he has continued to eat and drink OK since his surgery as his body has now been through quite a bit over a short space of time.  

Our cats do tend to get in to trouble and stress us out from time to time (and empty our bank balances).  Fingers crossed for you that this is his last adventure for a while and that the vet has been understanding with how you can approach paying that bill.  
 

ar1951

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thank you for the information; someone I know has a Cat (a jet black young barn cat) and the Cat gets into everything; I merely forward this e-mail to try to shed some light on the topic; I really did not know eating "cloth; paper;  string;  ribbons etc. could be so "hazardous"; these types of examples help other Pet owners; so I thank you ! An Interesting Story!
 

ar1951

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I hope the Cat is okay today; I recall the day our Dog (years ago) ate "a fishhook"! We could see the fishhook line coming out of his mouth; boy was that scary!; The Vet was able to remove the Fish line quickly because the fish hook had actually gotten stuck on the Dogs tongue; I renewed my Faith the day our Dog was saved and came home the same day! So in conclusion;  I thank you and your Kitty and all the Cats and I hope the Kitty is "recovering nicely: This helps other people to avoid similar situations. Thanks ! AR1951 :)
 

nansiludie

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I am glad to hear has went through surgery well. I am hoping he back to his regular self. I am very cautious about these type of things. 
 

ar1951

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this is why Posting is good; the information helps others; thnks!@
 

kntrygrl256

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Care Credit has a 12 month payment plan too, just depends on which ones your vet uses.

It has saved the life of 3 of our cats, well worth it.

As to the ribbon, my cat Pyrhana chewed on the threads of one of those cotton throws with fringe. Only her string was coming out the other end. She had an x ray and they decided on surgery, better to do surgery on a healthy cat. Not one who is debilitated from vomiting, not eating etc.

Just my honest opinion, based on my cat's experience. I also packed up anything with fringe that she could get to...

Good luck with your kitty, hope that everything turns out ok for her. No matter which way you go...

Lisa
I signed up for Care Credit when Ghost was sick. They are easy to work with. I use them for all my pet services. If the amount is over $200 it is interest free for 6 months I think.

Good luck with your baby. Sending vibes
 

puck

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Jet Jaguar, hope your kitty is recovering well after his enterotomy, or intestinal surgery. Firstly, you were spot on to elect surgery. Xrays and even ultrasound hide a linear foreign body better then any other type of foreign body, GI mass, or other potential obstruction in the GI tract. Surgery is often the only way to truly see where that linear foreign body is, especially beyond the initial area of small intestines. Endoscopy can view the stomach and first few inches of intestine, but there are many feet beyond it's scope.

Your baby is very fortunate you took the prudent avenue of opening up and looking inside closely. Linear obstructions can fold upon themselves within the intestine, curving and twisting the small intestine more than normal, into half a bow, to give you and image, that crosses over itself anywhere from once to many times, which then causes complete obstruction at each kinked/crossed area, limits circulation to reduced or no blood flow to those areas of tissue, no movement or "peristalsis" down the GI tract, and ultimately tissue death, loss of all those areas of intestines, and hopefully no leaking of contaminated digesta through compromised areas of tissue, which can lead to septic abdomen.

You were spot on. Exploratory is better than wait and see in this particular dilemma. You nor your vet hit the panic button. Totally Valid Concern and Decision!

POST OP

Likely, you were told to withhold food for the first 24 hours post op, longer than the usual post op period since his GI tract was incised into and needs a little more time than the average surgery to heal. Thus, maintaining fluid therapy the first 24 hours afterward ensures they're still receiving hydration, electrolytes, and a source of glucose to keep their pancreas and liver happy while their stomach stays empty a little bit longer. "Leak tests" are performed after closing the intestines to ensure it's happy and holding, and normal intestinal movement has started again, but that closed incisional site needs 24 hours before food moves over it/through it.

Bland soft diet is then started after the first 24 hours. This includes Purina EN, Hill's i/d, Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low-Fat/Moderate-Fat, Chicken or Beef baby food, or pureed boiled chicken at home. I like to make my patients' with the Bullet, whipping it like butter, so they only have to lick it. If it is a cat that has only ever eaten dry food and only prefers dry food, we syringe some pureed food into their cheek for their first meal, very low volume at first, wait an hour to observe for nausea, regurgitation, vomiting, or signs of discomfort (hypersalivation). If keeps the small amount down that first meal, offer a couple tablespoons 4 hours later, again.

