Potential strangulation danger alert!

Just want to alert all of a potential strangulation danger that I became aware of the other day. I had just brought home a gift in one of those small brown shopping bags with loop handles that stand up (these also come in fancy colors and designs for different occasions so you don't have to wrap some small gifts). I set it on the counter and of course, Mikey, my deaf, white Cornish Rex had to check it out. I left the room as he was sniffing the contents. When I came back about 30 seconds later, he had his head stuck inside one of the loop handles, but was still standing there, unaware of the predicament he had gotten himself into! I quietly walked over and extricated him, but shudder to think if I hadn't come back immediately he eventually would have grown tired of the new package, jumped down, realized he couldn't get away from the noose and run and dragged the bag and contents around, quite possibly causing him great pain, injury or possibly even death!
I know we try to kitty proof our homes, but sometimes a new danger lurks where we don't even imagine. Hope this helps to make other aware of this potential danger.

Pesto has gotten plasic bag handles caught around her neck, but fortunatly there wasn't anything in them when she did! She just ran and ran and ran until it came off. She was a girl on a mission-- didn't listen to mom or dad, or let us help, the just kept running.

Another time she caught a plastic hanger hook on her collar. She freaked out and did the same thing, except the hanger ended up broken into 4 or 5 pieces.

This kind of stuff hasn't happened in a while. Your post just reminded me of those incidents.

I posted this somewhere else when a similar topic came up. My cat, Andy, got the loop of a plastic trash bag around his neck. He was racing through the house to get away from it, and it was filling up with air as he ran! It looked like he had a parachute attached to him! Poor baby's little heart was going thumpety-thump by the time we got the "ghost" off him! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

Don't wish to make light of *Mikey's* close encounter with his gift bag, but you can read about Boots Kat's encounter with an *evil bag* at: http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/Forum12/HTML/000087.html

Another possibly lethal household item is the common rubber band. Often placed around a pet's neck or paw by a young Two-Legger, it can cause extreme pain and suffering if forgotten http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/eek.gif and it remains on the pet for an extended time.

/s/ Boots, the Kat

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/s/ Cinder & Smokey
the Rescued & Adopted
FurKids of *Phred*

[This message has been edited by Cinder & Smoke (edited February 22, 2001).]

Yes, I really should have seen and remembered the similarities to the plastic grocery bag loops. Several years ago, this happened to one of my other cats, Lucky. She ran, panicked around the house and must have banged her little head against something because she actually ended up with a bruise over her eye! Makes me feel even worse that I didn't see the same danger. Now I keep BOTH kinds of bags far from prying paws!!

Oh Phred!! I knew of a family that had to bring their lab in for surgical removal of rubber bands that had grown into the flesh of the poor kids' front legs. The doggie had long black fur and the owner SAID they never noticed them. Apparently, one of the kids had put them on her! Geeez! So hard to anticipate everything these little scamps can get themselves into. I switched to a "breakaway" collar for my kitty for fear of him catching it on something and choking. Many dogs have suffered horrifying deaths by choke collars left on continually, that end up "catching" on something outdoors and sadly end up choking the dog to death!

[This message has been edited by tatsxxx11 (edited February 23, 2001).]