Saturday, May 26, 2012

Twist Ties - More Than A Simple Way To Close Bread


My long weekend hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest start.  One of our cats, Milo, started vomiting Thursday night and was still vomiting Friday morning.  He has a habit of eating anything string or ribbon like, so I was concerned that he had possibly managed to eat something he wasn’t supposed to.  His appetite and behavior were normal, everything was normal, except the vomiting.  I checked all of his usual forbidden “snack” choices; all of our shoes still had the laces, all of my dresses and tops with ribbons still had the ribbons, the Christmas wrapping paper, etc was undisturbed, and nothing else seemed amiss.  But the vomiting was very, very unusual for Milo.

I called his vet and got him in for an appointment.  Milo hates the vet.  He hates any situation where things are altered from his normal routine, and he doesn’t like to be touched by many people, so he really, really hates the vet.  I ended up dropping him off so he could be sedated and x-rayed to look for any sort of impaction.  I was really hoping that this would turn out to be yet another case of me panicking needlessly about the fur kids.  It wasn’t.
Photo from Wikimedia

Milo has apparently eaten something metal.  His vet says it has to be metal because of the way it shows up on the x-rays.  It looks like pieces of thread in his intestinal tract.  There are four pieces, about a half inch long each, of whatever “it” is.  Everyone seems to suspect twist ties.

I can’t remember the last time we had twist ties in the house.  We buy the cinch style garbage bags, and it seems like all of the bread and bagels we’ve bought lately have come with the plastic clip rather than the twist tie.  That being said, I can’t imagine what else it is.  It doesn’t look at all like jewelry in the x-ray, and I’m not missing any jewelry.  Neither one of us can think of any metal thread-like object we’ve had.  The vet says it doesn’t matter what it is because that’s not going to change the course of his treatment.  We’d just all like to know from a curiosity standpoint.

Milo stayed overnight at the vet’s office for observation.  He ate well last night, which they say is a good sign, and today’s x-rays show that the object seems to be moving along, so it’s looking good for him to pass it.  He will be staying at the vet’s office until he passes it, since he will have to have surgery if he doesn’t pass it soon, or if any complications develop.  We’re really hoping it passes soon with no complications.

And we are now instituting a ban on twist ties in our house.  I have a feeling this episode is going to be expensive, and it has definitely been nerve wracking.  So, no more twist ties!  I just don’t trust him not to pilfer one away for later snacking purposes.  I guess twist tie versus plastic clip closure will now be the determining factor in buying bread and bagels.  Who knew such a seemingly innocent object could lead to so much trouble?

13 comments:

  1. Poor little guy. Hope he recovers well.

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  2. I hope he's okay. Poor thing.

    This is really good to know. It seems like we have a million twist ties around here--and we have pets, too. I'll let the family know. Thanks.

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    1. Thank you; he's doing much better now. It's amazing all of the things the pets will choose to eat. I guess you can never be too careful.

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  3. awwww, i can relate--we just recently had a small family member, who i will not name- swallow some staples--after many trips to the er to check the journey of these little metal things, they passed without incident--hope your little kitty is doing okay now

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    1. Glad your small family member passed the staples without incident. Milo is doing a lot better now. Don't you wonder what on earth makes them want to swallow these things?

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  4. Poor cat!! Poor you because of the stress it causes trying to figure out what to do and then going for the treatment, etc. I do hope it passes without surgery! I can imagine the vet bill. We call Koda the $400 dog because every time he went into the vet for awhile the visits were $400 or more. (He had been treated for lymphoma last year; he's in remission thank God) but he was on chemotherapy and then got pneumonia couple times because of low white blood counts because of the chemo, etc. He's used to the vet though; he knows he gets a treat there :)

    hoping for good news for Milo!

    betty

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    1. I'm glad Koda is in remission. That's just scary, and one thing we haven't had to deal with yet. I hope he continues to do well. Milo is home and doing well. He's currently holding third place as most expensive pet; Emma and Howard both have a slightly more colorful (and much more expensive) history. Not that we're encouraging them to compete!

      Thank you for your well wishes for Milo.

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  5. Such sweet parents Milo has! I hope that he recovers soon. It's funny how children and pet children easily create the most bizarre trouble out of the simplest things.

    Best wishes to brave little Milo!

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    1. Thank you! Milo is home and doing quite well now. It is amazing the things little ones (furry or not) will choose to get into.

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  6. Trying not to worry about my cat who may have swallowed a twist tie I saw him playing with. I can’t see what the outcome was for your cat. Did he pass it? Did they have to go in after it? Would be helpful to know. I’m aware it’s been 6 yrs.

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    1. Hi, I'm so sorry your cat may have eaten a twist tie. Milo passed "it", without any real issues, but it turned out to be floral ribbon (the kind that's wired on the edges) rather than a twist tie. https://sweetteareads.blogspot.com/2012/05/things-arent-always-as-they-seem.html
      I can't remember for sure, but I think they may have given some antacids and maybe some stool softeners to kind of help things along. It's probably a good idea to call your vet and see if they have any recommendations as to what you can do. Good luck to you and your kitty!

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