This is the ultimate cat-eating-string horror story. We know the dangers of leaving string or thread lying around because cats like to play with and nibble the stuff. In this instance Spud ended up with a length of fine, black thread wound around his tongue and coming out of his bum – Horror.
Because it was wound around his tongue he could not pass it. They had to operate with three incisions into his small intestine to remove it. He stayed in overnight to recover and be watched.
The first signs of the problem were unclear as Spud simply felt unwell. This was picked up by his guardian Phoebe Mills,24. The thread was probably not seen by the vet and they prescribed antibiotics and antiemetics (stops cat vomiting).
Then Phoebe saw the thread coming out of his bum and when it was still there after a few days he was taken back to the vets who saw that it was not going to pass because it was attached to Spud’s tongue.
I wonder if there was a temptation to try and pull out the thread. That would have caused a nasty injury the Deputy Head Nurse at the vet’s, Cheryl Ramsbottom, said.
The usual lesson is learnt: make sure that there are no bits of string and thread on the floor especially at Christmas which is when Spud ate this bit of thread. It is dangerous stuff. Spud made a full recovery.
Source: Metro.co.uk.
It’s as hard to cat proof a house as much as it is to baby proof one. There is anything and everything embedded in carpeting. I even had a problem with one cat ingesting carpeting.
Now, I’m committed to pulling up all carpeting and replacing with tile. More than that, since I’ve witnessed some chewing on shreds of the cloth furniture, I’m replacing with cool looking and sturdy outdoor furniture.
It will be so much safer for them and such an easy clean up for me.
Yes, pulling the thread which is coiled throughout the intestines would cut them open and could most likely cause uncontrollable hemorrhaging and dead. Horrible does explain this. My ex girlfriend actually used to floss her teeth and leave strands of it laying around the house… very weird and dangerous.