Where is she hiding the hair ties?

Sararainmaker

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Hi Everyone,

So a bit of background, Kaylee is currently at the hospital recovering from surgery to remove a LOT of hair-ties from her stomach and small intestine. As a kitten she showed interest in the hair-ties so we have been keeping them out of reach, but she has somehow gotten a hold of them anyway. We had no idea she had even gotten any, let alone the large amount that was found in her, and only figured out something was wrong when she started vomiting.

While she is recovering I have been scouring the house trying to find any stash she may have so that she doesn't start eating them again. While talking to her tech, the tech mentioned looking under the stove, since her cat uses that to stash hair-ties, and I was also hoping you guys could give me some ideas to look that I may not have thought about. So... where does your cat hide their treasures?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. Kaylee did well through the surgery and while not interested in food just yet, she is resting well and comfortably.
 

catlover73

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Under furniture,under any furniture cushions, under the refrigerator, under the stove, under your dish washer, in any blankets the cat has access to that are not used daily. I have also found hair ties under book cases. This is where I have found hair ties in my house. I am glad Kaylee is going to be ok. I would try to keep your hair ties in a drawer.
 
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Sararainmaker

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Under furniture,under any furniture cushions, under the refrigerator, under the stove, under your dish washer, in any blankets the cat has access to that are not used daily. I have also found hair ties under book cases. This is where I have found hair ties in my house. I am glad Kaylee is going to be ok. I would try to keep your hair ties in a drawer.
That's the crazy thing... We DO keep them in a drawer and have since before she was born, as well as a counter that she can't get to in the bathroom and as far as I know they have never gone missing from that counter, but it's drawer ONLY from now on, yesterday was terrifying and I never want to go through that again. There are only two things I can think of and that is there was a previous stash from our last cat, (who didn't eat them, but would play with them and so we started storing them away from where she could get them) that she somehow found, or she's been somehow getting them from the lidded trash can when they get thrown away... she is a smart cat, and the more I think about it, she probably figured out how to open up that trashcan.

Thanks for the ideas. You never really realize how many places an animal can hide something until you really start looking!
 

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Hi. I am glad she is doing OK now. In addition to above, cat boxes, tunnels, trees, underneath unused beds/bedspreads, underneath beds in the box springs, behind curtains, in the back corners of closets, cabinets she might be able to open, inside plants/plant stands, etc. Unfortunately, I think you will need to scour every place in your home for them. And, as also noted above, place all hair ties in a drawer - if Kaylee can open drawers, place the ties in a jewelry box that cannot be easily opened.

Just saw your last post - there are cat-proof trash cans/lids, or you place the trash can in a place behind a closed door.
 
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Sararainmaker

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Just saw your last post - there are cat-proof trash cans/lids, or you place the trash can in a place behind a closed door.
Thanks for the ideas! We actually got the lidded trashcan for the bathroom just for her, since she was a LOT more curious and smart than any other cat we have ever had... I never thought she'd be able to figure out how to open it, but thinking back there were a few innocuous things laying around that could have come from her getting into the trashcan.
 

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What kind of hair ties do you use? I use cloth covered ones that are like tiny scrunchies and Willow is totally obsessed with them. She doesn’t chew them though, just play with them. I keep buying packages of 20 at the dollar store and most of time have to hunt to find one.

Check all the chair and sofa cushions, under the stove and fridge, inside every closet, inside shoes, under rugs and the space between the baseboard and your furniture for stashes.
 
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Sararainmaker

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What kind of hair ties do you use? I use cloth covered ones that are like tiny scrunchies and Willow is totally obsessed with them. She doesn’t chew them though, just play with them. I keep buying packages of 20 at the dollar store and most of time have to hunt to find one.

Check all the chair and sofa cushions, under the stove and fridge, inside every closet, inside shoes, under rugs and the space between the baseboard and your furniture for stashes.
I use these... I'd be willing to go with scrunchies, however my husband would likely protest on using them in his own hair (we both have long hair).
 

