Hi everyone. Last week my cat had to undergo abdominal surgery because he had so many mask strings, shoelaces, and hair ties in his stomach. After helping him recover and staying up with him 24/7 for a week, we finally allowed ourselves to have a good nights rest. Sometime during the night he made his way into the shoe cabinet and ate part of a shoelace to one shoe. We found the tips of the shoelace on the floor and measured it compared to the other shoelace and it looks like he might have eaten no more than 6 inches. I’m very worried about what to do considering that he had to get surgery last week in the first place. I also feel tremendously bad for letting my guard down and letting him eat some shoelace in the first place. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you.
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Cat swallowed string again a week after surgery
- Thread starter MommaNico
- Start Date
Poor kitty! There must be something you can give him to ensure that it passes without issue. Perhaps a pat of butter or some Vaseline on his paw? Six inches doesn't sound like very much and should be passed pretty easily
You need to change to slip-ons. Alternatively you can get him a St. Christopher medal to wear on his collar. Maybe that will ensure a safe passage.
You need to change to slip-ons. Alternatively you can get him a St. Christopher medal to wear on his collar. Maybe that will ensure a safe passage.
Hi. Call the vet and tell them what has happened. Eating more non-digestible stuff on top of surgery just a week ago is not good. I would think the vet may want to do an x-ray or ultrasound to see if there is an issue between his surgical condition, which is probably not yet entirely healed, and eating more strings.
This cat apparently has pica - and needs to be furthered investigated as to why. Pica In Cats: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment - All About Cats
For now, get rid of everything that he could possibly have access to - that is, EVERYTHING. IMO, this is not something to be taken lightly.
This cat apparently has pica - and needs to be furthered investigated as to why. Pica In Cats: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment - All About Cats
For now, get rid of everything that he could possibly have access to - that is, EVERYTHING. IMO, this is not something to be taken lightly.
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Ditto!We had a kitten who went after anything that closely resembled a cord, string, shoelace, etc. We literally got down on the ground to survey the house from the kitty's view.
I agree with all the above advice about contacting the vet and exploring pica. If this truly is pica, you will need to carefully consider all the advice/causes in the article that was listed. This is not the kind of situation where he "learned his lesson" and won't do it again. The fact that he looked for another string even as he just came home really does point to pica. I have a 14 year old who had a shoelace episode as a kitten, which is how I learned about being meticulous about hiding all those stringy type things. Just today she made a sneaky attempt to grab a Q tip that I was using to clean her outer ear....and she does not technically have pica. I hope your kitty is okay. Let us know what happens.
