Cat ate ribbon and now won’t eat

[TrotFox]

Tuesday night my cat swallowed a bit of ribbon off my dressing gown. I got worried but she has done this before with a hair bobble. She swallowed the bobble, went went to the emergency vets where they kept her in over night, tried to induce vomiting, X-rays etc etc. we had to put her through stress plus spend money and she ended up pooping it out. So this time, I didn’t want to unnecessarily rush her to the vets. I kept my eye on her over night and she was fine. However on Thursday (two days after the incident) I got home from work and her bowl still had food in it which is unusual for her. She didn’t eat anything for the rest of the day. So yesterday I put her breakfast down, but again she didn’t eat it. I went out and bought a load of different food and treats to try. Fresh chicken, tuna, ham, different brands and flavours of food. She ate two bites of one of them and otherwise wasn’t interested so I called the vet.

the vet said to look at her she is completely fine. Teeth are fine, temperature fine, she’s bright, isn’t showing pain, she couldn’t feel any obstruction or swelling. She is acting completely normal, playing with her toys, attacking my feet under the covers, being affectionate. So the vet said whatever is wrong doesn’t seem to be bothering her. I am to keep my eye on her today and tomorrow and if no improvement, take her back on Monday.

She ate two bites of her breakfast this morning and nothing since. It’s not like her at all, she is usually so greedy! The vet didn’t think it was an emergency because she doesn’t have any other symptoms of anything being wrong but will have to act if it continues. I am so confused. Has this ever happened to anyone else’s cat? Could the ribbon maybe just be aggravating her stomach and reducing her appetite? Although she swallowed it on Tuesday and today is Saturday so wouldn’t it be out the other end by now? Vet said these things don’t show up on scans though so I don’t know how we would know. Agh

Linear foreign body obstructions can kill cats. The string or ribbon forms a ball that gets caught somewhere internally, but there's long tails hanging out of the ball that other stuff gets caught on.

Think of how long hair gets caught in the bath plughole and blobs of conditioner get stuck in it and eventually the whole lot becomes a slimy mess that blocks the plughole? That's happening inside your cat.

A ribbon is much longer than a hair bobble. You should have taken her to the vet as soon as you realised what the cat had done, not waited. It would have been easier to remove from higher in the digestive tract.

Yes, a long think object like string, thread or a ribbon causes a lot more problems because as the gut naturally contracts the ribbon damages it. They can can get very seriously ill and die very fast if the gut perforates. I don't want to worry you, but if it were my cat I would insist on getting it attention.

This ribbon isn’t anywhere near as long as the bobble she swallowed. The bobble was all stretched out and about to snap, it was very long, but the ribbon was just a little piece about an inch and a half long. The vet doesn’t seem to think that she has an obstruction. Currently right now she is running around the room chasing her spring toy. She is bright and full of energy and her normal self. Would that still be the case if she was in pain and had a blockage?

I know now to take her in the future for ANYHING that she swallows that she shouldn’t, but I didn’t think it would be an emergency situation. Obviously now I know different to be on the safe side and have learned my lesson.

Okay, I think I won’t wait until Monday and instead will just take her to the emergency vet tonight

long, but the ribbon was just a little piece about an inch and a half long

That's a useful piece of data missing from your original post.

It may have slowed her digestive tract down. Does she use a litter tray or go outdoors?

She goes outdoors. We have two litter trays in the house but she doesn’t really use them

@TrotFox A laparotomy could find a blockage-
Years ago I volunteered at a vets and a cat was brought in clearly very ill.
An exploratory op showed a bit of silicone cat toy ( part of a ball) trapped in his stomach.
A necrotic hole 🕳 was leaking.
He was PTS immediately.

Please trust your instincts here.
Ribbons and string can kill animals.

@TrotFox keep her indoors so you can see if she’s pooing.
Unusual that she’d not eating.
OOH laparotomy will be expensive.

So difficult to know exactly what is wrong.

Good luck .

They used to call them ‘a thousand pound hair tags’ as that is what it could cost to get it fixed.. it’s probo more 2 or 3 thousand now 🤦‍♀️.. I never ever leave any sitting around.
She may be passing/have passed ribbon but have inflamed bowels hence the not eating or it may be stuck in which case she will likely need op.
You need to keep her in and get her seen.

And the rest. My dog swallowed a sock last year and the sock was in his stomach with a piece of elastic, which went from the stomach to the colon attached to a piece of food. They call it cheese wiring as the elastic was so stretched it was like a cheese wire. He nearly died and it’s only my insistence at taking him soon and getting him operated on that saved him. The op and care cost about 8k. Then the wound herniated twice. He’s 15k dog now.