my cat swallowed thread

[arbkirk]

I have a 3 year old siamese, 13 pound lean male, who looks like he is going to die soon.  

It started two weeks ago with vomiting for three days, and he stopped eating which has endured now for 13 days.  Midway through this, I discovevered he had eaten some of my sewing thread (it came out when he tried to excrete it).  According to my veterinarian, this is the cause of his problem. (Note:  I took my cat in after three days of not eating, the veterinarian could find nothing wrong, took a blood sample, and those results are perfectly normal.)

My veterinarian suggests a barium drink, x-rays, and surgery for over $1000 cost.  Would a laxative made for cats work out the problem safely?  How can I stimulate his appetite?

He began hiding under the bed a week ago, I have tried a variety of ways to get him to eat (I have had cats for over 30 years). He also is beginning to smell bad.  I have two other cats, whom he loves:  his litter mate and a son, who still sleep with him and bathe him.

We are All Worried

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Thanks to peekawho and Jaybay for the good advise.  You must absolutely have a barium study performed on your cat.  The barium study will help your veterinarian in making the decision as to whether or not your cat needs surgery,  If your veterinarian believes that your cat is a surgical candidate than I believe there is still hope.   String can cause what is called a linear foreign body.  The string pleats the intestine together and can cut right through, when this occurs your cat can get necrotizing peritonitis which can cause a very painful morbidity and death.  A laxative would be contraindicated if there is a linear body.  Only surgery can correct this problem.  Once the diagnosis is made and surgery is performed, if necessary than appetite stimulants are warrented.  A cat who does not eat for any reason is a candidate for hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease).  Please take care of your cat!!

[Jaybay]

One thing you're right about: your cat is dying.  Your choices are to either spend the money for treatment, or put him down humanely.

[peekawho]

You need to follow your vets advice asap, or your cat may become too ill to recover at all.  If the cat did swallow thread, it can become tangled inside and actually strangulate or even cut through the intestines.  

Regardless of the cause, a cat who has not eaten in 13 days, is smelling bad, and is hiding is very, very ill.  If you don't trust the advice of this vet, see another TODAY.  It may not be the thread at all, but something is very, very wrong.