# Fergie ate a knot of yarn, can she pass it?



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Since my two girls shred single strings of yarn, I braided three strands together to make one very long piece to tie a toy onto and throw. Fergie loves it, and we've been very careful not to leave it out. Unfortunately Saturday night my husband and I each thought the other one put the toy and string away, and Sunday morning we found it laying in the family room. The knot on the end without the toy is missing. The girls were fine during the day yesterday, but Fergie started throwing up last night and didn't seem to have much energy. We weren't sure if there was anything we could do, so went to bed as normal, and when we got up this morning found six more throw-up spots on the carpet, and some pink yarn fibers in a couple of them. There's no food in the vomit, and since we got up she's thrown up once more, just water. (It was kind of foamy too) She has played just a little, but half-heartedly, and she hasn't eaten anything. 

I know if she's got inches of yarn in her it could be very serious, but if it's just the knot can she pass it? The knot is only 3/16 of an inch wide, same size or smaller than her pieces of food. There was about an inch of yarn beyond the knot, so we think the most she has in her is the knot plus the inch-long ends beyond it. The end of the string that's left looks like she only ripped the knot off, because it's a pretty clean tear, not shredded as I would expect it to be if she had chomped a lot of it. I'm envisioning her yanking and biting at the knot until it comes off and she swallows it, then her abandoning the rest of the string as she realizes she wasn't supposed to eat that. When she eats something she's not supposed to she seems to realize it right away and leave whatever's left alone.

Not sure if it's relevant, but she's a year and a half old, with no health problems and normally plenty of energy. Once I'm not freaked out about this I'll figure out how to share some pictures of the two of them. 

Any thoughts? Can we wait, or will it be worse for her if we wait and that little bit is tangled in her intestines?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I would call your veterinarian.
That amount of vomit spots after you know she injested something is not normal at all. If the knot and trailing yarns went into her intestines and somehow got the trailing yarns ahead of the knot and they are now balling-up in front of the knot...it is making that foreign body too large for her body to move-it-along and the numerous piles of vomit and her lethargy are screaming to me that something is not right inside her.

At the very least, call your vet and tell them what has happened, the results and how she has been behaving since. They may tell you to wait/see or they may need you to bring her in for an exploratory surgery to find/remove the offending ball of yarn. Their intestines are really pretty small and it doesn't take much to block them up. Even if the knot is the size of a 'kibble', kibble doesn't stay in that shape for the entire path of the intestines.

Let us know how she does...
Heidi


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

The vomitting is not a good sign. I concur with the advice above. Call your vet ASAP.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Update as of 6:15 p.m......

We took Fergie to the vet around lunchtime, and they did some X-Rays that showed there's a blockage in her intestine. They kept her there to do a barium series to try to get a better idea of how big the blockage is and decide what the next step is. It's not a complete blockage, but the barium was just getting by, so it looks like she will need surgery. They're going to keep her there overnight with an IV and do another X-Ray in the morning to see if anything has changed. 

We've only had Fergie and her sister Fern for two months, and this is devastating! Fern has been pacing and crying, looking for her sister, and will hardly touch her food. She keeps coming up to us, crying, and looking at the door as if she's saying "Okay, I'm done playing hide and seek, bring my sister back!"


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh! How sad! atback You're doing the right thing and hopefully Fergie will be home soon. I will send wishes that the IV hydration allows this ball of yarn to come out in the usual way and not require surgery. Please let us know how it goes...
Heidi


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## petspy (Sep 11, 2008)

White - I'm very sorry for your difficulties; 
some of this recent thread may be useful;
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=55191

just out of curiosity;
exactly what was the yarn made of?
did the cat swallow a toy you tied to it,
or just the yarn fiber alone?


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

This has now turned into a nightmare for us. After my last update, we spoke to Fergie's shelter mom, who raised her from a week old to a year and a half, which is when we adopted her two months ago. The vet we had taken Fergie to was the one my brother takes his cats to, not the one Fergie's shelter mom takes the shelter's cats to. She was distraught to hear that they were waiting until the morning for surgery and wanted to take Fergie to her vet because hers would do emergency surgery tonight. We told her we were very comfortable with the clinic that Fergie was at, but then later on she called us back, said she was near the clinic and she wanted to pick up Fergie and take her to the other clinic. So we're on the phone with the first place asking them for more details, and the doctor is getting defensive because he thinks we're questioning his judgement, and our shelter mom is insisting on taking Fergie, and we're totally at a loss because we've never dealt with this before.....

