ALL PLEASE READ

I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo

Patty Jo wrote:
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo

Patty, I am so sorry about Becky. Thank you for the heads-up -- it
could very well save the life of another cat somewhere.

Sherry

wrote:
Patty Jo wrote:

I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer
of plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this
and kept dangerous articles away from her. However, she
apparently got ahold of a loose string under my couch and
chewed & swallowed until it wrapped around the base of her
tongue and kept going down into her intestinal tract, As most
of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She was
listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in
the bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green
string protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what
had happened. I rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency
surgery, knowing that her chances of survival were not good.
The string had cut through her intestines in 2 places. Plus the
Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all the string out.
....

Patty, I am so sorry about Becky. Thank you for the heads-up --
it could very well save the life of another cat somewhere.

I am schooled. Before, I was surprised at the idea string was a
threat. But I have observed that cats swallow reflexively.
After hearing about so many bad experiences, I can see how that
reflex action leads to swallowing a long length of string/whatever
once it gets started. Clearly the risk of serious injury or death
is too high.

Patty Jo wrote:
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo

Patty Jo, I am very sorry about Becky. Thank you for sharing her sad
story. It sounds as though the piece of string she did get was
something you could never have known about. It's a very unortunate
accident and I'm sure your Becky knew she was loved.

Candace

"Patty Jo" wrote in message
...
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo


OMG so sorry for your loss!

I too have a cat who will eat anything. He has already eaten dental floss
and fortunately was able to pass it uneventfully which is what put me on
notice with him to begin with. I have since seen him go after things that I
never dreamed a cat would be interested in. He'll raid the trash and get up
anywhere to get to things that aren't good for him. Talk about doing a major
baby proofing. I never thought about strings under the furniture though.
Will have the dh help me move the couch and check for hazards there as he
does go there to play.

W

"Patty Jo" wrote in message
...
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo


Patty, I'm so sorry about Becky. The same thing happened to my childhood
cat Argyle. He ate fishing line and it cut his intestine. He also had
surgery and died at the vet's while recovering.

--
-Kelly

***PattyJo,

I'm so verry sorry for your loss. How tragic! Thank you for letting us know.

ML


"Patty Jo" wrote in message
...
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo

in article , Patty Jo at
wrote on 6/11/05 12:03AM:

I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. I knew this and kept
dangerous articles away from her. However, she apparently got ahold of
a loose string under my couch and chewed & swallowed until it wrapped
around the base of her tongue and kept going down into her intestinal
tract, As most of you know, this is a life threatening situation. She
was listless and not feeling real well for a few days. I put her in the
bath to clean her up and noticed about 3 inches of green string
protruding from her bottom. that's when I realized what had happened. I
rushed her to the vet. where she had emergency surgery, knowing that her
chances of survival were not good. The string had cut through her
intestines in 2 places. Plus the Dr. had to make 10 more cuts to get all
the string out. She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo

I'm soooo sorry

Patty Jo wrote:
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy.

Oh, bless you heart! Im sorry to hear this.


Thoughts and prayers

Barry

"Patty Jo" wrote in message
...
I lost my 5 yr. old Becky last night because she was a chewer of
plants, sticks and whatever struck her fancy. [...]

She made it through the surgery but in spite of massive
doses of antibiotics, she passed away a little over 24 hrs. later.
I write this to warn everyone. If you have a chewer please be aware of
things like this. Another bad one is tinsel on Chistmas trees. If this
can save another animal from a needless death than my Becky will not
have died in vain. Patty Jo


Patty Jo I am so sorry. Thank you for reminding us
of this danger.