Dangerous Cat Toys
Perhaps one of the most classic of all domestic images is that of a cat chasing a ball of yarn, but this is actually a very dangerous situation. Some cats, particularly of the Siamese-types, love to chew on wool. This is all well and fine, but they will also swallow this wool as well, which leads to some serious health problems. Even if a piece of the yarn is dangling out of a cat’s mouth, they may have already swallowed enough to put their digestive tract at risk should the owner begin tugging on the exposed end of the wool.
Does this mean that some of the most common “toys” that owners give to their cats can be dangerous? Actually, this is the case. Yarn and ribbons are also guilty of suffocating cats who have gotten tangled up in the strands, panicked, and then choked themselves in their struggle. This is also something that happens with shopping bags too, and whether someone chooses “paper or plastic” a cat can become dangerously tangled in the handles of the bag. This leads to them getting a portion of their anatomy squeezed through the handles, which can lead to all kinds of medical conditions, particularly if the cat is left alone for a few hours in such a state.
Plastic bags of all kinds are also a threat because cats are often attracted to their crinkling sounds. This causes them chew some of the plastic which then enters their digestive tract and presents a choking or suffocation hazard. Even if the cat does not choke on the plastic, they might have to endure serious digestive harm from the plastic slowly dissolving in their stomach or causing some sort of blockage that requires surgical remova.
In addition to plastic bags offering appeal through their crinkling sounds, there are many toys specifically designed for cats that fail to meet some basic safety standards too. Any toy that has pieces of felt or string that are attached using glue or plastic must be avoided as these present choking, cutting, and digestive threats. Additionally, toys that have openings through which a cat might stick its snout or its head should be avoided as well since a cat can easily become stuck in such a device and if unattended could suffocated before receiving help.
Toys should be assessed for threats and any possible side effects. By no means should toys be allowed only when humans are present because a cat cannot differentiate the safe times from the unsafe times to play with a certain toy, and instead a toy that has any sort of threat should be discarded.
