# Kittens may have eaten foam



## happy_panther (Aug 4, 2014)

Hi all.. I did find another thread on this, but it's old and the kitty was showing signs of being unwell..

My two boys have found some Nerf darts (little foam things) in the spare room - god knows how or where.. but anyway, they have been playing with them and carting them around, occasionally chewing on them. I've not been too worried, as they stash bits of paper, cardboard, pegs etc.

Yesterday I noticed the tips of some were chewed off, so I started collecting them all and putting them away, but this morning I noticed one of the darts almost completely chewed down. I didn't see any foam bits around it so I am thinking they might have eaten it... 

They are acting perfectly fine, playing, ate breakfast as per normal and had used the litter box through the night. So I am wondering how concerned I should be and if they will just pass it out?


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

I have a cat who used to love to eat any kind of foam toy. Most of the time, he threw up the pieces, which is the only way I'd known he had eaten them...or part of them. You need to watch them closely to make sure that they are pooping and that they are not throwing up, because if they don't poop, you may have a problem. 

I'm not sure how old your boys are, but I believe that when kittens are little, they are like bad little toddlers, you can't really leave them unattended, and when you have to leave, for work or whatever, they need to go up in a safe room. Even though they are kittens and active, they are going to sleep all day for the most part, like any cat. A bedroom with a window to look out, even better if you have a cat tree to put in front of it, and baby proof that room. No wires left plugged in, nothing that they like to chew on. Also, play with them, wear their little behinds out before you leave them. Do you have "da bird" cat toy? If not, they will go bananas over it. You will have them doing leaps and bounds and then they will sleep for hours. Just make sure you play WITH them, and then put it up, or they will have it destroyed in a matter of minutes. If it falls apart (they always do) have some non-toxic glue, to glue the feathers back in. Even if you only have 5-10 minutes to have a play session with them, it will make a HUGE difference. 

They are bored. Bored cats get into trouble. A nice cat tree for them to climb up and down would be wonderful, if you don't already have one. That gives them so much exercise and enjoyment....it is literally my cats favorite thing. If you can get some pop up cat tubes, made out of tent material, or a tunnel for them to crawl through, those are very popular with my active cats, another favorite thing. I have a play session with them in the morning, and one before bedtime. This keeps my youngest, most rambunctious little fellow from going after my small, timid, sweet older female. Otherwise he tries to pounce on her and put her in a bear hug and she sounds like she is being murdered, even though he is just holding onto her. Ugh. But if we forget playtime, he picks on her. If he starts doing something to her, or something else bad, I get out "da bird" and distract him and wear him out. Works every time.

When the cats are little and getting into trouble, they sleep in their room when I can't be around, and they sleep in their room at night, so that I can sleep. They have learned that night time is for sleeping, which goes against their nature, I know, but I have managed to teach them somehow. 

How old are your boys?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

If their poo starts boucing right out of the litter box, you'll know they've passed it out.


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## happy_panther (Aug 4, 2014)

Grr.. I spent ages last night replying to your post howsefrau32, only to realise it didn't send!! Ages, becuase it was on the iPad which of course I am not allowed to use or even look at when Happy wants his cuddles! So here we go again..

Firstly, no bouncing poos  But definitely some orange remnants yesterday afternoon and plenty of poop in their litter boxes this morning. 

The boys are about 5 1/2 months. They are confined to the back of the hosue through the day - when we frist got them it was the hall, laundry and spare bathroom. Then our bedroom. And most recently the spare room (aka junk room) which they got into one day when I was tidying, and were so intent on exploring/hiding that I let them stay. They've been really good with no apparrent destruction, and by the fur on the fold out couch they spend most of their time there during the day anyway.

They have windows in both bedrooms that they love to sit on, and also the laundry door is screen that they can look out of. The rooms are a bit small for cat trees, but they have their big one out in the living room which they play/sleep on every afternoon/night and weekends when we are home.

The back of the house is the only area I can block off and the bedrooms are off the hallway so there isn't a great deal of floor space to fill with bigger things for them to play in during the day. Opening up to the rest of the house means they have unsupervised access to the fish tanks, kitchen, tv and computer areas which is just a recipe for disaster! 

They aren't really interested in play in the mornings. In the evenings they get a super burst of energy after eating where they go nuts with each other for about an hour, then they will sleep for a bit, wake up and go again! I do agree they are probably bored during the day (if they aren't sleeping), but they seem to more than make up for it in the afternoons!

Saying that, I am still going to look into some more interactive type toys that they can have fun with during the day. Oh, Da Bird, I haven't seen that in Australia but is it just a wand with feathers? If so, I can get something similar.


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## Dumine (Jun 30, 2014)

marie73 said:


> If their poo starts boucing right out of the litter box, you'll know they've passed it out.


Lol I almost choked on my muffin just now!


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## MsPepper (Mar 26, 2014)

Our Pepper chewed up many of those Nerf darts from my kids. She is fine. her poop had blue foam parts in it. Now I make sure the kids put it up and if she should find one and I see her playing with it, I take it away


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## happy_panther (Aug 4, 2014)

Thanks, they seem to be fine. I was just worried about toxicity but it seems they pass pretty quickly. I thought I'd got them all, but when I came home from work they'd found 2 more. Confiscating them each time is met with sad "but but why?! they are so fun!" looks


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## Zephyriddle (Mar 28, 2012)

Percy is a foam addict. She will eat anything foam. Last September after chewing on flip flops all summer she ended up with an obstruction that required emergency surgery. Almost exactly a year later and she did it again. This time she swallowed a huge oval piece of foam that we still don't know where it came from. Both times she started vomited, stopped eating, became lethargic, and would get growly if you tried to touch her. She's now the $3700 kitty and the sight of foam makes me cringe. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## happy_panther (Aug 4, 2014)

I found another nerf dart on the floor chewed up today. They must have a secret stash because I cleaned up the spare room pretty well.

There has been plenty of orange in the poop though, so at least it's coming out, and they still seem their usual crazy selves so it should be ok this time around.


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