My cat ate a steri strip. Should I call the vet or will it pass?

Luckily is was only a short piece of fringe. Usually when cats eat strings and yarn that cause intestinal perforations the length is longer than two inches. If there is a medical problem she will become painful, stop eating and may not poop regularly. She should be out of the woods in another day or two. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Maisy.

Tape should not cause a problem, and it should pass in time. To be safe, monitor him for vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, and/or lethargy. If you see any of those signs, take him into the vet. Best of luck.

This is small enough that it has a good chance of passing with any major concerns. Keep an eye on Cheeky for any signs of trouble which includes: excessive vomiting, little to no appetite, little to no stool +/- lethargy. I would then feed her some canned food to help bind the wrapper and hopefully help it pass along. Monitor the stools daily until it is found. If you happen to see any symptoms develop, then a trip to your vet is warranted. I do hope that Cheeky does well and has no issues with this wrapper ingestion. As mentioned earlier it is rather small and flimsy, so it should be able to pass on its own. Best wishes and take care.

Hi there! It is very difficult to tell whether something will pass through the intestinal tract or if it will get stuck. Some big things will just miraculously pass, and some small things will manage to get stuck! That being said, 2 months is a very young age, and a tiny kitten is far more likely to get something stuck. There are a couple of things you an do at this point. One would be to bulk your boy's diet just a little bit to help add some fiber to his diet. This will help his intestines move a bit faster, and provide some cushioning for the earring itself. Because a stud earring has that sharp edge on it, a 1/8th slice of plain wheat bread given twice a day will help to wrap around that earring a bit easier than something like canned pumpkin or Metamucil might do. Look for the earring in his stools to make sure you see it come out. If he swallowed the earring really recently, if you take him into the vet right now, it's possible they may be able to retrieve it as well as ensure that it's not caused any undo irritation to his esophagus as it went down. If it has been over 30 minutes or so, it may be too late to try and get it back. It can take 24-48 hours before we can start to see signs of a blockage. You could head into the vet in roughly 24 hours to have an xray taken to try and track the progress of the earring as it moves through. The good news is that metal objects tend to show up really brightly on an xray, so they should be able to easily see it and guage how easily it is passing. The bad news is that if it is not passing, they will have to remove it surgically. If at any point your boy starts to vomit, stops eating/drinking, gets restless or seems painful, grows really lethargic, or is straining to have a bowel movement, he needs to go into a vet clinic immediately. Once an obstruction develops, it becomes an emergency and can be life-threatening if not treated immediately. Depending on what type of metal the earring is made from, some heavy metals can be toxic to animals. While they don't absorb the metal, or even break it down very well, if it sits in the stomach for a long period without passing, certain metals will gradually leech into their systems, leading to a metal poisoning. So if you're not seeing it pass in 24-48 hours if you choose to bulk, head into the clinic anyway, even if you are not seeing any of the above signs.

As long as she is comfortable and has no pain or discomfort eating or breathing I would watch and wait, monitoring closely for any signs or symptoms of GI upset or obstruction. Most small pieces of soft plastic will be vomited or passed uneentfully; small frequent meals can encourage bowel movement and the addition of some laxative hairball paste may help also

A two inch long fluffy string likely will not cause a foreign body obstruction. It willl ikely pass the natural way. Should your cat start vomiting, get lethargic or get diarrhea within the next week then you should have her examined by your vet.

Hi and thanks for your request. I would strongly recommend to monitor her for the next 48hours to see if appetite and urination/defecation are normal. There may be some pieces ''on the way out''. Small amount of liquid paraffin (2mls per meal) and a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice would be ideal for the next week.