Pet Patients String theory for pets (or, how to handle linear foreign bodies)
Gastrointestinal foreign bodies (AKA, things our pets should not have ingested) always get a lot of play in the weeks leading up to the December holidays. This is especially true for the linear version of the foreign bodies we love to hate: those strings, ribbons and flosses we irrationally employ with wild abandon during this time of the year.
Whether we're talking Christmas tree tinsel (which should be outlawed for reasons of safety and taste, IMO), gift-wrap ribbons, miscellaneous decorative accents, lighting accoutrements, the ubiquitous power cords or misplaced craft ingredients, it's all potential gastrointestinal fodder.
That's why veterinarians love to tell you to steer clear of these items. Every season, we inform you that the last thing we want is to cut stuff out of your pets' intestines. Sure, your pet's misfortune may help me pay for my upcoming trip to Orlando but the converse scenario definitely bodes ill for your holiday budget.
This year, however, the misfortune was almost my own.
There I was, happily knitting away on a simple cashmere scarf I'd planned as a holiday gift...when a gentle tug on the yarn (a mechanical gesture intended to draw more material into needle range) revealed the absence of any slack. Looking down towards my stash-bag, there he was: Slumdog, looking up at me with a silly expression and a lilac strand of cashmere exiting his little black mug.
Engrossed as I was watching the pilot for Breaking Bad on my laptop (totally worthwhile, btw), I'd somehow neglected to notice he'd engaged in this yarn-consuming behavior.
Worst of all, unknown quantities of the yarn were down the gullet while the rest poked out his mouth as he continued to goofily chew it down. Another gentle tug revealed that most of the yarn was already well beyond my ability to retrieve it without damaging sensitive structures.
How much yarn? It was hard to tell. That's when I cut my losses and pulled out the scissors, slicing off as much of the yarn as I could as close to his mouth as I could. I then measured the remaining yarn, estimating how much might have gone down based on how much of the yarn I'd incorporated into the scarf and how much I had left (just a very rough estimate, you know?).
Because I'd managed to account for all but a yard or two, I figured that most would be sitting in the stomach right about now. So what's an owner to do in these cases? Here were my choices:
1) I could take him in to my boyfriend's specialty hospital and have the yarn extracted with an endoscope (not always possible and it was a late Saturday afternoon––tough timing, staff-wise).
2) I could make him throw it up (inadvisable for a linear foreign body since a long, multi-location piece might mean damage to the stomach, esophagus or intestines as it's hurled).
3) I could do nothing and just hope to God it passed. For good measure, I would administer large chunks of readily digestible stuff to facilitate a happy stomach exit of the whole shebang.
So I chose door number three and waited. And waited. I really should have taken a couple of X-rays to gauge his normal intestinal pattern pre-obstruction (just in case, you know) but it was Thanksgiving weekend and calling in some favors was going to cost me dearly. Waiting to see if it passed or obstructed him (as would be evidenced by vomiting, inappetance, lethargy, etc.) was my plan.
Luckily, the entire loop-de-looped bit of nastiness finally made its exit last night. I submit it here for your holiday season consideration...as cautionary tale. (Yes, the bag actually says "Thank You.")
All I can say in my defense is that, in the end, at least it didn't cost me much. And I got a post out of it, to boot.
November 30th, 2009
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Add Comment14 Comments
Sigh, are the symptoms the same for eating bones? I was timely and made stock from my cache of bones-including the turkey- and though I'd buried them deep enough in the compost. WRONG!
So I'm waiting....
rheather November 30th, 2009 12:26:50 PM
Yes, rheather, the symptoms are the same should you have an obstruction. If you get a simple gastroenteritis, however, you'll have lots of diarrhea pretty soon. I tend to preempt by feeding small volumes of a bland diet if I know I might get a nasty blowout stool-fest.
Dr. Patty Khuly November 30th, 2009 02:29:36 PM
eeewwwww. eeeeeewwww.
This is precisely why I have not taken up knitting.
Seriously, I'm tempted (seems so stress relieving when i see others do it) but I'd pretty much have to leave everything in my car, all the time.
My youngest cat (male) has a serious fixation on eating stringlike objects and if there is not one to be found, he tries to create one. I've watched him shred the fraying carpet on the cat tree till strings dangled and start ingesting them from the bottom like spaghetti. I've watched him attempt to pull the last wire off the bottom of a screen so that he could start at one end. I've watched him try to get started on the edge of the carpet as well.
My days are numbered until he manages to actually ingest enough again to cause him to need surgery as he did last year. Or perhaps its his days that are numbered, I hope he grows out of it.
I'm trying not to leave stringy things around but when you have a pet who creates string by shredding things, . . . not sure what to do there.
Stefani November 30th, 2009 03:36:12 PM
Dr. K: One of my elderly Scotties has been doing this for a couple of years now, besides scaring the dickens out of me, she passes it, as the same picture above every time.
No more padded crate mats, no more sherpa beds (she tears open the puffy edges and eats the stuffing), no more stuffed toys (whoops!) and just the other day she pulled a towel off the grooming table & chewed off pieces.