Long story short, we're comfortable with either clinic, so we told the first place to let our shelter mom take Fergie to her vet, and we met her at that place so we could meet the new vet. She looked at Fergie, then did another X-Ray, and didn't see the same thing that the first vet saw. She's not sure Fergie definitely needs surgery. So we're in limbo again, not sure what's going to happen. They're going to do another X-Ray in the morning and then decide what to do with Fergie.

Poor kitty, we just want her back at home! Her sister is crying for her!


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Petspy, it was just normal yarn that you would buy at a craft or fabric store. She didn't swallow the toy on the end, just the yarn part. I had braided three strands of yarn together to make a stronger throwing string, and she ate the knot at the non-toy end, along with the inch-long ends beyond the knot.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Well she had surgery this afternoon, and I'm glad she did. We thought she just got the knot off the end of the string, but she actually had six inches of braided yarn in her intestine! They cut into her intestine, obviously, and a little bit of her stomach to make sure there was nothing left in there. Now we're hoping for a speedy recovery, since she needs to be up and moving around, eating and using the litter box before she can come home. It will be at least another day, but I hope it works out for her to come home tomorrow. Her sister really misses her and continues to look for her, cry for her, and sleep in the places that smell like her!

Not sure how things will be at home when she's back - do cats usually readjust pretty quickly? Will we have to keep the two of them separated when we're not home so Fern doesn't try to bite/claw/lick Fergie's stitches?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I hope she recovers quickly, too.
I don't think you have to worry about other cats licking a different cat's stitches, they aren't like dogs in that respect. You may need to keep them from playing too vigorously, but that should be all. Be aware that you may have a problem with the kitty at home recognizing the kitty coming back from the vet because she will smell VERY different. You can help them get past that by rubbing towels over both of them, back and forth, to exchange each other's scents and get them both smelling 'similar' to each other.
Keep us posted, sending good thoughts and healing wishes,
heidi


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this nightmare, but so glad Fergie is okay. You did right taking her straight to the vet. I think its important that you;ve posted your story here as just another example of how string toys just are not safe for cats.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I'm so glad this has turned out well for you and your kitty!! Heidi mentioned you don't have to worry about the other cat messing with the stitches, but I'd suggest that if your vet doesn't give you an e-collar for this cat, you ask for one to take home, because you wouldn't want to discover this cat messing with her stitches over the holiday. You should be able to get a disposable e-collar from your vet for $10-$15. Merry Christmas!!


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## merindah (Dec 8, 2008)

I am happy to hear Fergie will be ok. Good thing you didn't wait taking her to the vet.

Merry Christmas.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Well it's Christmas Day and Fergie's still at the vet.  She was running a slight fever yesterday morning, the day after her surgery, and she had not eaten or used the litter box yet. We went to visit her, and she was happy to see us, but obviously miserable in her situation.  Her incision on her belly is 4-5 inches long, and when the vet tech picked her up to show us her belly she voiced her discomfort with being moved. She's on painkillers and antibiotics, but of course nothing will cheer her up like going home. Her IV line is in her left front leg, so that whole leg is wrapped up, but there's wrapping on her right front leg from where the first vet put his IV line in, and she spent most of our visit licking at that wrapping, trying to get it off. We brought her a shirt from home that hadn't been washed yet, so she's got something that smells like us and her sister, and I hope that comforts her. We're hoping to get some kind of update on her today, but with it being Christmas we're not sure how that will work.

Her sister has started crawling under the covers with us, which she's never done before, obviously looking for comfort. All the three of us want for Christmas is our little Fergie back!


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## merindah (Dec 8, 2008)

Fingers crossed she'll be home tomorrow!


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

Oh-my-gosh, I just read this thread. I'm so sorry, WhiteKitties! I sure hope Fergie is able to come home tomorrow.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

*closes eyes to send good wishes and healing thoughts*


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

My Golden Retriever had a linear obstruction a few years ago. Basically, he ate a washcloth, which split into two pieces, connected by strands of thread. The smaller piece was able to advance down the intestine, while the bigger piece was trapped in his stomach. The strand of thread were cutting into his intestine while the smaller piece advanced. The surgeon told us he was hours away from death by the time we could get him in (referral required and it was over Christmas). Surgery was on Thursday and he wasn't released to us until Monday.

