Sadly reading labels, instructions and warnings on packages is now becoming nothing of the past. Then something horrible happens and the cat parent sues the company who made it.
@@Animallovercomedian C'mon now, this has everything to do with personal responsibility and nothing to do with age. I'm Gen-X and I'm sure I've missed plenty of things listed on packaging in 4-point type. I'm more concerned about manufacturers who are more concerned about their bottom line in an industry that's probably not heavily regulated (if at all).
DENTAL FLOSS EVERYONE!!! Make sure you throw your used dental floss away in a covered trash bin. My kitty got into the trash and ate a looong piece of dental floss. It caused a major intestinal obstruction and he had to have it surgically removed for $5,000. Side note I also recommend pet insurance. 😅😅
Yes, so true. I always make sure the floss doesn't have an end sticking out of the trash can because I know my cat will be curious and try to play with it.
Thank you Jackson. I lost a much loved cat back in 2012. Frankie choked to death, in my arms, at 4:30 am, from a toothpick that fell out of the garbage can. Please 🙏 be careful everyone. I thought my house was cat proofed but you never know. I miss my Frankie so much 😿😿. His twin brother, Potsey, is a happy and healthy 12 yr old now but there's a hole in my heart ❤️.
I saw my extended family's cat chewing on a nail recently! I was so glad it caught that before something bad happened. It seems like they would have a little more common sense then that.
@@madashell7224 It was horrible. My husband had used the toothpicks to hold a chicken breas, he had stuffed, together and had assured me they were in the trash can because I had specifically told him it was something the cats would want to chew on. 1 just didn't quite make in in the can. While Frankie was choking my husband was frantically trying to find a animal hospital that was open at 4:30 am in the small backwards town we lived in in Indiana and we ran out of time.
Last time I went into a petstore I saw them selling literal balls of string as cat toys. As a Vet-Tech I immediately wanted to throw up 🤦 They were branded by the petstore as well so I told an employee how dangerous that can be and he said he would tell his boss, but I doubt anything will happen.
For some reason mine keeps finding bread twist ties, and I have no idea where she keeps getting them. Probably from the trash. And she is absolutely obsessed with them to the point if I ask her what she's doing she will actively run and hide it from me. And just hisses at me when I take it away. Doesn't bite, rarely bats, just hisses because she's mad I took away her danger toy.
My boy, who lived to 17, loved these as well until his very last day on this earth. I had to take away many of these from him too, he was bonkers over it.
My new kitten keeps getting into the bread and we come home to find the new loaf (or the biscuits we bought for thanksgiving) scattered around the house 😂 glad she has no interest in the tires tho, at least bread is soft and digestible.
A co worker's cat ate a penny once... she paid $3000 to have the penny surgically removed. Be careful of any small objects. Cats are a lot like toddlers.
Been there done that. Once with a blind bord and once with a toy he ate whole. Blind cord he had to be cut open. Toy was still in the stomach so they used an endoscopy. The toy is hard to describe but he loved it so much and seemed like he was convinced it was real so he ate it. It was a little mouse made of natural fluffy fiber. It was slightly smaller than a golf ball but the fibers made it seem bigger. It was like a little inner foam that the fibers were stuck into. Endoscopy was more expensive because it was an emergency vet and the foreign body surgery was about a grand cheaper because we were able to take him to a low cost surgery clinic.
When my second cat came, I didn’t know cats gnawed at stuff because my first cat was never interested. He gnawed a rubber end off of an cat wand one day and we ended up going to an er. Thankfully it came out through his digestive system but we were lucky because it had hardened from being wet inside of him and sharp enough to tear through his intestines. It was a hard lesson learned.
I can’t believe how different my first 3 cats were compared to my current 3. My first babies weren’t really interested in toys but my current 3 wear me out. They meow and beg me to play, often when I need to work. I have to shut them out of my office so I can keep working.
My cat swallowed a thick rubber band and thankfully hacking it up one day before I had to go to work because I didn't realize she had had it. She was also fascinated with pencil erasers. So there has got to be something about the smell of rubber that they love
@@sciencenotstigma9534 oh no! I was a poor graduate student without a car at the time and would not have been able to make it to the vet 10 blocks away, so it was a good thing she coughed it up. It was one of those sick white ones that you see on Broccoli at the supermarket. I was also stressed out about calling into my temp job that day to cancel work. I learned a lesson about keeping those things where she could not get to them. She also used to play with the hair elastics, but she did very well with those. Step on them to pop them up bring it to me jump up on the bed drop it, get down on the floor and wait for me to throw it again
Thank you for the reminder! I am guilty of giving every single one of the mentioned items to my cat and letting him do his thing while I play my games. I’ll keep a better eye on him and pick the things up.
I've got an automatic laser pointer that I turn on when gaming. It keeps my cats happily occupied for about 15 minutes. If they're still wanting to play after that, I pause what I'm doing (I avoid playing something like LoL that can take a long time) and play with them until they're tired. Then they just sit on the couch and chill while I do my thing.
One of my cats loves hair ties, but I use the extra large ones that are too big /thick to eat. Consider switching to those or a scrunchy. Also, if your cat likes catnip, get them a mouse made of solid catnip or a catnip "candy". They come in 2inch rounds that they can play with and eat!
My cats love the toy mice, but I inspect them first and cut the tail and pull out noses and eyes. Once they get torn I throw them out. I also have to keep plastic bags out of reach- they like to eat them.
My oldest cat is obsessed with chewing on plastic bags, his favorite are ziploc baggies and I couldn't tell you why but I have to hang up any plastic bags or he will chew on them. My other cats treat grocery bags like cardboard boxes but the oldest and his bad habit ruined all the fun.
What is it with the platic bag chewing? I searched around and came up with boredom (she gets lots of play so probably not it) and maybe some sort of issue with the teeth (they seem perfectly fine, but does have a well check soon so will mention it). Tried getting her something else to chew on. Zero interest.😅 Moved the majority out of reach now.
My first Siamese rescue had PICA and he would peel the fur off of the fur mice and try to eat it. I got rid of most of the store bought toys and sewed my own catnip toys out of sturdy upholstery fabric.
One of my cats loves those worm attachments that can be used on wand toys. Unfortunately almost all of them come with googly eyes and they come off easily. I try to cut them with a nail clipper or try to find ones without the eyes.
Always supervised play with your cats especially a kitten. Another thing… see that string that comes off your Christmas turkey? Yeah, in the bin! Already happened to my sisters cat, luckily we spotted it, & pulled it out of his throat. He was on the bunker behind her, but in my vision
Good you caught that! One time at the auction we were buying a cow that was eating a hay string; it was our cow we bought. Nobody said a word we had to take it out.
Good catch! Tinsel and plastic Easter 🐣 grass are no-no’s, too. I have a mixed religion family, and always get paper grass for kids’ baskets or craft projects.
