# Qtips as cat toys?



## qtsam111 (Oct 4, 2009)

One of my kitties' favorite toys is a Qtip, but every time she gets one I immediately take it from her. I'm scared she will bite off the cotton and swallow it or something. My husband thinks she should be fine and I should let her play with it. Has anyone else encountered their cats loving Qtrips and, if so, do you find it's safe to give them as a toy? Milk rings and Qtips...who knew!


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## Bethany (Jul 19, 2006)

When I was growing up one of the family cats went through a brief phase when she was obsessed with Q-tips, to the point of opening the drawer they were stored in to pull all the Q-tips out, and knocking over the trash to extract the used Q-tips. Then just as suddenly she lost all interest. Cats! :roll: 

It never seemed to hurt her, just made a big mess!


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## qtsam111 (Oct 4, 2009)

Oh yea, she goes into the garbage to get dirty ones and then runs away like I won't catch her! Crazy kitty!


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Depends on the cat...I've had cats that just play with them and leave them lying around the house. And then there's Holly...who chews off the fuzzy ends. Since I've found sticks with chewed off ends and never found the cotton part, I have to assume she's swallowing them. So...now I wrap all used q-tips in toilet paper before putting them in the bathroom trash. 2 squares, roll it up and twist the ends. Does the job...


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## qtsam111 (Oct 4, 2009)

Hmm...so maybe let her have a clean one when I can watch her and see if she tries to eat the cotton?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

It shouldn't hurt. Even if the cat _did_ swallow the cotton part, it shouldn't be big enough to cause any obstructions. I guess you never know though.

My cats sometimes dabble with Q-tips. They love to paw them around and carry them in their mouth. It doesn't really bother me, so I let them do it. My friend has a cat who will follow you around chattering if you so much as pick up a Q-tip!


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## ogdred (Apr 7, 2009)

Gadget looovvveess playing with q-tips. I've never worried so much about her eating the cotton part, actually, but I do have another (and probably less rational) concern. You can tell me if I'm crazy or not: what if she is running around with the thing in her mouth and she slams into a wall/table/chair face first (as she often does), thus jamming the entire q-tip into her throat?! 8O 

So yeah... I wrap used q-tips like doodlebug does, _and_ I keep the bathroom door closed when I'm gone.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Mikey LOVES plastic clear straws...he can go from being a 7 year old cat to a little kitten if he sees a straw :lol: 

Never had any cats that loved q-tips before, then again the farm cats have never seen a q-tip in their lives.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Does your kitty tend to eat anything she can? My Fergie does, and had to have surgery because of it last winter, so if I saw her with a q-tip I'd rush to get it from her. But if your cat is smart enough to NOT eat things that could kill her, you're probably fine. Watching her play with one is not necessarily going to tell you if she'll get into trouble with it - Fergie doesn't eat things in front of me, but instead I find out what she's eaten when she throws it up later. :roll: 

But unlike my silly girl, most cats seem to be smart enough to not eat anything that will fit in their mouths, so you're probably fine!


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## qtsam111 (Oct 4, 2009)

Unfortunately Prost is much cuter than she is smart, lol. She does try to eat things. Yesterday after I got home I gave her one and let her run around with it for 10 minutes. After I found it, one of the ends had most of the cotton gone so I can only assume she ate it. 
Unfortunate because she loves playing with them but I'll have to keep them away from her since she thinks eating cotton is a good idea (we call her our goat cause she tries to eat everything, like garbage!).


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

qtsam111 said:


> Unfortunately Prost is much cuter than she is smart, lol.


Yup, just like Fergie! It's cute and laughable right up until she needs a $1500 surgery to remove eight inches of yarn from her intestines.... I end up cutting tails off of toy mice, feathers off of toys that will stay out in the open, decorative bows off of stuffed animals, and putting any toys with strings or ribbons in the pantry where she can't get at them. I even have to put my current hair tie under my pillow at night so she won't grab it from my nightstand and swallow it! But better safe than sorry, right? After all, not everything that goes down will come out without expensive help!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

furryfriends251 said:


> Mikey LOVES plastic clear straws...he can go from being a 7 year old cat to a little kitten if he sees a straw


Charlee is obsessed with straws. 

I put Qtips in the little bathroom trash can. They've never gotten into it. 

I've probably just jinxed myself.... :?


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Ours used to steal q-tips...but that was before they got banned from the bathroom. Now, since the q-tips only live there, we haven't had an issue.

I may be letting them have access to the bathroom again though. Our upstairs hallway has no windows...and is VERY dark. (Yeah, I could turn the light on, but I can't plug in a nightlight because there aren't any plugs... :? They really didn't put enough outlets in this place...) So I'm debating leaving the bathroom (which does have a window) open to let some light into the hallway. We'll see. i'm still considering.

Part of the reason I stopped letting them in the bathroom was the boys stealing q-tips. Torri did it too, but she just liked to play with them. I caught Doran trying to swallow one whole once, and that was it!


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