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My cat ate ribbon. What signs mean an emergency vet visit is needed?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 2 years old | 12 lbs

My cat Shadow is a little over a year old. I believe she ate about 2 feet of ribbon off a balloon. It's only been about 20 minutes. She seems to be acting normal. Are signs immediate? Should I take her to the vet in the morning?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 20th, 2017

It can take up to 72 hours for signs of an obstruction to occur, and if she does get a linear foreign body from eating this ribbon, she will need surgery to remove it. Waiting until morning to see the vet will be too late to induce vomiting in Shadow, there is only a window of two hours in order to do this. I would take her into an ER vet or find a vet on call now to see her to induce vomiting with a shot.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 17th, 2018

    Oh no, that's not good that Dot ate the ribbon! The problem with long ribbons is that they can cause what's known as a linear foreign body obstruction in the intestines, and one sign of it is vomiting. Given that she has been vomiting and because I can't see her in person to rule out a linear foreign body obstruction, I do think having her seen by a vet now is best. If she does have a linear foreign body, the sooner it's removed, the better for her. I recommending taking her into an ER vet, even though it does stress her. In my opinion, it's best to be safe especially when a cat is showing symptoms of an obstruction. Good luck, I hope this helps!

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