‘Seemingly endless bundle of strings’ found inside abandoned, sick cat, SC rescue says

When veterinarians operated on a sick cat that had been brought to an animal shelter, what they found was “simply unbelievable,” one of the surgeons said, according to the South Carolina rescue organization.

During the operation, the doctors pulled “a seemingly endless bundle of strings” from her stomach, according to a news release from the Charleston Animal Society.

The cat, Juliet, had “somehow” swallowed 38 hair ties, the organization said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Leigh Jamison, associate director of veterinary care at the Charleston Animal Society said in a statement.

Someone had previously brought Juliet to the animal society along with a few other cats that had been abandoned outside of a home when the residents moved away, the release says.

After several weeks, Juliet, a short-haired white cat, stopped eating and began to act lethargic, according to the organization.

A radiograph showed that she had a blockage in her stomach, and veterinarians performed lifesaving surgery to remove it. Radiographs are images of the body produced using X-rays.

The release did not specify when Juliet was brought to the animal society and when she was operated on. The organization did not immediately respond to a request for information from McClatchy News.

After surgeons operated on her stomach and pulled out the mass, they counted 38 hair ties that had been blocking her stomach and preventing her from processing food, the release says.

While her intestines weren’t damaged, the blockage caused fat to build up in her liver, leading to a serious health condition.

Vets say her health is improving, but she “isn’t out of the woods yet,” the release says. She is in fair condition and being fed via feeding tube.

“We have to make sure that as we feed her, we keep her electrolytes in balance,” Jamison said in a statement.

Charleston Animal Society warned cat owners to supervise their cats around “bouncy, stringy objects,” like hair ties and rubber bands, which cats love to play with but can be dangerous if swallowed.

Charleston Animal Society, located in North Charleston, about 9 miles northwest of Charleston, is a no-kill shelter and hospital that cares for around 20,000 animals a year, according to its website.

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