String
Also called: strings · thread · threads · sewing thread · spool of thread · yarn · ball of yarn · wool yarn
Dog
Dangerous
Described signs
Repeated vomiting that does not let up, refusing food, low energy, dehydration, belly pain, complaining or squirming when you touch the belly, straining to poop with no result and sometimes a piece of thread showing at the mouth or at the anus. Something swallowed lengthwise is called a linear foreign body: one end gets anchored while the rest keeps travelling on, the gut pleats up along it like an accordion and the thread ends up sawing through the wall. If a thread is showing, do not pull it. This is more common in cats, but in dogs string and ribbon are the foreign bodies that do the most damage: holes in the gut, gut contents in the abdomen and severe infection. And size matters: what a big dog may pass can plug up a small one.
Cat
Dangerous
Described signs
Repeated vomiting, refusing to eat, dehydration and low energy; also belly pain, hiding more than usual or being unwilling to lie down. Sometimes the thread can be seen caught under the tongue or showing at the anus: do not pull it. Cats are the species at risk — the linear foreign body is most common in cats, and the base of the tongue is exactly where one end gets anchored while the rest travels on: the gut pleats up along the thread until the thread cuts through it. Sewing thread, yarn, twine or dental floss is enough, and the smaller the animal, the less it takes. Cats usually swallow it while playing, not while eating.
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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