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Cat ate paper towel. When to watch for intestinal blockage signs?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Longhair | Female | spayed | 4 years and 10 months old | 7 lbs

How long do symptoms of a intestinal/bowel obstruction take to appear in cats? Yesterday morning my cat puked up quite a bit of paper towel, probably a sheet or two. She is still eating, drinking, and peeing normally. She's not lethargic and hasn't vomited again. She may have had a smallish bowel movement yesterday (no diarrhea), haven't noticed any straining in the box shes just not trying to go. I gave her a bit of cat lax yesterday and today. Does she need to see a vet? Anything I can do?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Kevin Sanada, DVM

Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 21st, 2017

There is no average time for an obstruction to happen. It can happen within hours after ingestion of a foreign body, or even weeks after. The fact that she is acting, eating and drinking normal indicates that she is not obstructed. Obstructed cats will vomit profusely, not eat and act very lethargic/painful.

Paper towels are less concerning that towels or other materials, because these can be broken down and passed, so hopefully this won't be a concern.

For now, I do not recommend giving any special treatment. Giving laxatives is actually contraindicated in these cases and can actually make things worse, so it's best not to give any more of that.

Make sure that she has plenty for water and feed normally. Monitor for signs of obstruction for the next 3-5 days. After a week, it's likely that she will be all clear of the paper towels. If you do happen to see signs of an obstruction, then take her to the vet immediately.

I hope that helps and all is well with Marigold.
Vote Icon1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Hopefully she vomited it all out! But if there is some traveling her GI tract I would anticipate that she wouldn’t be feeling real well. Perhaps a decreased appetite etc. if it gets stuck if course you will have the vomiting, inappetance, and lethargy. I think if she has another day of feeling fine you are likely OK. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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