My cat ate a bunched up piece of elastic from some laundry

April 24, 2016 8:31 PM

Hi my cat ate an elastic bunched up string

It was one of those elastic strings that come off from the underwear. We are now over 12 hours and she acts fine still. I called the vet as soon as it happened and he suggested to watch and monitor for vomiting, guarding, not eating etc. He did not suggest anything else which I dont care how much it costs. I would have done it. So here I am watching her... I have her some hairball formula and canned food to make her poop faster but I don't know what to expect... I am hoping if she gets really really sick I will put her in my car and take her straight to MedVet and they will do surgery or whatever it takes to save her. I wish something could be done to prevent this but doesn't sounds that you can. Do you have any suggestions/ stories? After how long was your cat symptomatic?

posted by barexamfreak to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)

Well my cat ate mint dental floss and managed to pass it, except it ended up get getting stuck and was hanging out of her kitty butt after she pooped. We successfully pulled it out (with a little difficulty because the dental floss was waxy). She was super unhappy, but was fine.*

* Though I suggest not pulling it out if it comes out the other end, because that might tear something. So if looks like your kitty is scooting I guess that's when you should take her to the vet (and also if she has any other symptoms obviously).
posted by littlesq at 8:44 PM on April 24, 2016

How long was the piece of string? It sounds like you are doing a good job of monitoring your cat right now. One of the cats I had used to occasionally eat broken rubberbands. They weren't that long and kitty would pass them in the litterbox. I am hoping that is the case with your cat. In that case you should be prepared to keep an eye on their poop. They can have a trailing poop if all of the thread doesn't come out to once. Instead of pulling it out we sacrificed a pair of rounded edge scissors to deal with it.
posted by oneear at 8:51 PM on April 24, 2016

Forgot to mention that the beloved rubberband eater had basically no symptoms except for being annoyed by the poop issue.
posted by oneear at 8:56 PM on April 24, 2016 [1 favorite]

Your vet isn't being neglectful. Most likely the elastic will pass through. If she acts like she has abdominal discomfort, like hunched over and hiding or unhappy, that would be a sign too. I know watching and waiting is stressful, but you're doing just right. If it comes partway out, snip but don't pull. Pulling can damage delicate tissues, intestines have a lot of folds and bends and you don't need to pull. Also she might vomit it up like grass or hair.

Poop Watch is a stressful vigil but you're doing everything right and this will probably result in cat turds strung like pearls and dragged across your floor.
posted by Fantods at 10:26 PM on April 24, 2016

I had a cat who ate plastic and other things like string and rubber bands... He lived a long life. We did our best to keep him from eating things. They always came out. He did not die from this.
posted by jbenben at 11:24 PM on April 24, 2016 [2 favorites]

My dearly beloved departed cat ate an entire plastic bag without me being aware of it. Found it when we went in for a random check and the vet thought the lump meant he had cancer at first. We did the whole laxative poop watching thing and he did eventually poop it out without complication. Sigh. It was a stressful 24 hours for sure.
posted by frumiousb at 1:29 AM on April 25, 2016

I have a six year old idiot cat whom I love fiercely. When she was seven months old she ate the elastic string from a toy and we took her to the vet, who x-rayed the ball of string in her belly and told us to give her Laxatone and wait for it to pass.

After several days and no movement, fearing that it could bunch up her intestines, the vet did surgery to remove the string. Two miserable weeks in the Cone of Shame taught her nothing, which is why I affectionately call her an idiot. She is still powerfully attracted to string and stringlike objects and can't be left alone with them.
posted by Otter_Handler at 3:31 AM on April 25, 2016

Yeah, like everyone is saying, my sweet kitty did the same. I noticed it when it was halfway out her butt. The vet explicitly told us not to pull on it, and it did come out with no problems the next time she pooped. Stupid cats. ;)
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:24 AM on April 25, 2016

If she poops and some elastic is left sticking out her butt, make sure not to pull it- if it snags or slides against her guts, it could cut her intestine, which could cause internal bleeding, abdominal infection, etc, which could be fatal. In fact it would probably be a good idea to carefully trim off the protruding part so she doesn't pull it herself while grooming, and the rest should come out next time she poops.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:50 PM on April 25, 2016