Kitten ate wrapping ribbon!

[Jemima Lucca]

My kitten Jemima ate some wrapping ribbon and has vomited a piece up! I’m not sure how much she ate because we weren’t aware she did that. I was already worried because I caught her chewing something and I made her spit it out. It was an earwig . And last night she found a spider on the floor and I killed it and tossed the paper towel. How will I know if the earwig or ribbon will injure Jemima? I’m very concerned

 

[FeebysOwner]

I doubt that the earwig will be a big deal, especially since you made her spit it out and you can actually see what it was. What kind of wrapping ribbon was it - paper mostly? If so, also not a big deal. It would help if you have a clue as to how much she ate. I would just watch her for more vomiting, a change in behavior - disinterest in eating, change in stool habits (also, check her stool). Give it some time, and monitor her.

 

[Caspers Human]

How much ribbon do you think she ate? How much is missing?

How much did she spit up?

If we're talking about an inch of ribbon, there isn't much to worry about. Just keep an eye on her, just in case.
If she ate more than that, the potential for problems increases as the ribbon gets longer.

The bugs should be no problem at all. Many cats eat spiders and insects.
Unless the bugs are poisonous or have stingers, there's virtually nothing to worry about, there.

Casper eats bugs all the time! As much as we tell him, "Casper! No! That's gross!" he continues to chase and eat bugs.
I guess he thinks they are tasty.

We don't have any poisonous insects here, where we live. No scorpions. No tarantulas. No fire ants. No black widows. No recluse spiders. The only thing we have here are bees and stuff. I think Casper is smart enough to know better than to chase a bee.

Casper did go after a stink bug, once... Once!
He cased it and caught it but, when he tried to bite it, he made the biggest "Yuck Face" I've ever seen!
That'll probably be the last time Casper will try to eat a stink bug!

Anyhow, if your kitty only ate a short piece of ribbon then puked it up, you shouldn't have to worry.

If she ate a lot of ribbon, you'll probably want to call the vet and get some advice.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, look for any odd behavior. Hopefully she vomited it all out. But beware, if you have packages under the tree (or anywhere else) with ribbon on them, she may go for them. We don't take any chances and simply do not use any ribbon . Now we mainly use either gift bags, or brown paper wrap and draw little trees and christmas stuff on that to decorate the paper. Completely recycleable and cat friendly to boot.

 

[Jemima Lucca]

It’s not paper ribbon it’s the kind you curl. I wish I knew how much. The piece she threw up was about 3 inches. I’m not good at estimates

 

[FeebysOwner]

Any update? Hopefully, good news!

 

[Jemima Lucca]

Jemima seems fine. I have to work today but she always sleeps with me and I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t eat this morning but that’s not uncommon for her either. I’ll clean the litter box again when I get home at 2:30 just to be sure. All ribbon is on the top shelf in our cleaning cabinet

 

[Pouncecat1]

Just keep an eye on her over the next few weeks. If she starts vomiting at all, goes off her appetite or appears sick, rush her to the Emergency vet immediately (or if during regular hours, get an appointment with your own vet). Tell them it needs to be that day and that she may need surgery for a foreign body. (throwing up hairballs not included in this).

Yes cats eat stuff they shouldn't. One of mine ate an entire rubber band and passed it in the litter box. It is a pain because I'm constantly checking the house for things they might get into that they shouldn't.

 

[lisahe]

Yes cats eat stuff they shouldn't. One of mine ate an entire rubber band and passed it in the litter box. It is a pain because I'm constantly checking the house for things they might get into that they shouldn't.

Same here. Ribbons, rubber bands, shoelaces (especially leather!), and all sorts of string are either banned or hidden in our house. Our cat has chewed off several of pieces ribbon -- not curling ribbon but the fabric kind -- that have come out in the box. Leather, well, let's just say that has a distinctive odor when it's passed. (Or at least it did in Ireland's case.)

The piece she threw up was about 3 inches. I’m not good at estimates

This really is the hard part! (And sometimes it's so not obvious how much they might have eaten.) Fingers crossed that all is well!

 

[Jemima Lucca]

Same here. Ribbons, rubber bands, shoelaces (especially leather!), and all sorts of string are either banned or hidden in our house. Our cat has chewed off several of pieces ribbon -- not curling ribbon but the fabric kind -- that have come out in the box. Leather, well, let's just say that has a distinctive odor when it's passed. (Or at least it did in Ireland's case.)

This really is the hard part! (And sometimes it's so not obvious how much they might have eaten.) Fingers crossed that all is well!

It’s the truth about them eating things you never think of. Lucca has this thing about knocking little pieces of bark and dirt from my plants and chews the leaves also. So I had to move plants, hang plants and the big ones I put crinkled up tinfoil over the dirt. They both have a thing for twist ties and plastic of any sort. That really scares me! It’s really like having kids, isn’t it? Lol

 

[FeebysOwner]

Feeby will eat all but cloth ribbons, she also will chomp on anything plastic. She sees a plastic bag within her reach, and BOOM she's got it and is chomping away. So those are no-no's. She likes shoestrings to bat at and chomp on, but hasn't ever really tried to eat them (or, can't?). She also always has her eyes on spider plants, but thankfully those are mostly hanging and she knows she can't get to them. If we move one, she knows it and gauges whether or not it is now within her reach!!

 

[lisahe]

It’s the truth about them eating things you never think of. Lucca has this thing about knocking little pieces of bark and dirt from my plants and chews the leaves also. So I had to move plants, hang plants and the big ones I put crinkled up tinfoil over the dirt. They both have a thing for twist ties and plastic of any sort. That really scares me! It’s really like having kids, isn’t it? Lol

Yes, twist ties just go right in the trash here. And lots of plants got thrown away after our other cat got really sick eating one that probably should have been safe. The last plants are in a cage!

Feeby will eat all but cloth ribbons, she also will chomp on anything plastic. She sees a plastic bag within her reach, and BOOM she's got it and is chomping away. So those are no-no's. She likes shoestrings to bat at and chomp on, but hasn't ever really tried to eat them (or, can't?). She also always has her eyes on spider plants, but thankfully those are mostly hanging and she knows she can't get to them. If we move one, she knows it and gauges whether or not it is now within her reach!!

Plastic bags -- the loud, rustling ones -- are big trouble with our planteater: she licks them. Bags go in a special drawer.

 

[RangersMom]

Man, yours sounds like my kitty who will put anything in his mouth lol. My cat once ate like 8 inches of hoodie cord when we werent home. (now we remove any hoodie cords as soon as we get one). He pooped it out 3 days later. She probably only ate a bit, and it sounds like you got it out of her mouth, just watch her poops, and make sure shes eating and drinking. She should be okay.

 

[Jemima Lucca]

Man, yours sounds like my kitty who will put anything in his mouth lol. My cat once ate like 8 inches of hoodie cord when we werent home. (now we remove any hoodie cords as soon as we get one). He pooped it out 3 days later. She probably only ate a bit, and it sounds like you got it out of her mouth, just watch her poops, and make sure shes eating and drinking. She should be okay.

My cats are fine for now but if they think anything is game; future kittys heading this way...

 

[Maria Bayote]

The things our cats eat are sometimes mind-boggling.

Good to know that your cat is fine.