Da Bird Warning...

[PrimateLove]

Da Bird is MiniE's favorite toy in the whole world and up until yesterday we would play with her then she would steal the toy away and we would let her go to town.

Yesterday I was working on picking up the house and doing laundry. I had been playing with MiniE on and off and went to take a load of wash to the laundry room so I tossed the Da Bird on the floor for her to play with while I was putting in a load.

After I finished (maybe 20 seconds later), I came back in the living room. I heard a whimper behind the recliner and went to investigate. I found MiniE laying on her side with the cord around her neck I snatched her up and placed my fingers between the cord and her neck and rushed her into the kitchen to get the scissors.

My heart stopped and I burst into tears. MiniE started purring when I removed the string and became loving. About 30 seconds later, she was attacking my hand, arm, mouth, nose, neck, shirt, fingers, ears, etc and was back to her wild and crazy self.

We now have a new rule in the house that Da Bird is off limits unless Mark or I have the handle at all times. We have it locked in the closet otherwise.

I was beating myself up with the what if's yesterday...What if she couldn't have made a noise, what if I decided to fold what was in the dryer vs. un-wrinkling them, what if I wasn't home, etc. So I figured the best thing I could do is warn everyone on here who has toys with strings to please supervise your babies whenever they are playing with their string toys, it only takes a second for something to happen.

 

[Lickleone]

Oh how scare!! Hon but all those what ifs serves no one any good, you were meant to find her and you did. What ifs now don't even help her all it does is torture yourself and what good that going to do!?? (((Hugs))) what good you have done is warn us and all of us will now be extra careful!! Riley loves da bird and now thanks to you I'll be extra vigilant thank you

 

[admin]

Da Bird is MiniE's favorite toy in the whole world and up until yesterday we would play with her then she would steal the toy away and we would let her go to town.

Yesterday I was working on picking up the house and doing laundry. I had been playing with MiniE on and off and went to take a load of wash to the laundry room so I tossed the Da Bird on the floor for her to play with while I was putting in a load.

After I finished (maybe 20 seconds later), I came back in the living room. I heard a whimper behind the recliner and went to investigate. I found MiniE laying on her side with the cord around her neck I snatched her up and placed my fingers between the cord and her neck and rushed her into the kitchen to get the scissors.

My heart stopped and I burst into tears. MiniE started purring when I removed the string and became loving. About 30 seconds later, she was attacking my hand, arm, mouth, nose, neck, shirt, fingers, ears, etc and was back to her wild and crazy self.

We now have a new rule in the house that Da Bird is off limits unless Mark or I have the handle at all times. We have it locked in the closet otherwise.

I was beating myself up with the what if's yesterday...What if she couldn't have made a noise, what if I decided to fold what was in the dryer vs. un-wrinkling them, what if I wasn't home, etc. So I figured the best thing I could do is warn everyone on here who has toys with strings to please supervise your babies whenever they are playing with their string toys, it only takes a second for something to happen.

Thanks for the heads up - although we do not have one, glad to hear MiniE is ok...(y)

 

[PrimateLove]

Thanks for the heads up - although we do not have one, glad to hear MiniE is ok...(y)

Thanks so much! We went through and pulled all of the toys we had with strings just to be safe. We also tied up all the drawstrings on the mini blinds. She is so wild, we don't want to take any chances.

 

[susi794]

Good choice to kitten proof your home. I know of at least one incident of a kitten choking on a cord from the blinds. And thanks for warning everyone not to let them play with string toys unsupervised...beyond the choking due to wrapped string, they can also chew through the string and eat it, causing a bowel obstruction which requires surgery to correct. Watch out for the tree garlands as well....and if you use icicles, I would suggest leaving the kitties locked up until you get rid of them. So glad MiniE is ok.

 

[SphynxKid]

The same happens with clothes. I only put mine in clothes when I am home, and leave them plenty of blankets and heated beds to snuggle in when I am not home. Once I caught Fluffy licking her sweater and the edge of it got stuck in her bottom teeth and she stood there choking for a few seconds until I could untangle her teeth. These sphynx seem much more able to get themselves in trouble than furry cats!

Jen

 

[PrimateLove]

The same happens with clothes. I only put mine in clothes when I am home, and leave them plenty of blankets and heated beds to snuggle in when I am not home. Once I caught Fluffy licking her sweater and the edge of it got stuck in her bottom teeth and she stood there choking for a few seconds until I could untangle her teeth. These sphynx seem much more able to get themselves in trouble than furry cats!

Jen

So glad Fluffy was ok...UGH! I swear, I am going to have to get a full time nanny for these cats...

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Wow! What a scare! I teared up reading this. I am so glad MiniE is fine and thank you for spreading the warning!
Giz loves to eat stringy things and Sammi has a thing for tissue and paper towels.

 

[susi794]

Let's keep all our babies safe this holiday season and beyond.....

 

[Nefertari]

So sorry to hear of the horrible experience. I always lock the cat dancer away when we are done playing and if toys have strings i hide also lock them away (My crew can open door so yes i need to keep a cupboard door locked lol) Also only wear clothes when im home and dont sleep in them. I kitty proof the house every night and if i hear something im straight out of bed. I feel like im a 24/7 house mam
Plus Mau has an obsession with string,plastic and other restricted items ..Oh what stress they put us through lol

 

[GoldHazel]

Da Bird is MiniE's favorite toy in the whole world and up until yesterday we would play with her then she would steal the toy away and we would let her go to town.

