A cat was transferred from a shelter with her kittens in tow. Months later, she received the happiest ending she had always deserved.

Candy and her kittensFosterKittenMama

A few months ago, a mother cat and her four kittens arrived at a shelter already stretched beyond its limits. With their future uncertain, they were in urgent need of rescue.

When Heidi Shoemaker, founder of Foster Kitten Mama, offered to take them in, a compassionate network of volunteers sprang into action. Together, they coordinated a relay-style transport spanning several states to bring the feline family to safety.

“They make their way with multiple people each driving a ‘leg’ and passing them off to the next driver,” Heidi shared.

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When the family finally arrived, the mother cat, named Candy, was exhausted but relieved to have a cozy, quiet space for her kittens. She allowed Heidi to gently brush her fur, remove her old collar, and clean her kittens’ crusted eyes.

Candy settled onto a soft blanket while her babies climbed all over her. As Heidi spoke softly to her, she began to relax.

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Curious and fearless, the kittens explored every corner of their playpen and even attempted a few daring escapes. “They are fast learners and are already using the litter box well after starting off going anywhere.”

With proper medication and attentive care, their eyes began to heal, and their stomach troubles subsided. Day by day, they grew bigger, healthier, and stronger.

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All four kittens were long-haired beauties: two calicos, one sleek little “house panther,” and a tiny tabby with a white belly and matching mittens. Their mother, a striking black-and-white tuxedo, was surrounded by a delightful mix of colors and personalities.

“Snickers (the tabby) is always ready to play and the first to run over.”

Licorice and SnickersFosterKittenMama

With their eyes now bright and clear, their playful, adventurous spirits began to shine.

Toys that crinkled and jingled instantly became their favorites. The kittens chased, pounced, and wrestled with enthusiasm. Before long, they were scaling cat trees and surveying their room from the highest perch.

Snickers, Licorice, and PixyFosterKittenMama

Candy adjusted beautifully to her foster home. She devoured every meal and patiently taught her kittens how to eat from a dish. She watched them play from the sidelines, always ready to offer a grooming session.

She kept their fluffy coats immaculate and allowed them to comfort-nurse even after they had been weaned.

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With her kittens by her side, Candy slowly came out of her shell. Their presence gave her comfort and confidence. “Mama Candy is a very quiet and timid girl who I think has had a really hard life so far.”

Knowing that mother cats are often overlooked in favor of their adorable kittens, Heidi began searching early for Candy’s forever home, hoping she would be adopted with one or two of her babies.

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When the kittens were ready for adoption, Lolly (calico) and Snickers quickly found their dream home together. Just as it seemed Candy had secured hers as well, the adoption unexpectedly fell through. Undeterred, Heidi resumed the search, hopeful that the right family was still out there.

A few weeks later, the perfect match appeared, not just for Candy, but also for her two remaining kittens.

Lolly and Snickers were adopted togetherFosterKittenMama

The family fell in love with the trio and knew they belonged together. “It’s been a long time coming, but Mama Candy and her two babies, Pixy (calico) and Licorice (house panther), have gone to their forever home.”

Now, they have a big, loving family and two feline brothers ready to shower them with affection every single day.

Candy, Licorice, and Pixy headed to their forever home togetherFosterKittenMama

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Related story: Family and Their Cat Change Everything for Little 4-week-old Kitten in a World He Cannot See

Cats will eat the weirdest things. Hair ties vanish from bathroom counters. Earbuds disappear from nightstands. Ribbon from last night’s gift wrapping gets batted across the kitchen floor until it suddenly… doesn’t exist anymore.

Most of those oddball snacks either pass through harmlessly or cause straightforward problems vets deal with all the time. But string, thread, ribbon, yarn, dental floss—those are different. They create a specific type of emergency that’s both more common and more deadly than most cat owners realize.

The mechanics of what string does inside a cat’s body are genuinely disturbing. And the cruelest part? Cats often seem fine at first. By the time obvious symptoms appear, the damage can already be severe enough to require emergency surgery, or worse.