As much as I missed him, I was glad they kept him on a Fentanyl pain patch (seriously, they shaved a spot for it), IV pain meds for break through pain, extra fluids, made sure he could pee and poop and eat. By the time he came home, he was able to be comfortable with what I could do for him. It really hurts to watch them suffer.

Even though we tried hard to "Ben proof" the house, my daughter came home from college and failed to follow the rules we had to establish. So Ben went through a similar surgery 9 months later. <shakes head>, <sigh>

Positive thoughts heading your way. It's tough on you, I know.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Fergie came home tonight, and while we're delighted to have her home we're still worried about her. The vet had to force feed her, and felt that she would probably eat once she got home and was more comfortable, but so far she refuses to touch food or water. She has sniffed at both, but has no interest in eating or drinking. We're hoping that tomorrow morning, when she's at her hungriest time of day, she'll eat something. If not we'll have to force feed her, and I'm not looking forward to that. We already have to force her mouth open to give her the antibiotics and painkillers, and she hates that! But she's got to have food soon - she was eight pounds when she went into the hospital five days ago and I'm betting she's down two right now. She was seven pounds when we adopted her, and she's noticeably skinnier right now. 

She has shown some of her spunkiness - she trots around a little, and almost ran when we bumped the laser pointer and she thought it was playtime. She walked around the whole house when she got home, checking things out, and exchanged butt sniffs with her sister. Fortunately Fern didn't do anything more than sniff her a lot, so we've got one less thing to worry about. But once she checked things out she went to sleep, and despite all of the human activity around her she has stayed asleep. Normally she'd be right underfoot and wanting to play.

So is this normal? Is she likely to bounce back pretty quick now that she's at home? Is there a good chance she'll start wanting food?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

I'm so glad she's home!
You really may need to force feed her to get her appetite back. Especially with the antibiotics, she needs some food in her or she will become more and more nauseated and not want to eat. If you haven't already, I would try offering her some (plain meat) human baby food. Even smear a little across her gums or on her nose to perk her interest up. Another great bribe food (although I think it's crap food) is Science Diet A/D. It's extremely palatable and I've found it can really help get them going.
It is normal after such an ordeal, between being sore from the surgery, nauseated from the meds and stressed from being away from home, for them not to be very interested in food and very often, you need to get them jump started by some bribe food and/or force feeding. Force feeding may not entail holding her dawn and actually forcing her, she may just need it smeared on her, as I mentioned before, or hand feeding for a while.
Good luck!!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

What an ordeal you and Fergie have been through! I would feed her small, easy to digest foods (according to the vet's instructions), a bit at a time, but often. I used baby vitamins also, if my cats have not been well. 

One of my cats refused to eat while at the vets, and he said I could take him home if he's only eat. The vet was feeding him chicken. I took his favorite pouches of food, and he ate 1 and 1/2! We couldn't believe how particular he was being. I hope you find what will tempt her. I so hope the worst is over! God bless.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

THANK YOU for the suggestions about feeding her! When we first put her special food in front of her she just sniffed it and walked away, while we followed her around, trying to entice her, and her sister followed us, trying to get at the food. (Fern is our kittie garbage disposal, she'll eat any food you put in front of her) Anyway, after reading the food suggestions my hubby put some food on his finger and offered it to her, and she licked it off. He got maybe a teaspoon of food in her that way last night, and this morning we were delighted when she meowed for food as we were preparing the girls' bowls. We gave Fern her food first, to distract her, and Fergie went right over and stuck her head in and started eating! She walked away after a few pieces, and we were able to finger-feed her special food again, and a little while later she ate some of the special dry food out of our hands too. When we held the water bowl up for her she drank some water as well (Phew! We're really worried about dehydration!) 

She hasn't bothered her stitches, as far as we can tell. We got a good picture of her incision last night, so we will have it for comparison in the coming days if we think she looks infected or irritated. She's used the litter box a couple of times - just pee, but it's a step in the right direction! We know from her earlier X-Rays that she's got a full colon, so we expect a pooping frenzy any time now. 