So true! Some cats chew more than others. Many years ago my son had one of the glow bracelets and his cat chewed on it and ended-up in the hospital. Took awhile to figure-out that his kitty must've swallowed some of the toxic liquid. Several days in the hospital with non-regenerative anemia, elevated liver enzymes and $1000 later, kitty THANKFULLY survived! 💜 Great reminder!! 💜💜
Really important to pick up your cat toys.. I like to inspect to make sure things aren’t too damaged by picking them up and also my cat likes me to pick them up and put them away for him😅 yes I’m a cat slave and he knows it-but it makes it much more exciting when I open the toy cupboard. He comes running!!!!! “What ya got there??!! For me..? Ohhh yeaaaa!!!” Makes everything feel new and exciting again. I put away anything with a pole/string and leave out a couple of solo toy things- usually a ball or kicker. They also get packed away/inspected and cycled through. It really helps to have a few different cat toys when you have an indoor cat.
My rescue kitten swallowed a sewing needle that I dropped on the floor I wasn't aware of. I spent over 2k for her surgery at the vet to remove it, but thank god she was back to normal afterward. Be very careful with small items because cat loves to eat tiny things.
I keep all my sewing supplies in a plastic container that has a screw on lid. Even if it get tossed around, there's no chance of the contents getting spilled. I also made a batch of custom cat skull stickers that I put on things that might be dangerous, just as a reminder to be extra careful when I'm handling the contents.
My mom’s cat ate a bread tie. It punctured her stomach & caused internal bleeding. 😢 We knew something was wrong. She stayed under the guest bed & didn’t eat for a few days. We took her to the vet, & they (I guess with an X-ray) found out what had happened & she was dying. She was 11. My mom stayed with her while they had to put her to sleep. I’m SO careful with things like this.
My cat once got a piece of yarn and she sucked it down her throat so quickly, it was scary. I was able to pull it out of her mouth, thank goodness. It can happen so quickly.
And string or yarn!! I have a ball of yarn dedicated solely for my cat's playtime. I swing it around and my cats chase after it. Today, it wrapped around one of my cat's necks, and he started taking off running. I hurried to take the yarn off him, and when i looked at his face, i noticed the yarn had been caught in one of his fangs!! Poor thing was so panicked.
Even worse if they swallow it! I know you supervise your cat’s play, though…thank goodness! I don’t tie cats out with a string anymore, but a safe tie-out (in an enclosed area). My cat got badly entangled in a string in his leash, he cut his tongue in half, trying to chew his way out, and it never grew back together. He had to have a soft diet, after that, and it was hard for him to swallow. I was a little kid at the time, and he would hop the fence. It was easier to catch him, with the string. It was not a well-thought out plan, though! I never forgot it.
I once had a cat that was playing with a ball of yarn about the size of a softball. Unfortunately, she managed to get the end loose and started chewing on it, and then proceeded to eat it. Luckily, I found her and noticed that the ball of yarn was now smaller than a tennis ball, and the end of the yarn she was chewing and swallowing went into the cat. After quite some time of slowly pulling the yarn gently back out, I had a large pile of yucky wet yarn, and an upset kitty. She wasn't happy with losing her toy. Don't leave string, yarn, or really anything else they can swallow where they can get it. They are pretty good at getting stuff IN, but not so great at getting stuff OUT!
Dear Jackson Galaxy, in our house you are beloved. We love you for your fierce love and protection of cats. Your good work teaches us and fuels our love for our cats. Thank you! And Merry Christmas! ❤️
my cats favorite toys are these tiny bees I made by hot-glueing a few tiny pompoms together. He tried to play wiht single puff-balls but they were so small they'd get stuck in his mouth so theyre locked tight in the cabinets. I supervise Mochi when he plays with the bees. Always remember to inspect your cat toys on a regular basis and remove them if they're damage.
I was about to take my sweetie to the vet because he suddenly began biting my shoulder and arm with the push away... Whaaaaa! That's not like him! It turned out to be 'a new lime lotion' I had never worn before. They don't like citrus! Forgot and he reminded me. Remedied it and we are back to wonderful. Glad I remembered. It was the Lime in the coconut. lol edit: Chemicals/ Organic too can harm or change their disposition.
That is a good point! And nice that you went to the vet so fast upon that behavior ^^) I feel like, especially around christmas, people seem to like giving seasonal plants, strongly scented candles, citrus air diffuse fillers and parfumes. They all mean well, but plants like the holly, branches of christmas trees and Lilly's are poisonous so I end up putting pretty stuff outside or regifting 😅
@@undefinederror40404 - I don't even like the scented candles and perfumes. Do like the regifting angle though. ha-ha. Just realized I don't have a chart with the life or death information for my critter. Remedy on it's way. Merry Christmas no matter what is surrounding us... Peace to you and yours. 🕊 edit: We did not end up at the vet, only phone consult happy ending.
Oh wow! Great advice! Our older cat would bring my yarn as her “gift” to me but when we got the baby kitten she actually swallowed at least 2ft of it… thank God she pooped it out!!! Scared the heck out of us! Gross but what a hard lesson! Thank you Jackson for these tips!!! (Yes we put the yarn away!!!!)
I came home once to my cat playing with my pill organizer. Spent the most terrifying 5 minutes of my life counting to make sure all the pills were still there. I left the bedside drawer where I keep my medication open just a tiny bit. She got in pulled out something that rattled and went ham.
This is great advise!!! I'm so anal about this that my cat loves to play in boxes and large gift bags which I take off the tag and handles as well just in case ! After my cousins cat had eaten a hair tie it strangulation her intestines and needed major surgery....she was never the same again 😔
Ugh, one of my boys is OBSESSED with the mice! They are everywhere in my house, food dishes, water bowl, under the couch, in the couch. I mean he gets them and hides them. And I can't catch a break with him wanting to play fetch, I can't imagine taking them away from him 😰😪
My cats have a thing for hair ties. They drop them in the water bowl then play with them. One time, I caught one of the cats chewing the tie, then swallowing it! She bites them open all the time, but I’d never seen her try to eat them. I couldn’t get to her to stop her from swallowing some, but thankfully she threw it up. Scared the heck outta me. No more hair ties within her reach.
Thank you so much for saying this. My husband and I lost my 3 year old sweet baby Hermione over the holidays because she ate some string from my sewing kit or found a piece of tinsel on the floor… we didn’t have it our tree, but there was some in the Christmas box that she got in to… by the time she was sick it was too late, we took her to the vet immediately, bit she was septic and her kidneys failed. We’re heartbroken and traumatized. It seems most likely it was my sewing kit… the lid was closed, but there was a piece a thread that was still attached to a spool that was sticking out and it was clear she got into it… I just don’t want anyone to have to go to through this… and pet insurance is really worth it on these situations.
Also! I wanted to buy a toy for a kitten that my aunt adopted, but almost everything at that store either contained catnip or wasn't suitable; choking hazards and all. We have no clue if this kitten is going to respond well to catnip, some cats have a bad reaction and we don't want them to feel obligated to keep a toy that does more harm than good. We decided that not getting a gift was better than something that could end up being harmful. It's not nice to show up empty handed but if you explain they'll understand. And you can ask what treats to bring next time :)
Hair ties! My friend's cat had to have emergency surgery that cost thousands of dollars because she kept eating hair ties unbeknownst to her owners. They noticed that she was vomiting and not eating, acting very sluggish so they took her to the vet. The vet took an x-ray and her stomach was completely filled with hair ties, causing a blockage. She would have died without emergency surgery, and now our friends are hypervigilant about hair ties
Mine go back into a big, open cardboard box. Caught her trying to get in (she hasn't been able to reach anything), which I thought was cute but maybe using a plastic lidded box would be safer.
