i know it doesn't sound like it, but i love him a horrible amount

October 29, 2015 10:43 PM

My adorable cat jerk, Nerd, has a death wish. A friend just left me banana bread in aluminum foil, and when I got in I found that one of my cats (99% certainly Nerd) had torn through the foil.

He didn't do more than lick the crust of the bread, but I'm afraid he might have ingested some aluminum foil, since there were some small pieces along with the larger ones scattered around the area. He seems totally fine (running around in circles with a toy in his mouth, at the moment), and I'd rather not take a taxi run to the ER vet across the city in the middle of the night given that he's probably fine, but, advice please? What symptoms do I watch for? I literally just got off a round of did-he-eat-something-toxic patrol, and I can't believe he's found something else in my absurdly cat-proofed apartment to give me anxiety about.

posted by you're a kitty! to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

I can tell you, anecdotally, that my childhood kitty used to eat tinsel off the Christmas tree (the 1970's shredded foil kind). We wouldn't know that she'd eaten them until we found them in her poops in the litterbox. She was fine.

I think likely your kitty will be fine - just keep an eye on his water and food consumption, and watch for lethargy or signs of distress. Call the vet in the morning for further advice.
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 10:52 PM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

p.s. Nerd is a sweetie
posted by Klaxon Aoooogah at 10:55 PM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

Dr. John's advice on a somewhat more serious case looks completely sound to me.
posted by flabdablet at 11:47 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Pretty kitty! I've had a cavalcade of cats in my 47 years on this earth and they all eaten weird things at some point and been fine. Cats seem to have cast iron stomachs. If he gets lethargic, starts whimpering, gets glassy eyed, or won't eat, a trip to the vet is in order. Vomiting once, maybe even twice, to purge his system wouldn't be alarming, but if it's frothy, bloody, etc, then it's vet time. Overall, though, this internet stranger whose had dozens of cats over the years and also worked in a no-kill cat shelter thinks he'll be just fine.
posted by _Mona_ at 2:56 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

A lot of cats don't like the crinkling and texture of aluminum foil and people put it on things to keep them away. So there's another reason to hope your cat tore through the foil and scattered it, but didn't eat it. I've never heard of a cat deliberately eating the stuff.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:13 AM on October 30, 2015

My cats love to chase crumpled-foil-balls around and then rip the balls to shreds and deposit them in their food bowls. I'm guessing they don't actually eat the foil, but I don't know that for a fact. They do this frequently with no adverse affects, so I'm guessing it's probably fine.
posted by odayoday at 7:22 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

If he did eat a small bite of foil, it may well be too small to cause intestinal obstruction, and it's not stretchy like a rubber band or string, so it won't cause pulling. The kneading motion of the digestive process would probably just pass along any small, compressible things like tiny bites of foil. I would just expect a slightly sparkly litterbox, maybe.

Cats are so wicked.
posted by Frowner at 7:25 AM on October 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your kind words and helpful advice! This morning Nerd is running around full-speed and eating and behaving normally, so I think he's going to be fine, but I'll keep a close eye on him. And cuddle him even more than usual.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:38 AM on October 30, 2015 [6 favorites]

Both of my cats have ingested plastic and silk flowers (I can't even have fake flowers!) and been fine. Just ended up showing up in their litterbox later.
posted by raw sugar at 12:06 PM on October 30, 2015