Do You Know Where All Your Beading Needles Are?
Posted by learntobead on December 18, 2009
Do You Know Where
All Your Beading Needles Are?
Cleo is a cat owned by one of our customers. She has a propensity, or is it proclivity, or is it pronounced desire for, or something which attracts her to beading needles. It turns out that cats especially are attracted to things like beading needles….And they swallow them.
I’m sure they have the mechanical physics wrong in their brains — after all, cats aren’t specifically trained in physics. Because instead of passing all the way through their digestive systems — like other things they eat that they are not supposed to — beading needles pass through the esophageal walls, and lodge into other organs, muscles and bones.
Here is one of Cleo’s recent X-rays. You can see the needle on the left side of the image, near her heart.
So, do you know where all your beading needles are today? Be sure to keep them out of sight of your cat.
freebird7100 said
Ohh my gosh! I am soooo glad that my cat is an outside cat!!! Poor thing I hope s/he is ok.
learntobead said
Cleo is OK, but she will have to live with a needle near her heart.
Warren
Elizabeth said
OMG! Poor Cleo kitty! I keep all of my needles in an old business card turned needle case so my cat can’t get to them! Who knew that they could swallow needles?!?! :*( Thank you for informing us sugar! <3
Kimberly said
I thought only my cats liked needles/straight pins. I have to keep them in closed containers.
I hope your little furry friend has learned a lesson. And may she find only food to swallow. Happy beading!!!
Terry said
Poor Kitty! I have 3 young’uns (cats) and they know to stay away from Mama’s beading (at least when I’m watching), so I haven’t had this problem with needles. But I do have one grumpy old lady cat that insists on laying on my beading tray if I don’t have it in my lap and I’m not watching her closely. If I catch her there and try to move her, she grips everything in site with her claws and everything goes everywhere. Or when she moves, beads stick to her paws or she swishes them off with her tail and I end up on my hands and knees following her path across the carpet. Obviously, I’m not as in charge as I would like to think I am. tj
Robert and Angela said
Wow – that’s really scary. I don’t know who Cleo’s vet is, but I would like to strongly recomend a second opinion from the closest specialists. They’re at the The College of Veterinary Medicine at UT Knoxville, but it’s worth the drive if the poor kitty could have that needle removed.
http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/index.php
Dawn said
Our 15 year-old cat, Fluffy, apparently likes to floss with Fireline. She got up on the dining room table sometime during the night and started swallowing one of my beading projects(with the hooks on their tongues, anything that gets attached has only one way to go – down). Unfortunately, there was a short needle at the end of the Fireline. I found her with the beaded portion of a necklace hanging from her mouth. When the vet x-rayed her, the needle was in her small intestine, and Fireline going back to her stomach. The vet was able to open her up and get both out. She hasn’t been the same since, though. She’s lost lots of weight and is now on two medicines three times a day. She’s a fighter – and we are trying everything to help. So here’s my suggestion – if you’re not working on a project – cover it with another beading mat – or something else. Best wishes to Cleo.