Watch out for string!!

Hello,

I work for a mail order company, Cat Claws Inc., that sells items for cats. We have some cats here in our office, and recently, one of them became very sick. We had Pippy tested for feline leukemia (we recently had two cats die from complications with FLV), but she tested negative. We had her on a course of antibiotics, but her appetite was poor, and she just kept losing weight and lying around listlessly. After several stays at the vet, we were losing hope. Our vet was testing for feline infectious peritonitis, and we were terribly anxious about Pippy's chances, but suddenly the cause of all Pippy's trouble became apparent - she started passing a piece of string!! The vet is waiting to see if she can pass the string herself before performing surgery, but we are positive she make a complete recovery.

All this is terribly embarrassing, because we try to offer only safe cat products in our catalog, and to have one of our own cats nearly die because of our own negligence is really awful. I am posting this mainly to tell you that you can never be too careful, and please check around your own homes and look for any hazards to your cats' health. These can include string, paper clips, plastic bags, electrical cords, and with the holidays coming up, be sure to watch out for ribbon, glass ornaments, and especially tinsel, which can actually cut the insides of your cat's intestines if ingested.

I hope someone out there can learn from our mistake!

Christmas tree tinsel is another problem item. Don't know why but cats love to eat this stuff.

When my cat was 14 he chewed the end off a mini blind cord and had it half swallowed when I found him. I was able to gently pull it out and he was fine. Watch out for hanging cords also. I didn't think he'd play with anything like that. He'd hardly moved for years.

Hi! Sorry Pippy is having this difficulty!

I am a bit concerned, though. Did your vet do x-rays to see how her intestines are? I have assisted in many surgeries for this kind of foreign body problem, and several did not make it. The reason? The intestines bunch up along the string, just like a drawstring bag, and the string cuts through the intestinal wall. This is an emergency! Please ask, or make sure your vet already checked this out. Since you don't know how much string was eaten, it could be several feet long. THis would be enough to still have some in the stomach and have some pass through the rectum. Let us know how the kitty does! Michelle, former vet tech

May I also add another killer that people over look all the time... dental floss. Haphazardly thrown in the waste paper basket it is waiting death for a curious cat or kitten.

Also threaded neetles. Can be partially swallowed, end up wrapped around the back of the tongue and very difficult to see.

Rubber bands, too.

Hi there, Several years ago, one of our cats (Bogie) became very sick, and we took him to the vet, to find out that he ate some thread. My mother had been sewing, and didn't put all the thread away. The thread was wrapped around his tongue, so we were able to get it out. We imediately cleaned u pall thread and string. A few days later, we noticed that one of the other cats (Nick) was becoming ill as well. He became lethargic and would not eat. He soon died, and we found out that he, also, had eaten some of the thread, but it actually was swallowed (not cought around the tongue). The thread tore up his intestines. We thought we were being very careful with thread and string, when a year or so later, it happened again, to Bogie. This time we found that it was floss, that was thrown away into the bathroom garbage, that he dug out. This time we had an idea of what it could be, and were able to do something about it. Bogie was fine, but we almost lost him twice, and we lost Nick. We learnt from there, to flush floss down the toilet.... It's hard to tell what cats will get into until it's too late.

Melanie

: I work for a mail order company, Cat Claws Inc., that sells items for : cats. We have some cats here in our office, and recently, one of them : became very sick. We had Pippy tested for feline leukemia (we recently : had two cats die from complications with FLV), but she tested negative. : We had her on a course of antibiotics, but her appetite was poor, and : she just kept losing weight and lying around listlessly. After several : stays at the vet, we were losing hope. : Our vet was testing for feline infectious peritonitis, and we were : terribly anxious about Pippy's chances, but suddenly the cause of all : Pippy's trouble became apparent - she started passing a piece of : string!! The vet is waiting to see if she can pass the string herself : before performing surgery, but we are positive she make a complete : recovery.

: All this is terribly embarrassing, because we try to offer only safe : cat products in our catalog, and to have one of our own cats nearly die : because of our own negligence is really awful. I am posting this mainly : to tell you that you can never be too careful, and please check around : your own homes and look for any hazards to your cats' health. These can : include string, paper clips, plastic bags, electrical cords, and with : the holidays coming up, be sure to watch out for ribbon, glass : ornaments, and especially tinsel, which can actually cut the insides of : your cat's intestines if ingested.

: I hope someone out there can learn from our mistake!