Beware of cats & string.

True Story: My vet told me this story while we were operating on my cat that swallowed the needle and thread.:R

Lady comes in with sick dog. Xray shows an obstruction. Vet operates and finds a pair of pantyhose stuck in the intestine.

Lady comes in with the same dog again sick. Vet operates and finds ANOTHER pair of pantyhose!

Lady asks "just how DO you keep these dogs from eating stuff?"

Vet says "why not try picking up your pantyhose off the floor?"

Don't forget fishing line. Had that happen to a cat.

Our vet stressed all those kinds of dangers when Edna was a kitten. He said he did surgery all the time on cats that liked the "eating spaghetti effect." Even our vet tech had his own cat swallow a shoestring and then bite it off at the shoe. He didn't even know it had happened until the cat became ill with the impaction. Who doesn't go out and get one of those cat dancer things (feathers and bell attached to a string and stick) when they have a new kitten? That should be played with only when supervised and then put away when you're throughIt was good advice and Edna is now 18 years old.

I had a Great Dane that unbeknown to us was eating the rocks in the yard. THAT was some x-ray to look at! :E

Had a cat swallow a needle and thread. Had surgery to remove it.

Another Great Dane while playing catch in the living room with a big squeaky toy and on the last catch, swallowed it whole!

Vet said we should wait it out first for its exit before jumping into surgery. Sooooo we all took turns watching this Dane go to the bathroom each and every time. Flashlights were taken with on evening potty calls.
I was the fortunate one to witness the toys exit AND the toy squeaked when it came out! :B

With all what I have spent on surgeries with the Danes.....I could be driving a Ferrari.

It's not just string, but any long thin item (think tinsel from a Christmas tree).

The worst case of a "string foreign body" that I had was sewing thread that was looped around the tongue and the other end was coming out the rectum. I had to make multiple enterotomy incisions (cutting the intestine) to retrieve the string.

The problem is created because the string spreads out along the intestine and as waves of contraction happen, the string acts like a saw and eventually cuts through the intestine.

If caught it time, recovery is usually complete and no long term effects occur.

Doug, DVM

Read a story this AM about a 3 yr. old Great Dane in Portland, OR.

2 hours of surgery........43 1/2 SOCKS removed.

And I always thought it was the dryer that ate them.

I've never let my cats play with a ball of string.

Another warning: don't ever spray your yard with weed killer. Cats eat weeds (and grass), and can get very sick.

Glad the kitty is ok, and your niece cared enough to save him.