Ask Dr Fiona

My 9 week old mini foxy puppy just swallowed a small cat toy with a small bell on it. He is fine at the moment. But I’m worried about it coming out or doing damage inside of him.

Foreign objects such as a cat toy can potentially cause gastrointestinal obstructions. These can be partial or complete obstructions and can make your puppy very sick. In this case it would be best to take your puppy to your local veterinarian immediately so they can induce vomiting. Hopefully your puppy vomits up the cat toy without any issues.

If it has been too long and the cat toy is no longer in the stomach, your puppy would need to be monitored very closely. Signs of gastrointestinal obstructions include vomiting, lethargy and inappetence.

The toy may potentially pass through without any issues (have fun examining his poo for the toy!) but if there are any concerns about an obstruction, surgery may be indicated to remove the toy before the gastrointestinal tract is damaged.

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Chat soon,
Dr Fi