Cat keeps eating string and dental floss
Cats are naturally drawn to linear foreign objects like dental floss and yarn, forcing owners into a constant state of hyper-vigilance to inspect everything within paw's reach. This relentless worry over potential emergency vet visits and accidental ingestion makes it difficult to keep everyday household items secure without constant close calls.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 10.4× more often in r/cats than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Rushing the pet to the vet immediately for induced vomiting, endoscopy, or surgeryDid this help you?
- 2Closely inspecting everything within the cat's reach including clothes with drawstringsDid this help you?
- 3Checking the puppy's poop for the passed objectDid this help you?
- 4Feeding bread to help cushion sharp items in the digestive tractDid this help you?
- 5Calling a veterinarian for guidance on whether to observe or bring the puppy inDid this help you?
- 6Reading stories of similar incidents online to calm down while waiting for the veterinary clinic to openDid this help you?
- 7Keeping yarn and crafting materials hidden away from catsDid this help you?
- 8Emergency vet visits, sedation, and scopingDid this help you?
- 9Taking cat toys away before sleeping to prevent accidentsDid this help you?
- 10pulling objects out of the puppy's mouthDid this help you?
- 11keeping the puppy on a short leashDid this help you?
- 12removing temptation by picking up toys and itemsDid this help you?
- 13redirecting with playtime and chew toysDid this help you?
- 14using a drop it commandDid this help you?
- 15leaving toys out without supervisionDid this help you?
- 16storing toys away when not actively playingDid this help you?
- 17rushing to the vet for emergency x-rays, ultrasounds, and induced vomitingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“my sweet girl Parula decided to kick off the day by eating a full foot of dental floss.”source ↗
“I’m currently just beating myself up for leaving a piece of floss where she could get it.”source ↗
“I rushed her to the vet, they have done x-rays and ultrasound, it came up on the ultrasound and it was very clear as she had her last meal 6 hours prior.”source ↗
“It was a very very stressful situation and seeing in agony like this felt so bad I cannot forgive myself for it.”source ↗
“I attempted to retrieve it in hopes of pulling it out but he scarfed it right in front of me.”source ↗
“We took him to the vet immediately. 10 hours and $5k later, he was good to go home”source ↗
“If i do not let hades eat cardboard he will unleash the wrath of the underworld onto his brethren”source ↗
“Yea I had to learn the hard way not to leave a cat alone with a piece of string. Thankfully it passed through her okay and she ended up pooping it out without complications, but it could have been a lot worse”source ↗
“Thankfully I managed to stop her from swallowing it, but she almost ate like a foot and a half of yarn. We’ve had a few other close calls and now I have to closely inspect everything that’s in her reach, including any clothes with drawstrings, etc.”source ↗
“Everyone must think my carpet is just dirty as hell but i have a little monster who likes to chew and eat cardboard putting it everywhere”source ↗
“I often take all of my cat’s toys away when I’m sleeping because I’m so paranoid that he is going to pull something off and choke on it.”source ↗
“I am going soon. 10 more mins until they open”source ↗
“I just want to hear people’s experiences because I found out it happens pretty often. Obviously during those two hours I read a bunch of stories and it made me calm down a bit more.”source ↗
“As the title says, my puppy ate one of those plastic floss pics with the dental floss on one side and the sharp end on the other side.”source ↗
“I’m panicking. It’s been almost 24 hours she seems ok otherwise. Anything I need to do?”source ↗
“Everytime I sweep he always hangs around in hopes he can sneakily take some of the apparently delicious dust and fur clumps that get sweeped up.”source ↗
“can this be bad for his health and if so how do I avoid it other than just waiting for him to realise "Hey this is actually not delicious at all i'm gonna go do something else"”source ↗
“So last night around 8pm-ish my 1 year old jack Russel terrier mix chewed up and ate half of a hair tie (like the thin elastic with thread wrapped around).”source ↗
“Thought we were past him eating random things he’s not supposed to but lately he’s been starting that up again.”source ↗
“Should I be worried?”source ↗
“I'm also reinjuring myself diving to grab stuff out of her mouth all the time when I'm supposed to be keeping off my feet as much as possible”source ↗
“does anyone have any advice on how to teach them not to eat (like actually trying to swallow) literally everything they find on the ground that will fit in their mouth?”source ↗
“I'm obviously most worried about the inedible/choking hazard items, which I am pulling out of her mouth literally every 30 seconds or even more when I take her outside.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 12Why is my kitten always obsessed with food?
- 3Freaking out seeing worms in puppy stool after deworming
- 2How to stop my dog's obsessive ball fixation and yard digging
- 14Cat eats treats too fast and vomits
- 11Why does my cat destroy everything including my hands?
- 12Why does my dog lick the doors and fridge?