You’re right about the digestion issues. Our Jerry Lee ate a rubber band!? We had to throw them out. Would not bring any in the house or he would find them . He like chewing on them. But made him very sick.
We are so fortunate that we caught our cat in time after he ate a 5 inch piece of ribbon! The vet was able to get him to throw up. And I often find hair bands on the floor that are falling out of my husband's thin ponytail! 😫
I don't think that the larger ones can be swallowed like The Milk Jug rings. But I always wondered if the milk jug Rings maybe could have cut into her lips or her gum. And either case there were always hairy elastics and milk jug Rings underneath the furniture in my place 20 years ago.
Is he twisting those ties into a figure 8 multiple times? As a thin haired person, just thought I'd mention that. Also, replace ones that get stretched out, safely in the bin.
I learned the hard way about a string on a stick. I left the house, forgot my purse and turned around. Gone just 5 minutes and found that my baby had ingested the string all the way up to the stick. We were SO lucky that I had to turn back and was able to slowly pull it out before doing any damage.
Just to add, if you have a “flocked” Christmas tree (the type with that fake white snow), please know that that stuff is harmful to your cats. I’ve seen a post floating around Facebook about it… so please be mindful of stuff like that too and holiday essential oil diffusers.
This is smart!! My cat loves to play with my hair ties but I always make sure I’m holding it and they’re inaccessible when I’m not around. The toys we let her have access to are the big sloth and big fish where she bunny feets them and the little crinkle balls that don’t come apart.
If the crinkle balls you're talking about are the mylar balls, I found out quite a while back that when they get wet the color bleeds off and is not good for your cat. My cat had a blue one and tossed it into his water bowl and when he grabbed it and started playing with it his entire mouth was blue and his paws. I tossed all of those in the trash and I wrote a review about them on Amazon to warn people not to buy them.
@@PennySue nooooo!!! I’m so glad y’all told me! I literally thought they were the simplest most harmless little thing. Ugh okay I’ll get her some springs then. Oh man she’s gonna be sad, she runs to get them when I tell her “ go find crinkle” 😔
@@jordanalmond3458 my cats loved them too but I'm sure glad I found out how the colors bleed. My cats do love the springs though and also jingle balls.
@@raijinoflimgrave8708 they’re not though, Jackson Galaxy is probably speaking from experience of hearing about cats who die from this, also a vet will tell you the same thing
Office supplies -- rubber bands, staples and so much more. Yarn Crafts and sewing -- stitch markers, pins, weights, magnets, presser feet, yarn and so much more. If you wouldn't feed it to a baby, it needs to be kept secured from a pet!
You also just have to know your cat. My cat doesn't tear apart toys, doesn't eat bits and bobs (doesn't eat ANYTHING except the exact brand of food she is used to, for that matter), etc. The only thing I really don't let her around unsupervised are string toys she could get tangled up in, or paper bags with handles she can get stuck in. But my girlfriend's cat is basically a dog in a cat's body. He will eat every thing he can get his claws on, and has a particular affinity for plastic. He's had to be rushed to the vet before for swallowing a rubber band. At her place, we've gotta be very strict and careful about leaving trash around.
Even with smart cats, it's good to be watchful!! They have those hooks on their tongue and can have a really hard time spitting out anything that winds up in their mouth, even if they didn't want to swallow it.
Thank you for sharing that information with so many people. I have been telling my family & friends and everyone else that are cat lovers that for about 40 years now. I hope a lot of people will watch this that don't know about so many hidden dangers. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All, and to All a Good Night.
My dog, Ghost, would hoard cough drops. I’d catch him crunching on them. I finally found a very impressive stash, behind the couch! 😂. I never thought a dog would like menthol.
I had several cats in my life and I grew up three boys. Both kitten and baby human are masters on finding the wrong thing to do. Just a matter of almost constant attention...
The ringpulls from cartons, they love those. One foster cat carried one around so her bro wouldn’t take it, but she never chewed it. I have had to rescue hair ties, though, those are apparently for chewing.
That's got to be a weight off. Still, though!! I'd be watchful! Cats have those backwards hooks on their tongue which can make it hard for them to spit something out if they get it into their mouth for whatever reason.
My son's cat choked on some plastic garbage that was left on the floor. Animals/pets are like children you need to keep your place semi clean. Pick up everything that you don't want your fur baby ingest & choke on. Plain & simple. Inspect their toys to make sure nothing is falling apart on them. And fix/throw them away. They are now part of your family. Cats are very clean animals.
We had a mouse on a string that made little sounds when hit, it was a wonderful toy that one of our dogs played with for hours (she adores cat toys! She was never fond of dog toys, I'm sad it took us so long but I'm glad we figured this out. Anyway-) Then our other dog got a hold of it, and she also really liked the toy- but in another way. Once it opened up I was curious about the lil machine making the sounds, and worried about choking hazards. I'm SO glad that I checked it out: a sharp metal circle was at the base of it which could easily have wrecked their gums or worse. After I removed it she got to pull it apart. We got some more durable cat toys later, but nothing really beat the noisy mouse..
I appreciate this heads up. I recently had an ah ha moment about putting "toys" away when my cats aren't supervised. Especially because my Hugs can find a way to get tangled or caught in the darndest things. So I just play it safe and put them away when I'm gone or sleeping.
I am old. Way back when we would finish off decorating our Christmas tree with strands of thin aluminum called tinsel. That finishing touch would give our trees a shimmering effect. My cat enjoyed walking under the Christmas tree. When he walked away from the tree, tinsel would become draped over his tail. One time that my cat had tinsel draped on his tail I stuck out my foot and stepped on the tinsel only to discover the tinsel was coming out of his rectum! My cat made a sound that I have never heard before! After that “no more tinsel on Christmas trees!” Years later I thought my Christmas tree was haunted. I observed an ornament swinging back and forth by itself. Only one ornament was doing this swinging. On closer inspection I discovered my cat inside a branch on the Christmas tree playing with that ornament. After checking out the rest of the tree I realized that most of the items on the tree were dangerous to any pet and as well as other household holiday decorations. I enjoy your UA-cam. I appreciate you valuable advise. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Lincoln
He's not kidding about the hair ties. One time when both me and my fiancé brought our first cat into the vet for the first time and checked her out and gave her her shots, he randomly pulls out a small Ziplock bag of these gross looking hair ties and said that he got all of them from a cat who almost died from eating them. I guess he noticed the one I was wearing so he wanted to make sure that I be careful with my hair ties. It was definitely an eye opener so now I wear scrunchies or hair clamps more often and only wear hair ties on rare occasions and keep them wear my cats can't get to them and if one breaks, it goes straight into the big covered trash can.
Be careful out there people. A few years ago I worked at a vet clinic. A sweet young cat swallowed a long piece of string. It couldnt go in for surgery because the string was wrapped too tightly around the intestines... I know this is graphic, but it's just a reminder to keep a close eye on what your pets play with.
It’s good that someone is making people aware of everyday items. I would say especially with the mice , no squeakers but a mouse with catnip is ok as long as you watch your cats and don’t leave the toys in the room alone, especially for kittens as they rip up everything. My kitten tore up one of those wind up toys I threw it in the bin so he didn’t choke on the thing inside
Also crafting materials: our cat found one of those thin sheets of rubber/foam and ingested a pretty small piece, which blocked her intestine. Luckily she survived after surgery. Look out for things they could tear up and ingest a piece.
