# how to tell if cat swallowed needle.



## Risami

it be nice to get advice I took my cat to vet yesterday and they said she has a fever.
i hope that isn't needle related they said she might not have swallowed and i ask for signs but they didn't tell me.
I'm going t take her again tommarow for xrays but before i do that :\ I hate wasting 65 bucks if there is no needle in her so what could be the possible signs?
she eats and she poops if she has swallowed a needle would she being doing this? and what can a fever do she always sleeps  could she have a head cold or something?

It be nice to get answers i been going to alot of cat forums and such but i can never get my answers they just give me riduclus answers and make fun of it


----------



## Guest

Welcome to the cat forum.

If I were in your shoes, I would take my cat to an emergency vet and have xrays done to confirm whether or not he swallowed the needle. 

I'm sure some others will be along later and they may have more suggestions for you.


----------



## Mom of 4

It all depends on where the needle ends up. If it was lodged in the esophagus, it would cause difficulty in swallowing food and possibly water. If it was in the stomach, you might not see anything for awhile. Later signs of pain - not eating, not wanting to be held, not wanting to lay down.

My dog has had 2 obstructions - the first one was severe enough that he was within an hour of dying do to a string cutting into the intestines. I knew something was wrong, but he perked up when I took him to the vet - they thought I was crazy. It was a more diffcult recovery than if the obstruction had been caught early.


----------



## Risami

well my cat is eating she lays down she plays a bit i doubt thats a sign of a needle.


----------



## gunterkat

If it were me, I'd be at the vet till they gave a definite yes or no about the needle. X-rays if necessary. 
Your cat's life is worth more than money.

I had an idea. A magnetic compass _might_ point to a needle if it is near enough. Sort of scan the compass along her body and watch if it deflects. But I _would not_ take this as a definitive test.


----------



## Heidi n Q

Facts:
Kitty is feeling a little under the weather (slight fever) but still acts normally.
Kitty may, or may not, have swallowed a needle.

Fact I can draw from the above two facts:
You won't know for sure unless you find the needle. Either in/around your sewing kit or by x-ray inside the kitty.

I keep all of my sewing items in a closed case, away from the kitties, especially needles, pins and thread.

A veterinarian is NOT going to be able to give you an A.) _if this happens then YES, the kitty did swallow a needle_ or B.) _if this happens kitty could NOT have swallowed a needle_. Symptoms vary between animals and incidents, even from the exact same causes.

They cannot tell for certain about a needle unless they do an x-ray. The pet has a much better time of recovery if a swallowed needle is retrieved before it can do much damage. If you wait, the pet may not be able to recover from the amount of internal damage a needle can do. It isn't as simple as just removing the needle, you don't know how many holes that needle has poked through internal organs or if it has sewn things together and cut off blood supplies to vital areas.

Most vets do not ask for these expensive diagnostics (x-rays, blood tests) just to spend your money, but because the pet cannot speak to them and describe their symptoms/pain so vets must rely on these mechanical diagnosstics to determine the problem scientifically.

If you do the diagnostics it can go two ways: a needle is found and sergery is done to remove the object and it will be later determined during surgery if there was too much damage or time before surgery to make a difference, or there is no needle and surgery is not required...in which case you've had a $65 lesson to keep your sewing supplies in a safe place.

Best of luck to you,
h


----------



## nanook

Agreed.
There is no way of knowing if your kitty swallowed the needle without x-rays. If she did, it is life treatening and it needs to be removed immediately. 
Good luck and let us know how she's doing.


----------



## coaster

Heidi n Q said:


> I keep all of my sewing items in a closed case, away from the kitties, especially needles, pins and thread.h


Boy, oh boy ... I'm going to do a better job of this. I do keep my sewing kit where the kitties can't get at it, but I lost one needle. It was there one day and not the next. I don't know what happened to it. :? 

Isn't that a real pill when you drop something tiny and can't find it? Even with glasses? Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........ :x


----------



## Heidi n Q

I bought a magnetic pin holder. If I drop pins, I wave the magnetic holder over the floor and everything jumps up to it. 
I have to keep my needles and threads contained, and even my serger. Silver-Mousie likes to chew threads. I learned to keep the serger covered the day I found her running down the hall with about 30 feet of thread trailing out of her mouth! I caught her and was able to pull about 10" of thread out of her...but I learned my lesson. The serger has a cover now to keep her away from those enticing, chewable, threads.


----------



## coaster

Magnets.....good idea!! :thumb


----------



## Risami

well i'll be taking her to vet just incase i'm sure i have all my needles i counted but to be safe she is getting an xray
 pray that my cat doesn't have a needle.
usually she wuldn't eat a kitty treat but she ate one today!
I hope it was jsut a fever that my kitty caught but yeah i'll keep ya updated tommarow after i come back from vet.


----------



## Heidi n Q

Whoo-Hoo! Here's to hoping they don't find anything on the x-ray!

Did they do bloodwork to help determine the cause of the fever? I'm not familiar with fevers in kitties, mine have been pretty healthy. Usually, when they feel bad, I wind up losing them because it turns out to be something major.


----------



## Risami

no they stucked this themometer (spelling?) in her butt X_X yes looks ouch whenever the vet sticks needles or anything like that i close my eyes xP


----------



## Risami

GOOOD NEWS! SEWING NEEDLE FREE!
can't believe my cat overworried me for nothing and made me waste 65 bucks  but i'm glad though i am not worried anymore ^_^


----------



## Mom of 4

There are times that it is worth spending the money so you don't worry!
That can be her Christmas present from you. :lol:


----------



## Heidi n Q

Whew! She really dodged the needle this time!
I'm glad she didn't have one inside her.
h


----------



## coaster

Most of us have "been there, done that" so you're in good company now. :lol: 

Thanks for posting the good news.


----------



## gunterkat

:jump :yellbounce :thumb :wiggle 
:catrun


----------

