Sock
Also called: socks · underwear · underpants · piece of clothing · clothing · cloth · rag · rags
Dog
Dangerous
Described signs
Repeated vomiting, loss of appetite, belly pain, diarrhea, dehydration, low energy and complaining or growling when picked up or handled around the belly. Socks and pieces of clothing are among the most common foreign bodies in dogs: fabric does not digest and does not break down, and if the piece is too large to move on it lodges and plugs the passage. Size decides: what a big dog manages to pass leaves a small one blocked. A sock that turns up days later does not mean they all came out. If you can see one end hanging from the mouth or the anus, do not pull on it.
Cat
Dangerous
Described signs
Repeated vomiting, refusing to eat, pain or discomfort when you touch the belly, straining to poop or producing very little, low energy and changes in behaviour. Wool and paper are among the things cats swallow most often, and some cats chew and suck on fabric as a habit. A piece of cloth or of a wipe does not digest, and if it is long and stringy — a strip of sock, a torn shred of rag — it behaves like a linear foreign body, which is the worst case. A cat's gut is narrow: a small piece is already enough. If something is showing at the mouth or the anus, do not pull it.
This is a compendium of public veterinary sources, not a diagnosis. The weight of your pet changes what a dose means.
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