Here’s what every cat owner needs to know about why that innocent piece of ribbon is actually one of the most dangerous things your cat can swallow.

Why String Becomes a Death Trap Inside Your Cat

Unlike a toy or small object that might pass through or cause a simple blockage, string creates what veterinarians call a linear foreign body. The mechanics are genuinely disturbing.

Picture your cat’s intestines pulsing to move food through the digestive system, like an earthworm crawling forward. Now imagine a piece of string in there. One end gets stuck (maybe wrapped around the base of the tongue or caught in the stomach), while the other end gets pulled along by those natural gut movements.

Here’s where it gets dangerous. The intestines keep trying to push that stuck string along, and those pulsing movements cause the gut to bunch up around the string like a closed accordion. This bunching becomes so severe that it cuts off the blood supply to the intestinal tissue. The gut starts dying. Dead tissue becomes leaky to bacteria, then ruptures completely, spilling intestinal contents into the abdomen and causing peritonitis, a life-threatening infection.

Your cat can die from eating a piece of string, and it can happen fast.

The Tongue Trap You’ve Never Heard About

Those backward-facing barbs on your cat’s tongue act like a one-way reel for string. Once string touches those barbs, your cat literally cannot spit it out. The tongue movements just pull more string in, wrapping it around the base of the tongue. Cats will paw desperately at their mouths and retch repeatedly, but they cannot dislodge it themselves.

What You’ll See (and What You Won’t)

Symptoms depend entirely on where the string is and what damage it’s causing.

String stuck in the mouth: Choking behavior, pawing at the face, retching, visible thread hanging from the mouth

String in the stomach: Lethargy, refusing food, vomiting

String causing intestinal problems: Extreme lethargy, complete loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, painful abdomen, rapid deterioration into dehydration and septic shock

Here’s the cruel part: some cats seem fine initially. By the time obvious symptoms appear, the damage may already be severe.

The One Thing You Must Never Do

If you see string hanging out of your cat’s mouth or rear end, do not pull it. Pulling can tighten any bunching in the intestines and cause catastrophic damage. Leave it alone and get to the vet immediately.

What Happens at the Emergency Vet

Most cats require sedation or anesthesia just for a thorough examination, since checking for string damage can be painful. If the string is only in the mouth, removal under anesthesia is straightforward and most cats recover quickly.

If the string has been swallowed, your vet needs X-rays or ultrasound to look for obstruction patterns. The string itself doesn’t show up on imaging, but the bunched-up tissue and trapped gas around it does.

When Surgery Becomes Necessary

String beyond the mouth almost always requires surgical removal because it doesn’t digest.

For string in the stomach, surgery involves a single incision with excellent outcomes and recovery in just a few days.

For string in the intestines, surgery becomes complex. Surgeons need multiple incisions along the length of the affected bowel because pulling the string out through one opening would cause further damage. Recovery typically takes 10 to 14 days with higher complication risks.

In worst-case scenarios where the intestine\ is already damaged or ruptured, sections of bowel may need to be removed entirely. These surgeries carry the highest complication rates, and a significant percentage of cats don’t survive.

The Bottom Line on Survival

Most cats who eat string will make a full recovery, but only if their owners recognize the problem early and seek immediate veterinary care. The timeline matters enormously. A cat treated within hours has vastly better odds than a cat who goes untreated for a day or more.

For cats with severe linear foreign bodies and peritonitis, the statistics are grim despite aggressive treatment.

Keep Your Cat Safe

The simplest solution is prevention. Store thread, ribbon, yarn, tinsel, and dental floss where your cat cannot access them. Dispose of meat strings in sealed bins. Supervise play with any string-like toys and put them away when you’re done. Kittens are the worst offenders, so be especially vigilant during that first year.

That piece of ribbon might seem harmless, but inside your cat’s body, it can transform into a surgical emergency in a matter of hours. When it comes to string, the only safe amount for your cat to eat is none.

Feature Image Credit: megaflopp, Shutterstock

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