Help! He ate a string!

[Kenzieprather]

My cat Joe ate a string about 9-12 inches long, he seems to be fine right now and I can’t find the string anywhere in the house. I checked his mouth and I can’t see any stuck under his tongue. I also googled what to do and that just freaked me out even more, please help. He turned a year old 4 days ago he’s too young to die

 

[mycatpaulie]

Hello, a situation like this is so stressfull, are you able to get your cat to the vet? my cat Palmer who passed in December ate a string like cat toy when he was about 3. I took him to the emergency vet where they did X-rays using barium. the barium actually pushed the string far enough that he was able to pass it on his own but it was only about 3 inches. I know they can usally do surgery if needed to remove the swallowed item. I hope you can get your kitty to the vet and that he is ok.

 

[Kenzieprather]

So sorry to hear about mister palmer..
Unfortunately it’s late where I’m at so his vet is closed and I’m not certain we have an animal ear near us, will definitely look though. I’m currently quarantined though so I don’t want to go out unless I really do have to but obviously don’t want anything to happen to my boy

 

[Jem]

How are things this morning? Have you managed to get to the vet?
What was the string made of / what type of string was it?

If Joe starts to refuse food / water, has trouble pooping, seems less energetic or lethargic, hides or shows any symptoms out of the ordinary, he needs the vet.

If by chance he is able to pass/poop out the string. DO NOT pull it out if you see part it hanging from his butt. This can cause serious damage, depending on how much is left in there and if it's stuck on something inside. Simply cut it back if there is a long enough portion sticking out so it doesn't get caught on anything and gets pulled out accidentally and bring him to the vet so they can remove it safely.

 

[She's a witch]

it happened to me. If he vomits, has diarrhea etc I'd take him to the vet immediately. Other than that, monitor his poops (and I mean, check exactly, you can put it into the plastic bag and smash it to see if the string is there, it could break as well). ALso, if you have any hairball paste, it should help pushing things quicker. Or egg yolk (but start small). It took my boy around 3 days to poop it out.

 

[Margret]

Get him to the vet as soon as possible. I had a cat who swallowed a string that had been wrapped around a roast. The first we knew about it was when she stopped eating and began to lose weight. X-rays showed nothing (the vet didn't use barium), so the vet did exploratory surgery. The string had gotten stretched out in her intestine and perforated it. The vet removed the string and repaired the injury, but by that time it had gotten infected. It took nearly constant nursing from me to get her through it, and it was a very near thing. Trust me -- the sooner the vet sees Joe the better the outcome is likely to be.

Margret

 

[Kenzieprather]

Thank you so much for everyone’s replies. We took joe to the er vet last night where he had an X-ray done and they said he had too much food in his belly to be certain but saw part of what could be a string. They tried to induce vomiting but Mr. Bad Boy refused to puke. We were going to do an endoscopy so they could find it and retrieve it but unfortunately it was too expensive so we brought him home. The vet told us some things to look out for and joe seems to be doing fine I guess.
He pottied once today so far and it was softer than his usual poops, nothing in it though. No loss of appetite, still being active, however, he has been sleeping a lot today with me but that’s pretty normal for him to nap when we do. I’m not sure where to go from here

 

[Margret]

We were going to do an endoscopy so they could find it and retrieve it but unfortunately it was too expensive so we brought him home.

I’m not sure where to go from here

Care credit?

Margret