Skip the string as your cat’s little plaything
My cat loves to play with string, all kinds of string! She has been that way since she was a kitten and now she’s 3 years old.
My vet told me that playing with and swallowing string could lead to a need for surgery. Does that make sense?
Truth be told, my cat has vomited up a small ball of string several times. It never seems to cause a problem, so I am puzzled about the risks. I have a feather on a string that she can’t get enough of and I even got her a ball of string that she bats around the home. Are strings dangerous for cats at all?
What your veterinarian shared with you is good advice. Strings can cause a problem for cats and I have had to surgically remove string foreign bodies from quite a few cats over my career. Those cats loved to play with string, just like yours does.
Avoiding the problem is simple enough. There are so many other cat toys available on the market that will equally keep a cat entertained rather than playing with any kind of string. Ribbons are also dangerous. If you want to play with your cat with a feather on a string that’s one thing, provided you can keep her from ingesting the string. Leaving a string ball out when you’re not around is asking for trouble. Once a cat develops a liking for string, they seem to also get into sewing kits and the strings sometimes are attached to needles which I have also had to surgically remove.
Strings can wrap around the underside of the tongue and cut into the base of the tongue causing pain, infection and trauma. String can also ball up in the stomach and cause a blockage causing vomiting, but worse yet, string can move past the stomach to the intestines and literally saw through, causing infection, peritonitis and even death.
In summary, I would respectfully get your cat to play with other toys that will keep her occupied and happy and probably save you from any real hassles.