I like to make simple wand cat toys for my local shelter. I try to be hyper-vigilant and not use any potentially dangerous materials. I always ask the shelter staff to inspect each toy and only use it for supervised, interactive play. Sometimes I browse online cat toys to get ideas, and am shocked at some of the things on offer. Just like babies, cats will chomp on anything! You have to be incredibly careful.
I read that some plastic bags smell like fish, faintly but cats can smell it, from the chemicals used to make them. My kitty would chew on any plastic bag and steal ribbons from my stuffed toy collection. He once had an intestinal obstruction from eating foil gift wrapping ribbon. fortunately he passed it naturally after several days with prescribed mild laxatives, the night before he was scheduled for surgery. Tinsel foil is really bad too. The metal coating becomes poisonous in their intestines. Those cat toys with dyed feathers or metal scrunched foil are dangerous.
Same for any kind of string/ thread (esp yarn) bc it can get caught up on their papillae and they can't spit it out on their own... which can cause the blockage risk that you mentioned 😿🙀😿
So important that you informed us of things we wouldn't think would be dangerous. (If it's MADE for pets, why would it have parts that could choke or kill our pets?) 😞
Yup. My oldest cat likes to lay in dirty laundry. When he was about a year old we came home to find a very odd mass of different colored fibers and it was slimy. It took us a while to figure out what it was but we eventually worked out that it had the same texture as a hairball. It was a waistband to a pair of my shorts. So probably at least 3ft of string in his belly that lucky came up the way it went down without choking him. We now have laundry baskets with covers and he’s only allowed in approved dirty clothes piles. I sometimes leave sheets and tshirts on the floor so he can still have his dirty laundry snuggles every so often.
It took 5 grand to save my cat after she swallowed string. I now lock up her favorite toy. It wasn't a toy that did it, but she tries to pull it apart so only under supervision. The string was from my box spring so check your furniture for loose string.
Oh my gosh, JACKSON! Thank you for this post!!! I will never forget the day (over 30 years ago!) that we walked into our house to find our kitten literally HANGING from a doorknob, neck wrapped so tightly a dozen times around in the elasticized string of “cat toy.” She was limp but warm, and my brother and I frantically cut her free. She grew up healthy and strong, but we were so lucky.
My cats only get trash toys. Pieces of cardboard packaging, paper straws, paper lids...that sort of thing. They also love chasing thier pine litter pellets. It's all free and my babies are safe and happy.
Silicone or pvc litter mats. Seriously, my cat was eating pieces off of it. Took a month or two, but he developed a blockage and required surgery to remove a piece.
Don't forget the pull string on blinds! Dangerous for babies, dogs, and cats. For some reason they just can't help getting their next tangled up in them 🙄😩
Yes, we like the plastic balls, with bells inside. Also, we had a human baby toy that was soft and had no parts that could come off. It had something inside like plastic making a crinkly sound. They loved that.
Speaking of non-toys there was a woman on Twitter who lost both her cats after they ingested dust from the white material that's out under the Xmas tree. Two gingers only 6 y.o. 💔
My cat often goes outside to play. She could eat a small piece of a branch when climbing trees etc. How would I know? It's called being alive & learning. But I get the one with the yarn and the rubber band.
If you have laterally pivoted windows, be careful about leaving a cat unattended around them. A friend of mine’s cat tried to climb out, got stuck in the crack, kept sliding down and struggling more desperately and tragically ended up breaking his spine. My friend was traumatized by this, finding her kitty in such a state after coming home. He had to be put down as there was no saving him with any quality of life. I feel so terrible for that poor cat. None of us had ever heard of this even being possible, so we’ve been spreading the word ever since.
Watch them when they play. Exactly!! I do that ALL THE TIME. Jackson, I NEED your help. I have a question about my Joy babygirl kitty. How can I reach you for a one on one?
my cat has a couple toys but her favourite is one filled with cat nip, it has brown fur around the cat nip pouch and feather sticking out at the “tail”. She goes wild for it! She can’t choke on it or anything. I would highly recommend it, it’s from pets at home
And then there's our cat. Who's favourite toy is a smooth rock the size of my fist.
🤣 I love your cat already
You won't have to worry about her swallowing that!
Please let it be an orange cat 🐈
Ur cute.
Ours play with sticks...like a puppy would...
Next time you are shopping for your pet notice how many items have that tiny warning label about always supervising your pet while they play.
Honestly, it's so scummy! They are knowingly putting lives at risk to make a buck.
There's none on the toys at my stores
Sadly reading labels, instructions and warnings on packages is now becoming nothing of the past. Then something horrible happens and the cat parent sues the company who made it.
@@joannemazurek9075 I can’t believe millennials are killing reading smh. Just like napkins
@@Animallovercomedian C'mon now, this has everything to do with personal responsibility and nothing to do with age. I'm Gen-X and I'm sure I've missed plenty of things listed on packaging in 4-point type. I'm more concerned about manufacturers who are more concerned about their bottom line in an industry that's probably not heavily regulated (if at all).
DENTAL FLOSS EVERYONE!!! Make sure you throw your used dental floss away in a covered trash bin. My kitty got into the trash and ate a looong piece of dental floss. It caused a major intestinal obstruction and he had to have it surgically removed for $5,000. Side note I also recommend pet insurance. 😅😅
This. One of my brother's roommates had a cat that loved dental floss. She didn't get compacted, but getting it out of her butt was always gross.
Yes, so true. I always make sure the floss doesn't have an end sticking out of the trash can because I know my cat will be curious and try to play with it.
A friend of mine's dog died from this.
The dental floss isn't a problem in my house. But my long, long hair? That's what he ends up getting flossed with.
My cats love the mint flavor, so this can be very dangerous.
Thank you Jackson. I lost a much loved cat back in 2012. Frankie choked to death, in my arms, at 4:30 am, from a toothpick that fell out of the garbage can. Please 🙏 be careful everyone. I thought my house was cat proofed but you never know. I miss my Frankie so much 😿😿. His twin brother, Potsey, is a happy and healthy 12 yr old now but there's a hole in my heart ❤️.
I saw my extended family's cat chewing on a nail recently! I was so glad it caught that before something bad happened. It seems like they would have a little more common sense then that.
@@madashell7224 It was horrible. My husband had used the toothpicks to hold a chicken breas, he had stuffed, together and had assured me they were in the trash can because I had specifically told him it was something the cats would want to chew on. 1 just didn't quite make in in the can.
While Frankie was choking my husband was frantically trying to find a animal hospital that was open at 4:30 am in the small backwards town we lived in in Indiana and we ran out of time.
@@babygrandma8654 I am so sorry.
Omg... This is so sad. I'm so sorry....
@@DismemberMeSoftly Thank you.
Last time I went into a petstore I saw them selling literal balls of string as cat toys. As a Vet-Tech I immediately wanted to throw up 🤦 They were branded by the petstore as well so I told an employee how dangerous that can be and he said he would tell his boss, but I doubt anything will happen.
