Dear Dr. Forsythe: My neighbors recently adopted two kittens. I don’t think they had them for more than two days before they were in my back yard chasing each other around and hunting. Now maybe it is none of my business and I’m not too neighborly, but it seems to me that these kittens aren’t too long for this world starting out this way. Don’t people know better than to adopt small kittens and then just let them loose all day? I have a mind to just bring them inside my house next time they come into my yard to protect them. That way, my not-so-smart neighbor would have to spend a few days wondering what happened to his cats – and maybe this would teach them a lesson in the dangers of letting a new little kitten run free. – Dale, Santa Rosa
Dear Dale: First of all, I had to read this several times to make sure I was actually not misreading the question. Then I asked myself if I was missing the point. I even wondered if you were smoking something of the illegal flora when you sent me this question. I tried giving you the benefit of the doubt, but when I looked at it from every possible vantage point, I kept coming up to the same conclusion.
With all due respect, I think the idea of swiping the neighbor’s kittens in order to teach them what bad “owners” they are, shows confused, passive aggressive and cruel intent. You may not agree with how your neighbors are choosing to raise the kittens, but there are much better ways of getting your point across than to break the law by stealing them. Even though you may assume that because they are left alone outside and are in harm’s way during the day, responding with a heinous act only seasons a bad recipe with an even fouler tasting ingredient – and we’re not talking brownies here.
I validate your concerns about the well-being of those little kittens. You sound like a person with a soft place in your heart for sweet little kittens that may succumb to dangers if not protected. But if you think that stealing the kittens and scaring their owners is the best way to resolve your concerns, you may also have a soft place on your skull too. – Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: My cat Burgi loves to play with ribbons or anything that is long. He also chews shoe laces, string, thread and cords. Wires, leashes, plastic strips or yarn are all fair game for him. He has swallowed plastic before and vomited it back up, and I am worried about his health with his constant chewing on long skinny scraps of things around the house. What would happen if he actually swallowed a long piece of yarn? Wouldn’t it go right through him? – Jennifer, Sonoma
Dear Jennifer: Not necessarily. Linear foreign bodies are very dangerous to pets, especially cats. Since cats have “barbed” tongues with little pointers that aim backwards, they tend to catch things and foreign objects can stick to their tongues easily. If a cat should swallow a long piece of yarn or thread this can get stuck down in the small intestine and create a severe and possibly fatal situation. The intestines are constantly undergoing peristaltic movement, trying to move ingesta down the pipeline until stool is formed and eliminated. When a piece of linear foreign body gets lodged inside, it usually gets lodged while the intestines continue moving along, getting bunched up like a piece of ribbon candy. This leads to serious cramping, dehydration, pain and vomiting. Usually in a situation like this the cat needs to have surgery to remove the foreign body. This is done by making several incisions into the intestines and taking out the piece of string or yarn in several pieces so that the gut can stretch out again.
I’d advise you to keep Burgi away from string, ribbon or anything else that is long, skinny and alluring. And make sure that if he ever does any significant vomiting, your veterinarian remembers to check under his tongue during the exam: the string or yarn is often attached there and can be seen by the naked eye. Thanks for a good question. – Dr. F
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