Sophie adopted Sooki, an eight-year-old medium hair tuxedo cat from the RSPCA just last September. Little did she know, Sooki was going to get herself into serious mischief less than a year later.

Whilst on the phone, Sophie observed Sooki chewing on something. To her shock, she realised it was a piece of cotton thread, with the needle still attached! Sophie admits her own catlike reflexes simply weren’t fast enough and Sooki swallowed both the needle and thread before she could grab it.

Cotton thread, like dental floss, ribbon, fishing line and the like, are more dangerous than the actual needle. Thread-like items, when ingested by cats or kittens, have the potential to lead to a life-threatening condition called gastrointestinal obstruction due to the string-like object getting stuck somewhere along the intestinal tract.

Sophie rushed Sooki to her local vet who took x-rays and referred her immediately to Lort Smith for possible surgery. By the time Sophie arrived at Lort Smith, Sooki’s x-rays had been emailed through and she didn’t have to wait long before Sooki was whisked away to be treated.

Sooki was sedated and an endoscope procedure carried out. An endoscope is a long, flexible tube with a lens at one end and a video camera at the other. It was here that the vet was able to locate the needle and thread, and using crocodile forceps, slowly removed the foreign body. Watch the endoscope procedure below.

Sophie was incredibly relieved that major surgery wasn’t required as an endoscope is much less invasive.

“Sooki had a hard time waking up so she was kept in overnight for round-the-clock observation,” explains Sophie.

Whilst still a little coughy and sneezy, Sooki has made a full recovery. And Sophie is being much more mindful of what mischief Sooki could get up to with items left out.

“I was really happy with my experience at Lort Smith. They got the needle and thread out quickly and called me right away with an update,” said Sophie.

Sooki, leave the cross-stitch well alone and find yourself another hobby!

Lort Smith offers emergency, urgent and essential care – please call us on 9328 3021 if your pet is injured or becomes unwell.