That’s terrible! We need better safety regulation of pet and people products. 😡
For some reason mine keeps finding bread twist ties, and I have no idea where she keeps getting them. Probably from the trash. And she is absolutely obsessed with them to the point if I ask her what she's doing she will actively run and hide it from me. And just hisses at me when I take it away. Doesn't bite, rarely bats, just hisses because she's mad I took away her danger toy.
My boy, who lived to 17, loved these as well until his very last day on this earth. I had to take away many of these from him too, he was bonkers over it.
You’ve accidentally turned it into a game. Maybe lure with another toy and grab it?
My middle cat got bad about pulling things out of the trash.
My new kitten keeps getting into the bread and we come home to find the new loaf (or the biscuits we bought for thanksgiving) scattered around the house 😂 glad she has no interest in the tires tho, at least bread is soft and digestible.
They have a knack for knowing EXACTLY what we don't want them to play with!
Getting a string surgically removed from your cat's stomach is not cheap.
Nope. $1000 to remove plastic from my cat’s intestines. I’ve heard people have paid $3000+ or, worse, had to put them down. 😢
A co worker's cat ate a penny once... she paid $3000 to have the penny surgically removed. Be careful of any small objects. Cats are a lot like toddlers.
Been there done that. Once with a blind bord and once with a toy he ate whole. Blind cord he had to be cut open. Toy was still in the stomach so they used an endoscopy. The toy is hard to describe but he loved it so much and seemed like he was convinced it was real so he ate it. It was a little mouse made of natural fluffy fiber. It was slightly smaller than a golf ball but the fibers made it seem bigger. It was like a little inner foam that the fibers were stuck into. Endoscopy was more expensive because it was an emergency vet and the foreign body surgery was about a grand cheaper because we were able to take him to a low cost surgery clinic.
When my second cat came, I didn’t know cats gnawed at stuff because my first cat was never interested. He gnawed a rubber end off of an cat wand one day and we ended up going to an er. Thankfully it came out through his digestive system but we were lucky because it had hardened from being wet inside of him and sharp enough to tear through his intestines. It was a hard lesson learned.
I can’t believe how different my first 3 cats were compared to my current 3. My first babies weren’t really interested in toys but my current 3 wear me out. They meow and beg me to play, often when I need to work. I have to shut them out of my office so I can keep working.
Right! I've noticed many wand tips are dangerous - could damage eyes, or come unglued, break, and/or be ingested!
My cat swallowed a thick rubber band and thankfully hacking it up one day before I had to go to work because I didn't realize she had had it. She was also fascinated with pencil erasers. So there has got to be something about the smell of rubber that they love
@@LindaC616I’m glad your cat was ok! Mine had to have surgery for swallowing plastic. ❤
@@sciencenotstigma9534 oh no! I was a poor graduate student without a car at the time and would not have been able to make it to the vet 10 blocks away, so it was a good thing she coughed it up. It was one of those sick white ones that you see on Broccoli at the supermarket. I was also stressed out about calling into my temp job that day to cancel work. I learned a lesson about keeping those things where she could not get to them. She also used to play with the hair elastics, but she did very well with those. Step on them to pop them up bring it to me jump up on the bed drop it, get down on the floor and wait for me to throw it again
Thank you for the reminder!
I am guilty of giving every single one of the mentioned items to my cat and letting him do his thing while I play my games.
I’ll keep a better eye on him and pick the things up.
I've got an automatic laser pointer that I turn on when gaming. It keeps my cats happily occupied for about 15 minutes. If they're still wanting to play after that, I pause what I'm doing (I avoid playing something like LoL that can take a long time) and play with them until they're tired. Then they just sit on the couch and chill while I do my thing.
One of my cats loves hair ties, but I use the extra large ones that are too big /thick to eat. Consider switching to those or a scrunchy. Also, if your cat likes catnip, get them a mouse made of solid catnip or a catnip "candy". They come in 2inch rounds that they can play with and eat!
My cats love the toy mice, but I inspect them first and cut the tail and pull out noses and eyes. Once they get torn I throw them out. I also have to keep plastic bags out of reach- they like to eat them.
My cat never messed with the eyes, but I definitely have to cut off the tails and keep all hair ties away from my cat. She threw up a hair tie once.
My oldest cat is obsessed with chewing on plastic bags, his favorite are ziploc baggies and I couldn't tell you why but I have to hang up any plastic bags or he will chew on them.
My other cats treat grocery bags like cardboard boxes but the oldest and his bad habit ruined all the fun.
Same here! My cat doesn’t mess with the eyes but I always cut off the tail and tags and toss them when the stuffing comes out
What is it with the platic bag chewing? I searched around and came up with boredom (she gets lots of play so probably not it) and maybe some sort of issue with the teeth (they seem perfectly fine, but does have a well check soon so will mention it). Tried getting her something else to chew on. Zero interest.😅 Moved the majority out of reach now.
My first Siamese rescue had PICA and he would peel the fur off of the fur mice and try to eat it. I got rid of most of the store bought toys and sewed my own catnip toys out of sturdy upholstery fabric.
One of my cats loves those worm attachments that can be used on wand toys. Unfortunately almost all of them come with googly eyes and they come off easily. I try to cut them with a nail clipper or try to find ones without the eyes.
That's a good idea, my cats love the magic worm
Yeah I always cut them off, they're honestly so badly attached that I can just pull them off half the time. Those toys are my cat's obsession :)
Always supervised play with your cats especially a kitten. Another thing… see that string that comes off your Christmas turkey? Yeah, in the bin! Already happened to my sisters cat, luckily we spotted it, & pulled it out of his throat. He was on the bunker behind her, but in my vision
Good you caught that! One time at the auction we were buying a cow that was eating a hay string; it was our cow we bought. Nobody said a word we had to take it out.
Good catch! Tinsel and plastic Easter 🐣 grass are no-no’s, too. I have a mixed religion family, and always get paper grass for kids’ baskets or craft projects.
So true! Some cats chew more than others. Many years ago my son had one of the glow bracelets and his cat chewed on it and ended-up in the hospital. Took awhile to figure-out that his kitty must've swallowed some of the toxic liquid. Several days in the hospital with non-regenerative anemia, elevated liver enzymes and $1000 later, kitty THANKFULLY survived! 💜 Great reminder!! 💜💜
So glad he was ok! ❤
Really important to pick up your cat toys.. I like to inspect to make sure things aren’t too damaged by picking them up and also my cat likes me to pick them up and put them away for him😅 yes I’m a cat slave and he knows it-but it makes it much more exciting when I open the toy cupboard. He comes running!!!!! “What ya got there??!! For me..? Ohhh yeaaaa!!!” Makes everything feel new and exciting again. I put away anything with a pole/string and leave out a couple of solo toy things- usually a ball or kicker. They also get packed away/inspected and cycled through. It really helps to have a few different cat toys when you have an indoor cat.
Thanks Jackson. I appreciate the advice.
My rescue kitten swallowed a sewing needle that I dropped on the floor I wasn't aware of. I spent over 2k for her surgery at the vet to remove it, but thank god she was back to normal afterward. Be very careful with small items because cat loves to eat tiny things.
I keep all my sewing supplies in a plastic container that has a screw on lid. Even if it get tossed around, there's no chance of the contents getting spilled. I also made a batch of custom cat skull stickers that I put on things that might be dangerous, just as a reminder to be extra careful when I'm handling the contents.
