Ask the APCC: A Plastic Bag-Chewing Siamese; Are Acorns Bad for Dogs?
My Siamese cat loves to lick and chew on plastic bags, although we try to keep them away from him. Could this be bad for our cat?
—Dawn B.
Chewing on plastic bags could pose a hazard to your cat, Dawn, as pieces of the bag could become lodged in your cat’s throat and obstruct his airway. Because of this, we do not advise allowing your cat to chew or play with these bags, and please take care to store them in a secure area out of his reach.
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Labels: Pet Care
posted by ASPCA at 10:21 AM PERMALINK
2 Comments:
I wanted to warn pet owners, particularly cat owners, about Virbac Dental Chews.
I have been giving my cat Jinx these chews for over a month now in hopes the plaque would be reduced on his back teeth. Since he is older, 15 1/2 years to be exact, I don't want to put him to sleep to have his teeth cleaned. I know it is a health concern to have tarter build-up on his teeth, that's why I tried these chews.
He loves them, only problem is he sometimes only chews for 15 to 12 seconds then swallows the chew whole. Yes they are soft, but they are the size of a Jolly Rancher candy.
I always make him look up after he devours it in it's original size to make sure it goes down.
Last week I gave him one, he chewed for 15 seconds then swallowed. I made him look up, and then he was done.
I went out and got home about 4-5 hours later to find him sitting in the hallway amongst these 2 piles of what was almost black in color on the carpet.
As I got closer, I though he had a severe case of diareha, but it tourns out it was vomit which contained not just some of his black fur, but the entire chew! As I cleaned it upi with lots of paper towels, I noticed there was also BLOOD in it!
I was frantic! He could have died from choking, and where did the blood come from? I called the vet, they told me to keep a close eye on him that the blood probably came from the fact he scraped his throat while vomitting.
I just think anyone who gives these to animals who have a habit of not chewing their foods enough should stop immediately! I would rather him have tarter than have him choke to death. There should be a warning on the packaging stating that!
So please let people know, though the chews are soft and good for their teeth, they are also large in size and should be given only to pets that chew for "long" periods of time, or not at all!
I thank God Jinx is eating normally and seems to have weathered the incident.
Thanks for helping me help others! Please post this hazard on your site!
Sincerely,
Donna and Jinx
Is there a correlation between the Virbac dog chews and hyperactivity? Ever since my Lhasa has been eating them, she is showing signs of Cushings Disease.....Your thoughts?
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