My cat ate a big wad of human hair from the shower. What do I do?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would not pull on the hair and I would let it pass on its own. If it is just a single piece of long hair, your cat should be able to pass it on his/her own. If your cat ever becomes inappetant, vomits or has diarrhea, these may be signs of a gastrointestinal obstruction, which is a surgical emergency. It is possible the hair is attached to something else inside your cat's gastrointestinal system which could potentially cause an obstruction. If your cat is otherwise healthy and acting OK, I would simply monitor his feces for the passing of the hair. I hope this is helpful!

This is completely up to you. A vet visit is never a bad idea when something seems off. Hair ingestion can cause an intestinal obstruction so I would be a bit worried about that. If you want to give him another 12-18 hours or so to see how he is I think that is reasonable to do. If no improvement after that time he should see a vet. If he starts vomiting at all then he needs to see a vet right away. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I would recommend monitoring for now and if you begin to see symptoms at home such as vomiting and lethargy, then I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Mollie so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction!

Yes you always have to be worried with potential foreign body ingestions. Hair ties are pretty small so the chance that they can cause blockages are slim, but they can still get stuck in the intestines and cause problems There are two possibilities at this point: 1) There is another hair tie still in there ( this will take some deductive reasoning in your part) that is stuck. 2) All hair ties have been expelled and your pet now just has an upset stomach due to dietary indiscretion. The odds are good because it is very small and had no sharp edges. With small foreign bodies it is recommended feed the pet a bulking agent like 1/2-1 loaf of bread or canned food that will help bind any additional objects within the GI tract and potentially help expel them out of the system. Good luck with your kitty and I hope that things will progress uneventful in the next couple of days. - Dr.H

Oh no, Nina! Fortunately it was a small piece, but yes, this could still be a cause for concern for causing an intestinal obstruction. Closely monitor Nina for signs of vomiting, lethargy or a loss of appetite. If you observe anything abnormal, you will need to take Nina to a vet immediately for evaluation. Also monitor her stool to watch for signs of the hair tie passing. You may not see it, but it doesn't hurt to look to be sure that it passes. I hope that all goes well!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Wow! I think that is a huge hairball or a wad of tissues or paper towels. You would need to put on gloves and pull it apart to tell for sure. I would hope based on the size that there likely isn't anymore. I would watch Cid and if he will not eat or continues to vomit he should be seen right away by your Vet. Save it in a baggie in case so the Vet can look at it. I wish you and Cid the best!

This could go either way unfortunately, as it happened only 20 minutes ago i would recommend taking her to the vet right now in order to get an injection to induce vomiting, it will be less risky to have it come out that way.