My cat ate string, and the lace turned red. Is it an emergency?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Juna is obsessed with anything stringy, you will have to be vigilant about ensuring that she does not have access to anything she could possibly chew and ingest. When cats eat anything linear or stringy, they are at a HUGE risk of a linear foreign body obstruction, which is a surgical emergency and is life threatening. This occurs when a piece of the string/ribbon/yarn gets anchored in one part of their GI tract (ie under their tongue, in the stomach, etc) and the rest of the intestines end up scrunching up around it as they try to contract and move it along. The string can ultimately saw through and perforate the intestines, causing a septic abdomen. I recommend purchasing cat toys that are very durable and do not have any sort of fabric/string/yarn associated with them, and encourage Juna to play with those. If you ever notice that she is vomiting, hiding, uninterested in eating, and you believe she may have ingested any string, please have Juna seen by a veterinarian immediately so diagnostics (abdominal x-rays) can be done to evaluate for a foreign body obstruction in her intestines. I hope this is helpful, and good luck!

If he ate the shoe-lace within the past 90 minutes, take your cat to a PetER where they can make him vomit and hopefully bring up the lace. If it has been longer, then you need to monitor him for diarrhea and vomiting and if this occurs, take him to a PetER for an exam as he then may have an obstruction of his intestine. Should the lace pass naturally and you see it sticking out from his anus, do NOT pull on it. It needs to be pushed out naturally. Pulling on it may damage your cat's intestine.

Oh naughty Loki for eating string! If he is more lethargic than usual and isn't eating, I would take him into the vet right away. It is possible there is still more string instead his intestines, and he should be examined by a vet now. If there is still string in his GI tract, then he will need surgery to remove it.

String foreign bodies can become entangled in the bowel and cause significant complications. I would monitor her very closely for any signs of pain, discomfort, vomiting or altered stools and also contact your vets office to discuss the option of removal before they have a chance to become an obstruction

I would be concerned that Izzy could still have part of the string in her intestines or as the string was passing through her intestines it could have caused holes to form and now she has peritonitis. Izzy needs to get checked out by a veterinarian to make sure that she doesn't have peritonitis. If so she may require surgery to get better.

It can take up to 72 hours for signs of an obstruction to occur, and if she does get a linear foreign body from eating this ribbon, she will need surgery to remove it. Waiting until morning to see the vet will be too late to induce vomiting in Shadow, there is only a window of two hours in order to do this. I would take her into an ER vet or find a vet on call now to see her to induce vomiting with a shot.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Ingested string is a very serious concern as it has the potential to cause an obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract which may require surgery. You will need to visit your nearest emergency veterinarian to induce vomiting as soon as possible. After 2 hours, inducing vomiting will have little to no effect as the string will have likely passed through her stomach. Best of luck to you and Oreo!