The Cat That Ate the String

When we took Pumpkin in to her emergency vet appointment on November 1, the receptionist asked, "Is this the cat that ate the string?"

Unfortunately, she had eaten much more than that.

It was the day after Halloween, and Pumpkin was acting a little strange. She was coughing, and eventually we saw that she had a thick, black string in her mouth. When Ben tried to pull it out, she started bleeding profusely from her mouth and nose.

I called the vet, and they said to bring her in ... they were fully booked but would try to see her in between other patients.

The days leading up to Halloween had been incredibly hectic. I was working day and night at two jobs, editing student college application essays for a November 1 deadline and invigilating midterm exams at our local university.

Janae had been busy with a heavy course load at school, and she had also committed to sewing Halloween costumes for herself, Alaina and four other girls who were dressing up as the six wives of Henry VIII from the musical Six. Janae had collapsed at school only a few days before and been taken to the hospital by ambulance. Although she was alright and her medical tests came back normal, this left her with classes and tests to catch up on while she recovered--not to mention all the sewing. 

She was up late the evening of October 30 putting on the finishing touches, hand sewing rhinestones and other jewels onto the costumes.

The next day we were running late for school, but I managed to get a quick picture by the front door (Eric was Poseidon from the Percy Jackson books) and then clean up the house a bit while the kids were gone--including picking up Janae's sewing supplies, which were spread out all over the floor.

That evening, we had our traditional mummy hot dogs and ghost pie, along with a spooky vegetable tray (not overly impressive, but the only thing I got a picture of!).

Then Janae, Alaina and Eric went trick or treating with Janae's friend Ava.

 

They got lots of candy, then came home and finished watching The Haunted Mansion.

But what does any of this have to do with Pumpkin? 

Well, the string she swallowed was a thread, still attached to a sewing needle that Janae had been using to finish up the costumes. And with all of the activity leading up to, during, and following Halloween, it had been left on the floor and overlooked ... by all except a curious and playful kitten.

When the vet opened Pumpkin's mouth right up, I saw the needle wedged in the roof of her mouth, completely stuck into her soft pallet on both ends with only the middle showing. The vet had to sedate her to take it out and wasn't sure how much damage had been done.

It was a tense couple of hours as I waited to hear back, during which time I scoured the house for threads, pins, needles or any other items that could be harmful to kittens. Eventually, we were relieved to find that the surgery had gone well and that Pumpkin had no other internal cuts from the needle or thread. We all felt terrible, though.

Now, two weeks later, she has made a full recovery--and although we can't always keep her away from the sewing machine, the only supplies left out are certified kitten friendly.

But with Christmas coming, we’ll also need to make sure that she doesn’t turn into the cat that ate the poinsettia….