The Dangers of String

By: Zara Willmott

The dangers of string? I know that string is something all of our cats love and it is one of the most played with items in all cat households.  While string has such good qualities and encourages natural hunting behavior, I’m here to warn you it can be dangerous.

Thursday

Let me start my tale at the beginning. Fang has always had stomach issues, so it’s never a surprise when his litter box is off. He’s always been a playful cat but never have we ever noticed him eating something he shouldn’t. That is until Thursday, April 8th. My husband and I woke before the kids and decided to enjoy a coffee together before the business of the day began. When we walked downstairs it was clear that someone’s tummy was upset, not only was their poo all over, there was also what I like to call “bum tracks” from where someone was clearly dragging their behind on the floor. Right away we knew something was off.

After cleaning up the mess, we set to work feeding the pets (in our house we have fish, cats, and lizards). Another warning sign was that Fang didn’t come for breakfast, he never misses a meal. So we set to work finding Fang, he seemed fine and wanted lots of attention. After sitting down at the table with our coffees, Fang hopped up on the table and that is when we noticed about 6 inches of string hanging out of his backside. Immediately we went to google (I remember hearing never pull it out).

My quick search revealed lots of information. We decided to do a quick test, we would gently tug on the string to see if it moved. It didn’t move. We immediately called the Vet. In times like this, it is great to have your Vet’s number on hand. Our vet (Birch Dan Animal Hospital) sensed our worry and agreed to see fang in between patients (For this we had to leave Fang with them for the day).

After only a few hours, we had word Fang would need surgery. After forms were signed Fang was sent in immediately. As you can imagine we were distraught and consumed with worry all day! By 5:30 pm we had heard Fang was out of surgery, but he still needed to stay overnight for observation.

Friday

By 10 am on Friday morning we received word that Fang could come home. We set up a bedroom for him with a litter box, food, and water and we whisked away to get him. We were so happy to see him and he was happy to see us! All purrs!

The Vets office explained that Fang’s entire digestive system was tangled with string. They even had to cut his bowel in a few places. Luckily though it looks as if there will be no long-term damage.

Once Fang was home, he was hungry! We offered him multiple small meals throughout the day and plenty of water. He spent most of Friday sleeping.

What I learned

I learned that you can never be too careful. I routinely examine cat toys and throw away any broken or damaged ones. We always pick up strings or other items that could be ingested (mainly because Luna will eat everything). I’ve also learned how important knowing your cat’s routine is. Fang has never had accidents outside of the litter box before this, I’m so glad that I knew that and was able to communicate that to the vet.

Recovery

It’s Monday now and Fang is post-surgery 4 days! He is doing great. We’ve been following the Vet’s recommendations and it is great to see Fang back to his playful, loving self. Please check out this post on Post-Op care with all the tips and tricks I’ve learned these last few days.