The recurring small meals are continued for 24 hours, then closer to 2 or 3 oz up to 4 times a day is begun, increasing the meal volume to ensure the intestines can handle a larger meal capacity moving through at a more normal rate.

Any pet post-enterotomy should maintain antacid meds, and potentially add GI motility and anti-nausea meds, that can range from regular old famotidine (pepcid, OTC) to your vet considering metoclopramide (Reglan) 3 times a day (Rx only), Cerenia for nausea/vomiting as well as visceral abdominal pain, so great additional Rx only therapy after abdominal surgery, and pain meds, as intestinal incisions are ouchy ouchy. Limited to buprenorphine, no NSAIDs, while the intestines are healing. All these are only begun after close discussion of the advantages/disadvantages of some of the GI motility/antinausea meds, as initially your vet may have wanted to monitor signs of nausea without multimodal approaches on board.

Hope he's recovering well! If he doesn't want to eat, and has no other signs of nausea/discomfort, this may be his only sign he's showing you, by not wanting to put anything in his stomach at all, and a recheck with your vet would be prudent. Adding baby food to the GI diets can really entice them without making it too rich or varied for the GI tract to handle, too.

Note: some do manage to pass ribbon/string or hairties in feces, but most don't! He's so very very fortunate! Good you didn't give any lubricating laxatives (ie lactulose and laxatone). These are "ok" for a solid potentially obstructing foreign body, may help it move past narrower passages/sphincters, but not a linear foreign body, uh uh, nope. Great you followed your vet on that one! Sometimes bulking up the stomach contents with added fiber/prebiotic helps pass linear foreign bodies, and sometimes the digesta just moves around it, or the inverted/bow-like twist in intestines has occurred and nothing will pass that area of intestines. If caught early, after just eating the string/ribbon, we'll induce vomiting to get them to bring it up before it's in the intestines deeper, especially if the end is visible in the esophagus on examination.

Good luck recovering him, as you're already 2 days out and hopefully his 3rd day is going well, keeping moderate volumes of bland/soft food down by now, and no sign of nausea or discomfort. Have you monitored stool and seen any more ribbon?
 

ar1951

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@ Lisa ; you wrote: I also packed up anything with fringe that she could get to...:; I think this is a great Preventative measure; I thank you for the comment and interesting story. AR
 
 

ar1951

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@ Puck:  Thank you for the interesting information: I esp. liked the information about " Sometimes bulking up the stomach contents with added fiber/prebiotic helps pass linear foreign bodies, and sometimes the digesta just moves around it, or the inverted/bow-like twist in intestines has occurred and nothing will pass that area of intestines. If caught early, after just eating the string/ribbon, we'll induce vomiting to get them to bring it up before it's in the intestines deeper, especially if the end is visible: Good to know ! Anne R.:)
 

reba

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After reading through this whole thing I realize how lucky I was when my kitten ate about four feet of dental floss.  She dug it out of the trash and it was the more string like, thicker kind.  I heard her stomach making odd noises for a few days and then she threw up and a piece of it was hanging out of her mouth.  I she then immediately swallowed it again.  Up until then I had no idea.  The vet told me to wait and see (I wonder if I would have had I read a thread like this at that point.)  I did wait 24 hours and she did pass it all thank God. 

To echo what a few people said above, when it comes to cats and household objects, I think I've learned to cut my losses no matter the initial cost.  After the dental floss incident I found her pulling on a piece of sewing thread she had managed to access from the drawer where I keep the sewing kit.  I was so upset I screamed at her "what's wrong with you - DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!!!"  - not one of my most logical moments.  :)  Anyway, I rid the house of anything string after that -  I could have used the refrigerator route, but knowing me the phone would ring and I'd leave the sewing kit out on a table. 
 
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ar1951

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I too noticed my Kitty pulling on "Dental floss"; I too have learned to put all "itmes away in drawers or plastic bins;" I have heard said eating "Greens or Grass can be beneficial for Cats; 'My Tabby Girl gets "sick if she eats Greens";

the only Green Tabby can eat is "Catnip: I have not tried the Oat Gras yet (sold at Petco). I plan to "grow Catnip"!!
 

ar1951

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hello Reba  I do not know: the post was written on page 1 by a Veterinarian; I know Magnesium is a laxative: Epsom's Salts is pure Magnesium; always mix with water; Epsom's Salts has can be used in many ways: Epsom's salts are Magnesium discovered in the Well Water in a town named Epsom; England(1800's). AR1951 :)
 

ar1951

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I like your (and other's) advice about putting everything from Cat's Reach this is good preventives!:)
 
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