You are such a blessing Dear Heart to our feline family and their caretakers. Thank you 💜
Jackson NEVER misses a thing!!! 😻😻
My mom’s cat ate a bread tie. It punctured her stomach & caused internal bleeding. 😢 We knew something was wrong. She stayed under the guest bed & didn’t eat for a few days. We took her to the vet, & they (I guess with an X-ray) found out what had happened & she was dying. She was 11. My mom stayed with her while they had to put her to sleep. I’m SO careful with things like this.
My cat once got a piece of yarn and she sucked it down her throat so quickly, it was scary. I was able to pull it out of her mouth, thank goodness. It can happen so quickly.
And string or yarn!! I have a ball of yarn dedicated solely for my cat's playtime. I swing it around and my cats chase after it. Today, it wrapped around one of my cat's necks, and he started taking off running. I hurried to take the yarn off him, and when i looked at his face, i noticed the yarn had been caught in one of his fangs!! Poor thing was so panicked.
Even worse if they swallow it! I know you supervise your cat’s play, though…thank goodness! I don’t tie cats out with a string anymore, but a safe tie-out (in an enclosed area). My cat got badly entangled in a string in his leash, he cut his tongue in half, trying to chew his way out, and it never grew back together. He had to have a soft diet, after that, and it was hard for him to swallow. I was a little kid at the time, and he would hop the fence. It was easier to catch him, with the string. It was not a well-thought out plan, though! I never forgot it.
Excellent message. Thank you
I once had a cat that was playing with a ball of yarn about the size of a softball. Unfortunately, she managed to get the end loose and started chewing on it, and then proceeded to eat it. Luckily, I found her and noticed that the ball of yarn was now smaller than a tennis ball, and the end of the yarn she was chewing and swallowing went into the cat.
After quite some time of slowly pulling the yarn gently back out, I had a large pile of yucky wet yarn, and an upset kitty. She wasn't happy with losing her toy.
Don't leave string, yarn, or really anything else they can swallow where they can get it. They are pretty good at getting stuff IN, but not so great at getting stuff OUT!
Dear Jackson Galaxy, in our house you are beloved. We love you for your fierce love and protection of cats. Your good work teaches us and fuels our love for our cats. Thank you! And Merry Christmas! ❤️
my cats favorite toys are these tiny bees I made by hot-glueing a few tiny pompoms together. He tried to play wiht single puff-balls but they were so small they'd get stuck in his mouth so theyre locked tight in the cabinets. I supervise Mochi when he plays with the bees. Always remember to inspect your cat toys on a regular basis and remove them if they're damage.
They also love this little zip ties. I got so scared once bc I thought my Kitty ate one. Lucky I found it in the carpet and tossed it.
I was about to take my sweetie to the vet because he suddenly began biting my shoulder and arm with the push away... Whaaaaa! That's not like him! It turned out to be 'a new lime lotion' I had never worn before. They don't like citrus! Forgot and he reminded me. Remedied it and we are back to wonderful. Glad I remembered. It was the Lime in the coconut. lol
edit: Chemicals/ Organic too can harm or change their disposition.
That is a good point! And nice that you went to the vet so fast upon that behavior ^^)
I feel like, especially around christmas, people seem to like giving seasonal plants, strongly scented candles, citrus air diffuse fillers and parfumes. They all mean well, but plants like the holly, branches of christmas trees and Lilly's are poisonous so I end up putting pretty stuff outside or regifting 😅
@@undefinederror40404 -
I don't even like the scented candles and perfumes. Do like the regifting angle though. ha-ha.
Just realized I don't have a chart with the life or death information for my critter. Remedy on it's way.
Merry Christmas no matter what is surrounding us... Peace to you and yours. 🕊
edit: We did not end up at the vet, only phone consult happy ending.
Oh wow! Great advice! Our older cat would bring my yarn as her “gift” to me but when we got the baby kitten she actually swallowed at least 2ft of it… thank God she pooped it out!!! Scared the heck out of us! Gross but what a hard lesson! Thank you Jackson for these tips!!! (Yes we put the yarn away!!!!)
So glad she was ok! Thanks for warning people.
I came home once to my cat playing with my pill organizer. Spent the most terrifying 5 minutes of my life counting to make sure all the pills were still there. I left the bedside drawer where I keep my medication open just a tiny bit. She got in pulled out something that rattled and went ham.
Yes, supervise and cleanup after wards ❣🙏🏼🙀😻🐈🍀🎶🎵
This is great advise!!! I'm so anal about this that my cat loves to play in boxes and large gift bags which I take off the tag and handles as well just in case ! After my cousins cat had eaten a hair tie it strangulation her intestines and needed major surgery....she was never the same again 😔
Ugh, one of my boys is OBSESSED with the mice! They are everywhere in my house, food dishes, water bowl, under the couch, in the couch. I mean he gets them and hides them. And I can't catch a break with him wanting to play fetch, I can't imagine taking them away from him 😰😪
I had 3 mice but I don't know where my cat has put them.
@@davids6839 I get it 😆
Same
My cats have a thing for hair ties. They drop them in the water bowl then play with them. One time, I caught one of the cats chewing the tie, then swallowing it! She bites them open all the time, but I’d never seen her try to eat them.
I couldn’t get to her to stop her from swallowing some, but thankfully she threw it up.
Scared the heck outta me.
No more hair ties within her reach.
Thank you so much for saying this. My husband and I lost my 3 year old sweet baby Hermione over the holidays because she ate some string from my sewing kit or found a piece of tinsel on the floor… we didn’t have it our tree, but there was some in the Christmas box that she got in to… by the time she was sick it was too late, we took her to the vet immediately, bit she was septic and her kidneys failed. We’re heartbroken and traumatized. It seems most likely it was my sewing kit… the lid was closed, but there was a piece a thread that was still attached to a spool that was sticking out and it was clear she got into it… I just don’t want anyone to have to go to through this… and pet insurance is really worth it on these situations.
Also! I wanted to buy a toy for a kitten that my aunt adopted, but almost everything at that store either contained catnip or wasn't suitable; choking hazards and all. We have no clue if this kitten is going to respond well to catnip, some cats have a bad reaction and we don't want them to feel obligated to keep a toy that does more harm than good.
We decided that not getting a gift was better than something that could end up being harmful. It's not nice to show up empty handed but if you explain they'll understand. And you can ask what treats to bring next time :)
A gift card to their local pet store?
Your cats are your children. They must be protected and have adult supervision just like any child. ❤
Hair ties! My friend's cat had to have emergency surgery that cost thousands of dollars because she kept eating hair ties unbeknownst to her owners. They noticed that she was vomiting and not eating, acting very sluggish so they took her to the vet. The vet took an x-ray and her stomach was completely filled with hair ties, causing a blockage. She would have died without emergency surgery, and now our friends are hypervigilant about hair ties
THANK YOU, JACKSON!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Mine go back into a big, open cardboard box. Caught her trying to get in (she hasn't been able to reach anything), which I thought was cute but maybe using a plastic lidded box would be safer.
You’re right about the digestion issues. Our Jerry Lee ate a rubber band!? We had to throw them out. Would not bring any in the house or he would find them . He like chewing on them. But made him very sick.
