Dog ate a feminine pad.

Dr. Marie replied:

I am always amazed by the things dogs will eat!

Believe it or not, I have seen a few dogs eat feminine pads.

The main concern is that the pad will absorb fluid and expand in his stomach. However, the other dogs that I have seen eat maxi pads have passed them normally in their stool within 48 hours.

It would be a good idea to feed him some high fiber food such as a bran muffin, or some canned food with a small amount of bran or metamucil in it. This will help to bulk up his stool and get things moving through his intestines.

This is a situation where I wouldn't recommend trying to make him vomit as there is a small chance that the pad could get stuck in the esophagus.

In the next few days here are some symptoms to watch for:

• vomiting


• lack of appetite


• trouble having a bowel movement


• obvious abdominal pain

If you are seeing any of these things then he will need to see a vet and may need to either have surgery or to have an endoscope put into his stomach to pull the pad out.

Most likely he will be just fine. You will have to watch his stools for the next few days to see if the pad has made an appearance!

I will be heading offline soon. (It is bedtime for me!) But, I will check in on you in the morning in case you have more concerns.

Dr. Marie.

---

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh good...you caught me just as I was logging out...

If you haven't seen it within 3 days then I think a vet visit is a good idea. (Or, if he's showing any of the above symptoms then go to the vet sooner.)

I think the bran would be the best idea for now. The other thing that could help would be if you had any cat hairball medication. You could give two inches of this (it comes out like toothpaste) once a day. This will act as a mild laxative. There really aren't too many other laxatives that I would feel comfortable giving him without veterinary supervision.

I don't see a problem with leaving him alone for a while. This is not likely to cause a sudden problem.

I hope that helps. Again, feel free to post back to this question in the morning. I am definitely heading to bed now, but again, will check in on you in the morning.

Dr. Marie.