Cat ate string, not pooping. Can I give laxatives or petroleum jelly?

Poor kitty. It should be ok to give her a laxative to help her poop if she is straining to go. However, I would strongly suggest taking her in to a vet soon as you can to have her looked at. Hopefully she contines to have a good attitude, eat and remains stable until you can get her seen. I wish Hope well moving forward. Take care.

It would be best to seek veterinary care in person ASAP as linear foreign bodies can cause a lot of GI issues if left untreated. Your vet can help monitor Silence, and let you know if he requires surgery or if it looks like things are passing.

Castor oil can be quite irritating and gut spasm is not helpful in such cases. Gentle lubricant laxative such as hair ball paste and frequent small meals can help encourage such items to pass but any colic, vomiting or constipation should be checked by your vet

A small thread shouldn’t cause a problem - damage can occur when a long piece of string or thread is ingested that gets stuck along the way. Vaseline is not necessarily toxic but I wouldn’t recommend giving any more even if Leon ingests more string. Vaseline is unlikely to help move anything through the gastrointestinal tract.

Just monitor her for the moment; unfortunately strings and any type of linear foreign body can sit in the intestine and stomach for ages before coming out!. As long as she eating fine and drinking ok and passing feces and urine normally and being normal in terms of demeanor and activity level she will be ok and she won't need any check up. You could potentially give her some mineral oil (2mls every meal )like paraffin oil to lubricate the gastrointestinal canal and help to get rid of the strings if there. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You need to monitor your Tinker Bell over the next 24-48hrs. Do not give her any laxative and do not change her diet. The symptoms of gastrointestinal foreign body include vomiting, lack of appetite, abdominal pain, lack of stools. If you see any of these symptoms in the next 48hrs, please take Tinker Bell to your vets as an emergency. If after 48hrs she is well and will have not developed any of these symptoms, it will mean that she is out of danger.

I’m sorry to hear about Sapphire! If she is not vomiting and is drinking water, you can try a dose or two of laxatone: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/tomlyn-laxatone-tuna-flavored-hairball-lubricant This helps with mild constipation, especially due to hairballs. You can also try ONE dose of miralax liquid (regular human strength. Give 1/4 tsp by mouth once. (If there are other things going on it could worsen dehydration so do NOT give more than one dose just in case). But the truth is, once Sapphire goes 24 hours without eating, it’s time to see the vet. At that point we have to consider something else like a fever, infection, injury, organ disease, toxin etc. Even if it is regular old constipation, an enema or stronger laxative may be needed. Do no under any circumstance try to give an enema to Sapphire at home. I hope this helps and best of luck to you and Sapphire!