We are so fortunate that we caught our cat in time after he ate a 5 inch piece of ribbon! The vet was able to get him to throw up. And I often find hair bands on the floor that are falling out of my husband's thin ponytail! 😫
I don't think that the larger ones can be swallowed like The Milk Jug rings. But I always wondered if the milk jug Rings maybe could have cut into her lips or her gum. And either case there were always hairy elastics and milk jug Rings underneath the furniture in my place 20 years ago.
Is he twisting those ties into a figure 8 multiple times? As a thin haired person, just thought I'd mention that. Also, replace ones that get stretched out, safely in the bin.
@@user-ov4wr5yu4r we decided on a different solution. She Who Must be Obeyed insisted on a haircut! 😁
I learned the hard way about a string on a stick.
I left the house, forgot my purse and turned around.
Gone just 5 minutes and found that my baby had ingested the string all the way up to the stick.
We were SO lucky that I had to turn back and was able to slowly pull it out before doing any damage.
Yes be careful I close them off from the toys when I'm not watching them. I just close the bedroom door and keep them out of the room.
Thank you Jackson so much!❤❤❤
Just to add, if you have a “flocked” Christmas tree (the type with that fake white snow), please know that that stuff is harmful to your cats. I’ve seen a post floating around Facebook about it… so please be mindful of stuff like that too and holiday essential oil diffusers.
When I was a kid we had a cat that loved to play with straws lol. He would also sit in front of the box fan on the floor and meow into it.
This is smart!! My cat loves to play with my hair ties but I always make sure I’m holding it and they’re inaccessible when I’m not around. The toys we let her have access to are the big sloth and big fish where she bunny feets them and the little crinkle balls that don’t come apart.
If the crinkle balls you're talking about are the mylar balls, I found out quite a while back that when they get wet the color bleeds off and is not good for your cat. My cat had a blue one and tossed it into his water bowl and when he grabbed it and started playing with it his entire mouth was blue and his paws. I tossed all of those in the trash and I wrote a review about them on Amazon to warn people not to buy them.
Yeah sadly the crinkle balls are awful...
Get her some toys springs. My cats have been playing with them for years and they are very safe! But definitely stay away from those crinkle balls.
@@PennySue nooooo!!! I’m so glad y’all told me! I literally thought they were the simplest most harmless little thing. Ugh okay I’ll get her some springs then. Oh man she’s gonna be sad, she runs to get them when I tell her “ go find crinkle” 😔
@@jordanalmond3458 my cats loved them too but I'm sure glad I found out how the colors bleed. My cats do love the springs though and also jingle balls.
Thank you Jackson, for all your great tips & advice
Unfortunately our cat has been deceased. Pray for us. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽😺😇👼
Jackson, you're a literal miracle to the cat community. I learn so much from you for my cat & I just wanna say thanks. 🌹🌹
I have been saying these things to others but keep being told that I'm over thinking things and I'm being too over the top
Consider the possibility that both you and the creator of this video are overthinking things a bit
@@raijinoflimgrave8708 to say mr. Galaxy is wrong about cats...is a very bold thing to say.
@@js8qp2pwisos I said consider the possibility
@@raijinoflimgrave8708 they’re not though, Jackson Galaxy is probably speaking from experience of hearing about cats who die from this, also a vet will tell you the same thing
Office supplies -- rubber bands, staples and so much more.
Yarn Crafts and sewing -- stitch markers, pins, weights, magnets, presser feet, yarn and so much more.
If you wouldn't feed it to a baby, it needs to be kept secured from a pet!
You deserve much more recognition
Now I am terrified. Won't be able to sleep tonight 😖
Thank you for the reminder!!
You also just have to know your cat. My cat doesn't tear apart toys, doesn't eat bits and bobs (doesn't eat ANYTHING except the exact brand of food she is used to, for that matter), etc. The only thing I really don't let her around unsupervised are string toys she could get tangled up in, or paper bags with handles she can get stuck in. But my girlfriend's cat is basically a dog in a cat's body. He will eat every thing he can get his claws on, and has a particular affinity for plastic. He's had to be rushed to the vet before for swallowing a rubber band. At her place, we've gotta be very strict and careful about leaving trash around.
Even with smart cats, it's good to be watchful!! They have those hooks on their tongue and can have a really hard time spitting out anything that winds up in their mouth, even if they didn't want to swallow it.
Thank you for sharing that information with so many people.
I have been telling my family & friends and everyone else that are cat lovers that for about 40 years now.
I hope a lot of people will watch this that don't know about so many hidden dangers.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All, and to All a Good Night.
Feathers!! Why do manufacturers put feathers on cat toys?? It’s the first thing they want to eat!!
Yes, thanks for any and all reminders.
Be ever vigilant!
My daughter's cat used to steal my hair ties. She'd climb up things, open drawers etc to get them. Found her stash when we moved.
My dog, Ghost, would hoard cough drops. I’d catch him crunching on them. I finally found a very impressive stash, behind the couch! 😂. I never thought a dog would like menthol.
Thankfully, the cough drops didn’t seem to do him any harm.
Glad you mentioned this. And great advice😊👍- thanks
I had several cats in my life and I grew up three boys. Both kitten and baby human are masters on finding the wrong thing to do. Just a matter of almost constant attention...
The ringpulls from cartons, they love those. One foster cat carried one around so her bro wouldn’t take it, but she never chewed it. I have had to rescue hair ties, though, those are apparently for chewing.
My cat has proved to me more then enough times she is smart enough to not consumer something that’s not food.
My cat is an idiot
That's got to be a weight off. Still, though!! I'd be watchful! Cats have those backwards hooks on their tongue which can make it hard for them to spit something out if they get it into their mouth for whatever reason.
My son's cat choked on some plastic garbage that was left on the floor. Animals/pets are like children you need to keep your place semi clean. Pick up everything that you don't want your fur baby ingest & choke on. Plain & simple. Inspect their toys to make sure nothing is falling apart on them. And fix/throw them away. They are now part of your family. Cats are very clean animals.
Not to mention the dyes in feathers
Oh really? My cat has one particular wand toy attachment that she loves to lick once she's caught it.
We had a mouse on a string that made little sounds when hit, it was a wonderful toy that one of our dogs played with for hours (she adores cat toys! She was never fond of dog toys, I'm sad it took us so long but I'm glad we figured this out. Anyway-)
Then our other dog got a hold of it, and she also really liked the toy- but in another way. Once it opened up I was curious about the lil machine making the sounds, and worried about choking hazards. I'm SO glad that I checked it out: a sharp metal circle was at the base of it which could easily have wrecked their gums or worse.
After I removed it she got to pull it apart. We got some more durable cat toys later, but nothing really beat the noisy mouse..
I appreciate this heads up. I recently had an ah ha moment about putting "toys" away when my cats aren't supervised. Especially because my Hugs can find a way to get tangled or caught in the darndest things. So I just play it safe and put them away when I'm gone or sleeping.