I was told to offer cotton balls for glass shards, but this isn't that. Fortunately she eats twice a day with snacks in-between.
If I rushed her for surgery, she would surely need a permanent "zipper".
BTW, more than once I have pulled grass "strings" out of her butt, as often they hang in there without being pooped out!
Culprit Xena telling Santa she isn't naughty---huh?
Barbara A./NH November 30th, 2009 04:24:49 PM
When I was young, we always put icicles and similar danglies on the tree and closed the cats out of that room. Of course, one year a cat snuck past and spent the night eating and puking icicles. And that was the year the icicles went in the trash instead of the decorations box.
I have a nifty basket with X style legs for my crocheting yarn. It allows me to pull my yarn without the rest being readily available for snacking by critters.
I'm rather amazed at how little interest my critters have in my toys. They generally seem to prefer their own but danglies they only get when I can supervise. Still, how can one deny a cat a danglie to play with?
PJB http://pjboosinger.viviti.com/ November 30th, 2009 04:37:54 PM
This happened to my 10 year old Rottweiler recently. He was vomiting and had horrible gas. My poor vet, what a dear heart, couldn't find anything on a physical exam, but when the thermometer came out bloody, he donned his gloves for a closer look. I held my dog's head and he was not too pleased about having someone poking around in his rectum, but the vet managed to dislodge the nasty, foul blockage that was formerly a portion of string rope toy. NEVER AGAIN! A few days of bland food and antibiotics, and the old boy was right as rain. I'm so grateful to my vet but did not envy him his job!
rebelrottie November 30th, 2009 09:36:38 PM
Does anyone know where I can buy a watch? OK seriously the spammers LOVE you!
I just wanted to speak for the tinsel lovers out there. Count me as one. BUT i do not use it myself precisely for the dangers mentioned. I used to have a cat that would have eaten it all given the chance. Even though she is gone I still can't bring myself to buy it again. But I do love how it looks on a real tree. (think The tree in the classic movie "The Christmas Story" You'll shoot your eye out kid!)
I'm relieved I do not have a yarn eater or I would be in big trouble. Not to mention my fiber stash of waiting to be spun.
Glad everything came out ok for you. VBG
Marie http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com
Marie December 1st, 2009 07:56:14 AM
A cautionary tale: I have a client with a lovely young Rottweiler who came to me for training just over a week ago. Unbeknownst to any of us, she had ingested a boot sock and of course, brought it with her to my facility. After a few days of being here, she started losing interest in food and by the fourth day, failed to have a bowel movement.
Although her activity level remained absolutely normal, on the evening of the Friday after Thanksgiving she finally decided to regurgitate the offending sock and immediately started to cascade into a downward spiral. We took her to her vet who refused to treat her and ended up at the local Vet ER where she was treated for dehydration and an ear infection.
She was released to her owners for recovery.
Today she is back at the vet close to death with raging peritonitis and septicemia. It is doubtful that she will survive since it had gone undiagnosed and untreated for several days now.
Don't be assured that your animal is out of the woods just because they passed something.
If your pet is still depressed and not eating after the obstruction has passed, implore your vet to start an aggressive treatment for peritonitis. It may very well save your pet's life.
Linda Kaim December 1st, 2009 08:25:42 AM
Here's tip from a crocheter to a knitter...soda bottles with their bottoms removed then duck taped back on, allow your yarn to feed through the top, while remaining pet entanglement free.
if you can't invision what I mean..I googled it and found this good set of directions. (but I personally recommend taping the bottle closed again, and I just take the bottom off, but the side is a good idea too.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Keeping-your-yarn-clean
LorriM December 1st, 2009 10:32:46 AM
Linda, how awful for the dog and the owners! The ER vet seems to have been rather weak in their treatment - and an ear infection surely had nothing to do with her presenting issues and should not have been treated, at ER prices, by them. Instead if ear infection treatment, how about an x-ray and some antibiotics, and detailed after-care instructions, hmmm?
KateH December 1st, 2009 02:21:36 PM
Coincidentally, I recently had a "Bed Buddy Sinus Pack" eaten last weekend. The puppy came up to me with a piece of the exterior, but no sign at all of the interior 'stuffing' was to be found. I googled & found it was stuffed with rice and oatmeal, and this being the weekend there was no answer at the manufacturer's phone, so I decided to go with option 3 also, with no ill effects. Still don't know who the culprit was... but I have my suspicions!
Julie in OH December 1st, 2009 08:38:39 PM
So far so good on the bone eating incident. Petting the culprit and the large dog last night there were stinky farts coming from someone, but so far no sign of a 'nasty blowout stool-fest'. That phrase just makes me laugh with grossness, by the way.
And they're in/out on 15 acres so I haven't been able to check poop for bone residue. Thanks Dr K.
rheather December 2nd, 2009 11:57:57 AM
I have a cat who adores long skinny things. My vet told me to be careful as most of his kids' college fund is paid for by people whose pets ingested long thin things. Luckily LB does not seem interested in eating string, just chewing on it. Still, all Da Bird strings have been replaced by jewelry wire and all string is cut up into pieces no longer than 3" (please tell me that's good enough) before going into the trash.
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