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Sararainmaker

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Sararainmaker

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Here is what mine look like. View attachment 320327 Coin is quarter sized for scale.
I'm pretty sure those would go right down the hatch with Kaylee, as they aren't that much larger/thicker than the ones she ate. We are just gonna have to be SUPER vigilant with them and if we throw them away, they go into the kitchen trash.
 

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I was actually thinking of getting a carabiner clip to put them on... it's still sitting in my amazon cart. :D
Your best bet !
I use those cheap plastic shower curtain rings to hold my hair ties - ya know, the ones you can get a box of at Dollar Tree, etc.
 

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As long as your cat is just playing with them and not swallowing them they will show up either when you vacuum or when you sell your house or replace furniture /appliances.

Hair ties can cause major problems. if they are swallowed then invasive surgery is sometimes required to remove them.
 
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Sararainmaker

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As long as your cat is just playing with them and not swallowing them they will show up either when you vacuum or when you sell your house or replace furniture /appliances.

Hair ties can cause major problems. if they are swallowed then invasive surgery is sometimes required to remove them.
She's not playing with them. She ate somewhere around 15 of them without us knowing she even had ahold of one... invasive surgery was required to remove them, hence the hunt around the house while she is recovering from surgery.
 

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IndyJones

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You might have to put your hair ties in a jewelry box or a drawer or some other container.

My cats love puzzle pieces and I often find the missing pieces under furnature, rugs or other stationary objects. I put the missing pieces I find in a box so they can't go missing again.

My old cat had surgery on her intestine because she ate tinsel. She had been diagnosed with pica and would commonly eat non food items including string, plastic, hair (cat and human), dead bugs, photographs etc.
 
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Sararainmaker

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You might have to put your hair ties in a jewelry box or a drawer or some other container.

My cats love puzzle pieces and I often find the missing pieces under furnature, rugs or other stationary objects. I put the missing pieces I find in a box so they can't go missing again.

My old cat had surgery on her intestine because she ate tinsel. She had been diagnosed with pica and would commonly eat non food items including string, plastic, hair (cat and human), dead bugs, photographs etc.
Luckily the only thing they found in there were the hair bands, not that she really has access to things small enough for her to eat, but then she didn't have access to the hair-bands (or so we thought!).
 

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How scary! I’m glad she’s doing well. They’re amazingly cunning, aren’t they?

I just finished crawling around the house with a flashlight on my hands and knees—and in some places, stretched full out on my stomach with my face pressed against the floor—looking under furniture and appliances. I found one of their small yarn balls behind the leg of a cabinet, and I found it only because I reached my hand around and behind the leg. I couldn’t see it. And I found a (forbidden) twist tie lying among some electrical cords behind the TV. I found a mouse (not real) in the laundry basket and another yarn ball on a shelf behind some clothes.
 

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You might have to put your hair ties in a jewelry box or a drawer or some other container.
:yeah: A secondary container of some sort inside the drawer for the elastic hair ties. Maybe a shallow snap lid type container or those Click Clack type ones.





I wonder if a hair tie made of different material would be less appealing to your cat? There are ones that look like the old coiled phone cords in both plastic and fabric.





Did the vet offer any suggestions why your cat might have eaten the hair ties? Pica or a behavior issue?
 
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Sararainmaker

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Did the vet offer any suggestions why your cat might have eaten the hair ties? Pica or a behavior issue?
No, nothing. We were more concerned about doing the surgery as quickly as possible since one of them had made it's way into the small intestine and wasn't moving. I am sure this is a conversation that our primary vet and I will have fairly soon though!
 
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Sararainmaker

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Update: Went to visit Kaylee, she's doing well. She's still on pain medication, though they are weaning her off... but you can tell she's high as a kite.

They showed me what they pulled out, and it was about 15-20 hair-ties all in various stages of breakdown. It appears that she's been eating them slowly over time, which is making the trashcan scenario the more likely candidate. I found many stash spots throughout the house for her toys, but found no stray hair-bands.
 
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