Thanks for all of your input - it's really helped us stay positive!


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

That's the best news!
Sounds like she's on her way!


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

That's wonderful news!

Sending pooping vibes your way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

WhiteKitties said:


> So is this normal? Is she likely to bounce back pretty quick now that she's at home? Is there a good chance she'll start wanting food?


I think it should be remembered that this is major surgery and then ask yourself how you'd feel after major surgery. Bouncing back may take longer than you picture it in your mind. If every day shows a little bit of progress, with an occasional setback, but the overall trend up, then you're doing fine. And that's what it sounds like to me. Things are going just fine.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Fergie has come a long way in the 48 hours that she's been home. She wants nothing to do with the special wet food the vet sent home with her, but she loves the special dry food, and she'll happily eat her normal wet food with her sister. I'm thinking that since she's eating the special dry food, it shouldn't be a huge deal if she eats her normal wet food instead of the vet's wet food. The stuff the vet sent home is Iams gastrointestinal formula, supposed to be easy on her system and bland. And while I know Science Diet isn't the best wet food in the world, she absolutely LOVES the beef chunks, so I'm letting her eat that when it's wet food time. After two nights of having to finger-feed/force-feed her, I'm just happy she's eating on her own! And she's been pooping, so everything's okay inside too!

It's not difficult to give her her medicine - I hold her down and get her mouth open, and my husband gets the pill/syringe in her mouth, and we're done in no time. I know she doesn't like it, but I think she's realized that if she doesn't fight us it'll be over quickly. Her fur is back to it's normal silkiness, and she's not bothering her stitches. She really wants to play, and it's driving me nuts to deny her, but I'm happy that she's perky and playful. I was worried before she came home about her sister being aggressive with her, but Fern just sniffed her butt and then went about her business. Last night the two of them curled up together for a nap, paws wrapped around each other, so I know they're okay. Fergie still smells a little like the hospital, but now Fern does too so all is well. And we were worried that Fergie would be really protective of her belly, but when we pet her she rolls over on her back just like she always has, wanting her belly rubbed. She'll even let us touch her stitches if we want to. We don't, but it's nice to be able to get up close and see that there's no irritation or apparent problems with her incision.

If I get a chance to resize some pictures I'll post some - everything I have right now is too big to use here.


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## merindah (Dec 8, 2008)

Sounds like she's recovering well. Great news!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I'm glad Fergie is doing so well and Fern is happy to have her back. Yay!  
I wanted to comment about the stitches in the belly...my surgery was in May and my incision is STILL numb, so maybe she can't really feel them?
Mallie also didn't like the vet's food. Several years ago when she had hepatic lipidosis and I was force feeding her, when she finally ate on her own it was "Kitty Crack" (I think it was Whiskas or Meow Mix) that tempted her. I was just happy she ATE and I knew if she kept eating I would be able to adjust her diet to something more healthy later. The important thing was she was eating NOW.
Keep us updated, it is so very nice to hear success stories.
Heidi


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Fergie came home without a cone on her head because she wasn't bothering her stitches at the vet. Since then, she's licked at them from time to time, but she's not trying to bite them out. I can tell that she's licked most at the ones closest to her butt and easiest to get to. There was some clotted blood by the third stitch in from the end, and I've seen the clot shrink and little bits of red appear around the last two stitches. Do I need to worry about this, since she's not making herself bleed, causing any irritation/inflammation, or biting the stitches out? She's due to get them taken out early next week, so we're down to the last four or five days of the two weeks.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Little bits of red shows irritation. I would guess that as long as the red isn't puffy, growing or swelling to an angry looking red, it should be okay. You could call your vet and ask if that is normal.


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Fergie's stitches came out last night, and wow, what a difference! I didn't think they were holding her back before, since she was stretching like normal and getting back into playing. But when we got back from the vet, she just about exploded with energy - got out her favorite toys and she was bounding all over, leaping the furniture, pouncing, running, stalking, etc. It's so wonderful to see her getting back to her old self!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

And probably going to make up lost time, too. :lol:


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## Auntie Crazy (Dec 10, 2006)

Yay! That's awesome. So glad everything's back to normal! 
rcat


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## velvet6 (Dec 17, 2008)

That's awesome. You must be so relieved and happy!


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