Yesterday I was working on picking up the house and doing laundry. I had been playing with MiniE on and off and went to take a load of wash to the laundry room so I tossed the Da Bird on the floor for her to play with while I was putting in a load.

After I finished (maybe 20 seconds later), I came back in the living room. I heard a whimper behind the recliner and went to investigate. I found MiniE laying on her side with the cord around her neck I snatched her up and placed my fingers between the cord and her neck and rushed her into the kitchen to get the scissors.

My heart stopped and I burst into tears. MiniE started purring when I removed the string and became loving. About 30 seconds later, she was attacking my hand, arm, mouth, nose, neck, shirt, fingers, ears, etc and was back to her wild and crazy self.

We now have a new rule in the house that Da Bird is off limits unless Mark or I have the handle at all times. We have it locked in the closet otherwise.

I was beating myself up with the what if's yesterday...What if she couldn't have made a noise, what if I decided to fold what was in the dryer vs. un-wrinkling them, what if I wasn't home, etc. So I figured the best thing I could do is warn everyone on here who has toys with strings to please supervise your babies whenever they are playing with their string toys, it only takes a second for something to happen.

Thank you for posting this warning, Courtney. Thank God everything turned out to be fine. So try not to beat yourself up with the "what ifs". MiniE is fine and you too will be fine one day soon. oxox

 

[cleozmama]

My Cleopatrick was so crazy about
Da Bird that I kept it in a cardboard poster tube and locked it away also. He just wouldn't leave it alone, unlike all his other toys. LOL

I'm glad your baby is safe and thanks for the warning!

 

[andreanar]

You must have been so scared! Glad it turned out well. I keep Da Bird and other toys on a string hidden unless its time for me to play with them.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

This is a great post and an awesome reminder to all. Last year we bought a cat tree with 3 mice hanging from the tower on that elastic cord...Jouët got one wrapped around her neck and thank God we were in the same room.. I jumped up and ripped the mice off free her. She was dangling. It would have been tragic. She still loves those mice but they are cordless and fun for her to bat around. We also are very careful about feathers. No feather toys unless supervised now. Had a feather get lodged twice in the throat and trust me the vet visits were much more expensive than the toys!

Those with new kittens...remember your babies do NOT know better...they will be in to everything. No tinsel!


Patti

 

[Franksmom]

So glad she is ok, thanks for the info

 

[ElvirasMum]

Goodness what a scare!!! So glad you're both okay! *hugs*

 

[1sphynxlover]

Broke out in tears reading this. I'm the same way.. What if. I've tied up ties on blinds. Every time it go to leave the house, if they are going to be alone, I walk around looking for something that could hurt them. My husband has to give me 30 min warning so I can check for anything. I feel paranoid sometimes, but I love them to death. I could never replace their quirky personalities. I just can't imagine losing one of them.

When you thing of “toys" you forget they can be harmful. Great post, sometimes we forget hidden dangers. I'm a worry wart so ...I always worry about everything.

 

[Hairless Blessing]

So glad she is ok, They, can scare, the daylights out of you.
The cords on the blinds, are dangerous also. I was gone one day and my Husband came home, from work
and he came in, through the garage, into the Den downstairs and he heard something and looked.
There, was Izmae, hanging by the tail, with the cord wrapped around it.
I, don't know how long, she was hanging, but Thank God, my Husband, came home when he did.
It didn't hurt her, she was ok, probably scared. She, would get on a wide ledge, coming out from
a double window and sun. Her tail, had to catch the cord.
She, would jump, on the back of a chair and then, jump on the ledge, well, she can't now.
I, moved that chair, that day and all cords, are, where she can't possibly, touch them.

 

[GoldHazel]

You must have been so scared! Glad it turned out well. I keep Da Bird and other toys on a string hidden unless its time for me to play with them.

Ditto.

 

[PrimateLove]

Thanks everyone for all your kind words and additional cautions. It's amazing how these babies become such a part of our lives and I could not imagine anything bad happening to them on my watch!

Hugs to everyone!

 

[Catzzzmeow]

@PrimateLove you are such a good Mommy.

 

[Boonecat]

Thanx for the warning. Can't be too careful.

 

[NeyaBenz]

glad she is OK. Anything with a string/wire should be put away when not under supervision. We roll up all these type toys and put them out of reach. We'll let Lily drag them off, but we watch closely while she "kills" them.

I think you can never be too careful with any type of string. I even hang my jacket up in a closed closet now because it has stretchy cords on the bottom for adjusting the waist.

 

[MyJezebel]

Thank god she's okay! I appreciate the warning. We have da bird and keep it in my husband's dresser. I have allowed Finn to run away with it though. Believe me, I won't let him do that any more after reading this.

 

[Xandria]

What a frightening story. I am so glad everything turned out okay -- they do seem resilient.

Thank you for linking to this from the Favourite Toys post; it's information everyone needs to know. Thanks again!