Most vets will encourage cat parents to brush their kitty’s teeth for the same reason you brush your teeth daily. The instructions do not include flossing for cats. While I would never even attempt to use dental floss due to the cat fascination for all things that dangle, Sunny found a piece and decided to try it on his own.
Late in the evening of Tuesday September 8th, while I was quietly passing the evening on the computer, I heard my sister calling to Sunny, and then she came up the hall following him. This activity repeated a few times, before I finally asked what the problem was. She said Sunny had found a piece of dental floss, and had it in his mouth. She was trying to take it from him, and he kept running away from her. Now, it is important to understand that strings of all sorts (yarn, twine, dental floss, etc.) can cause serious injury if it lodges in a cat’s intestinal tract. So it was very important that we get the floss away from him. Unfortunately, Sunny had other ideas. As he ran from me, he would pause in a “safe” place and I could see his little jaws moving as the length of dental floss hanging from his mouth got shorter, like a limp piece of spaghetti. I wish it had been spaghetti. After 3 or 4 pauses, the dental floss was completely ingested. At that point, we began the waiting and watching game.
From everything I could read on the subject, if a blockage occurred, Sunny would likely vomit, have diarrhea, stop eating, and become lethargic. We watched him for three full days. The only unusual behavior appeared Thursday evening. I noticed he entered a litter box half-way, and just stood there, looking around in the box. Then he seemed to lunge a little, like he was batting after something in the litter box, before backing out. Then he went to another box and repeated the performance. Could this just be playing? Or could he be having problems making a bowel movement? I’d been watching the “deposits” as I scooped the litter boxes each evening. But with 15 cats and 4 litter boxes, that’s a lot of poop to examine. I had not yet found the floss. Sunny was not displaying any of the expected symptoms. He was playing with the other cats, and when he would come up for a pet, I probed his abdomen to check for abnormalities. He did not seem to be in any discomfort. In fact, he would begin to purr when I probed him.
Finally, Saturday, I called my vet’s office to see if they thought I should bring him in. They told me that he had probably already passed the dental floss, and would likely be ok, but I should continue to watch him. I tend to agree. After a week, he is still doing fine. He plays and eats, and loves. We are still watching him, but hopefully his little episode with dental floss will be just a memory and an entry in my blog.
There is a teachable moment here, however. While we have become accustomed to seeing pictures of cute kittens and cats playing and sleeping with balls of yarn or string, and many cat toys come with dangling objects suspended with fine elastic cords, responsible cat parents need to understand that strings of all sorts are incredibly dangerous to your cat. The can cause serious medical problems, costing parents a lot of money for medical costs and likely surgery. If left unattended, your cat may even die in a very painful way. So please, use toys with strings and elastic cords only with supervision. Be sure to keep dental floss in the medicine chest or drawer, and always dispose of used floss in a closed container where your kitty kids cannot get to it. We have learned our lesson! Cats don’t need to floss!
