The title says it all: my little monster has eaten a sanitary towel, plastic wrapper and all.
As soon as I realised, I called the vet. We've got an appointment in 2 hours for an examination and an ultrasound.
Given the size of the thing compared to my girl, and what it's made of, the vet surgery doesn't recommend waiting for it to pass like other small items might, and they want to examine her before advising on what to do.
So here I am, worried sick, just waiting for the appointment time to roll around. It happened during the night, so it's too late to induce vomiting. I'm not really sure what's going to happen next.
As for how on earth she got her paws on the pad, let's just say my sister will definitely be sleeping out on the porch tonight.
I'd be grateful for any info on pets swallowing similar objects, especially if you've got any reassuring stories!
Translated from French
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Lorna, your story is mental!
And you're right, Misanthrope, it's a great practice. I've only ever dealt with lovely people there who really seem to know their stuff. Whatever they suggest always seems sensible. They were brilliant with the neighbour's dog recently, so I trust them—I really think they know what they're doing!
And just as a side note: to check how much a sanitary towel expands when it's soaked, there’s actually an intern at the vets right now ripping a pad apart to soak the bits in water..!
She hasn't been sick, but poor thing, the diarrhoea was a right mess. She's shredded the cotton wool but it expands, and that’s more of a worry. She’s not drinking any more than usual. If it hadn't been for the diarrhoea and my sister complaining that the dog had kept her up all night chewing on something (😠), I wouldn’t have noticed straight away!
Just as a bit of back-story, that's actually when I realised my cat was hooked on latex... He was bottle-fed as a kitten, so I think it must remind him of the teat. In any case, in our house, we have to be really careful not to leave even the smallest latex object lying around.
Oh no! I hope she passes it naturally.
Sometimes you shouldn't underestimate their little digestive systems: my Persian kitten, who was a tiny little thing, swallowed a pair of latex gloves when he was only three months old!
I didn't see it happen... but the following afternoon, he shat both gloves out right under my nose.
Each glove was completely compacted into a ball with a bit of waste around it.
I had to unroll them to realise what they were; the pair of gloves was completely intact 😲
After the ultrasound, it turns out the towel is filling up her whole little tummy.
It’s too late to make her sick, and even though it’s shredded, it’s a lot of material for such a little monster to handle.
She’s staying at the vet’s all afternoon to have regular scans and see if her body can manage to pass the muck on its own.
I’m going back to see her at 1 pm and will get a proper update from the vet at 4 pm.
They’re standing by to operate but will only go ahead if they see she can’t pass it all naturally. It seems like the most sensible option, so we don't put her through surgery unnecessarily.
Plus, with the vets keeping a close eye on her, they’ll definitely notice if she’s feeling poorly before I would.
It’s going to be a long day...
