What do you do when your cat swallows a pin?

This issue has come up twice for me. My mom is a seamstress. She always had groups of cats. One of her cats was called Honey. He was a long living cat who had diabetes the last 8 years of his life. He is one of the reasons I was able to identify diabetes in my own cat Margaret. Honey was a huge ball of white and full of sweetness. His capacity to pour out love was immense. He was the alpha cat like Thomas in our home. He would stand up and protect the pride. He was gentle when he played, but willing to be playful. He would accept all newcomers and integrate them slowly. He had a couple girlfriends. The girl cats would typically compete for his attention. Whoever got to sit closest to him was prime for the day. More or less I am establishing here he was a dear and well loved cat.

Now, a seamstress is bound to have pins around on the table while they are pinning and sewing. My mom likely sewed like I have myself with a cat for a companion on the table while working. In 1993-1994 season, when I pulled the cats in from outside in Caroline, Alberta, my mom was sewing when Honey swallowed a pin. She panicked. It went down all the way into his stomach. Mom prayed, because she did not know what else to do. She asked God for help. The cat, just then, threw up and the pin was once again deposited onto the table. She thanked God. Then, she phoned me to tell me what happened.

It is a habit of mine to pray whenever anything has truly gone out of my realm of control. I saw my mom do this. If anything stresses you beyond your capacity, you may do the same. God, who hears our voice, answers.

Now, I did once know a young girl who would shoe horses. She held hoofing nails in her mouth while she hammered the horseshoes in. She exerted herself and accidentally swallowed a nail. I was aghast. These nails are really long and fairly sharp. She sought the advice of a doctor. Her treatment was to eat gobs of potatoes for a while. The potatoes would engulf the nail and take it through the intestinal tract.

Thankfully there was an answer for this girl. I have no idea if prayer was involved. It was just interesting as a parallel to Honey's story. Her situation happened at about the same time.

Animals like cats are very involved with their owners' activities. They love small shiny things or reflections on or from objects. Predict their attractions and give them a similar style toy to distract them. For example, a cat might be distracted by a tin foil ball. For it to be attractive to a cat, a cat owner needs to pay attention to the cat toy too. When sewing, put all the pins away from the cat's access. I recall times when cats have picked up pins from the pin ball with their front teeth. Then, I had to take the pins away.