I am old. Way back when we would finish off decorating our Christmas tree with strands of thin aluminum called tinsel. That finishing touch would give our trees a shimmering effect. My cat enjoyed walking under the Christmas tree. When he walked away from the tree, tinsel would become draped over his tail. One time that my cat had tinsel draped on his tail I stuck out my foot and stepped on the tinsel only to discover the tinsel was coming out of his rectum! My cat made a sound that I have never heard before! After that “no more tinsel on Christmas trees!” Years later I thought my Christmas tree was haunted. I observed an ornament swinging back and forth by itself. Only one ornament was doing this swinging. On closer inspection I discovered my cat inside a branch on the Christmas tree playing with that ornament. After checking out the rest of the tree I realized that most of the items on the tree were dangerous to any pet and as well as other household holiday decorations. I enjoy your UA-cam. I appreciate you valuable advise. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Lincoln
This video is so helpful, thank you so much!
You are so spot on.
Thank you, Jackson ❤
You are my go-to with Kitty Questions. TY❤️TY❤️TY
Thanks so much I forward all your video to folks I know own kitties they all appreciate me sharing.
He's not kidding about the hair ties.
One time when both me and my fiancé brought our first cat into the vet for the first time and checked her out and gave her her shots, he randomly pulls out a small Ziplock bag of these gross looking hair ties and said that he got all of them from a cat who almost died from eating them.
I guess he noticed the one I was wearing so he wanted to make sure that I be careful with my hair ties.
It was definitely an eye opener so now I wear scrunchies or hair clamps more often and only wear hair ties on rare occasions and keep them wear my cats can't get to them and if one breaks, it goes straight into the big covered trash can.
Be careful out there people. A few years ago I worked at a vet clinic. A sweet young cat swallowed a long piece of string. It couldnt go in for surgery because the string was wrapped too tightly around the intestines... I know this is graphic, but it's just a reminder to keep a close eye on what your pets play with.
It’s good that someone is making people aware of everyday items. I would say especially with the mice , no squeakers but a mouse with catnip is ok as long as you watch your cats and don’t leave the toys in the room alone, especially for kittens as they rip up everything. My kitten tore up one of those wind up toys I threw it in the bin so he didn’t choke on the thing inside
Also crafting materials: our cat found one of those thin sheets of rubber/foam and ingested a pretty small piece, which blocked her intestine. Luckily she survived after surgery. Look out for things they could tear up and ingest a piece.
I like to make simple wand cat toys for my local shelter. I try to be hyper-vigilant and not use any potentially dangerous materials. I always ask the shelter staff to inspect each toy and only use it for supervised, interactive play. Sometimes I browse online cat toys to get ideas, and am shocked at some of the things on offer. Just like babies, cats will chomp on anything! You have to be incredibly careful.
I read that some plastic bags smell like fish, faintly but cats can smell it, from the chemicals used to make them. My kitty would chew on any plastic bag and steal ribbons from my stuffed toy collection. He once had an intestinal obstruction from eating foil gift wrapping ribbon. fortunately he passed it naturally after several days with prescribed mild laxatives, the night before he was scheduled for surgery. Tinsel foil is really bad too. The metal coating becomes poisonous in their intestines. Those cat toys with dyed feathers or metal scrunched foil are dangerous.
Same for any kind of string/ thread (esp yarn) bc it can get caught up on their papillae and they can't spit it out on their own... which can cause the blockage risk that you mentioned 😿🙀😿
Vet saved his life ❤
So important that you informed us of things we wouldn't think would be dangerous. (If it's MADE for pets, why would it have parts that could choke or kill our pets?) 😞
Thank you for this reminder ❤
Yup. My oldest cat likes to lay in dirty laundry. When he was about a year old we came home to find a very odd mass of different colored fibers and it was slimy. It took us a while to figure out what it was but we eventually worked out that it had the same texture as a hairball. It was a waistband to a pair of my shorts. So probably at least 3ft of string in his belly that lucky came up the way it went down without choking him. We now have laundry baskets with covers and he’s only allowed in approved dirty clothes piles. I sometimes leave sheets and tshirts on the floor so he can still have his dirty laundry snuggles every so often.
Ohh and my boyfriend reminded me that he had a hoarse little meow for a day or so and that’s what made us sure he had thrown it up.
I am a Crepuscular Musketeer and English Bulldog Mom. Listen to Jackson's advice. As a Sewist and Mom, I completely stand by this video.
It took 5 grand to save my cat after she swallowed string. I now lock up her favorite toy. It wasn't a toy that did it, but she tries to pull it apart so only under supervision. The string was from my box spring so check your furniture for loose string.
Oh my gosh, JACKSON! Thank you for this post!!! I will never forget the day (over 30 years ago!) that we walked into our house to find our kitten literally HANGING from a doorknob, neck wrapped so tightly a dozen times around in the elasticized string of “cat toy.” She was limp but warm, and my brother and I frantically cut her free. She grew up healthy and strong, but we were so lucky.
My cats only get trash toys. Pieces of cardboard packaging, paper straws, paper lids...that sort of thing. They also love chasing thier pine litter pellets. It's all free and my babies are safe and happy.
THANK YOU FOR THIS REMINDER! It's easy to assume all cat toys are safe but they're not all the same and some are dangerous. 🙏
THANK YOU JACKSON. GOOD INFORMAION!!
Silicone or pvc litter mats. Seriously, my cat was eating pieces off of it. Took a month or two, but he developed a blockage and required surgery to remove a piece.
One of my cats loved the crinkly candy wrappers. We had ppl stay overnight and the cat kept them up all night playing with those wrappers!😂😂😂😂😂!
Don't forget the pull string on blinds! Dangerous for babies, dogs, and cats. For some reason they just can't help getting their next tangled up in them 🙄😩
Please do a video on what you consider the safest toys that a cat might be left alone with. Or if they exist. Jackson, you rock!
A rubber ball should be fine. My kitty likes chasing ping pong balls, but they're noisy AF! LOL
Sounds like a idea. 👍
Yes, we like the plastic balls, with bells inside. Also, we had a human baby toy that was soft and had no parts that could come off. It had something inside like plastic making a crinkly sound. They loved that.
Speaking of non-toys there was a woman on Twitter who lost both her cats after they ingested dust from the white material that's out under the Xmas tree. Two gingers only 6 y.o. 💔
My cat often goes outside to play. She could eat a small piece of a branch when climbing trees etc. How would I know? It's called being alive & learning. But I get the one with the yarn and the rubber band.
If you have laterally pivoted windows, be careful about leaving a cat unattended around them. A friend of mine’s cat tried to climb out, got stuck in the crack, kept sliding down and struggling more desperately and tragically ended up breaking his spine. My friend was traumatized by this, finding her kitty in such a state after coming home. He had to be put down as there was no saving him with any quality of life. I feel so terrible for that poor cat. None of us had ever heard of this even being possible, so we’ve been spreading the word ever since.
Never had a cat even think to eat or swallow those things
I’m a vet nurse and we once had a kitten who had swallowed over 20 hair ties.😅😮
Watch them when they play. Exactly!! I do that ALL THE TIME. Jackson, I NEED your help. I have a question about my Joy babygirl kitty. How can I reach you for a one on one?
my cat has a couple toys but her favourite is one filled with cat nip, it has brown fur around the cat nip pouch and feather sticking out at the “tail”. She goes wild for it! She can’t choke on it or anything. I would highly recommend it, it’s from pets at home
Thanks for posting! I just bought two mice toys for my cat yesterday