Hi group, Frequent reader, infrequent poster here.

I need some advice, and hopefully some encouraging words that my boy
will be ok. Let me say first that I've already spoken to my vet this
morning about this, and it's basically a wait and see situation.

Anyway, here's what happened

This morning, about 4 hours ago, one of my cats was playing with some
loose threads hanging from a cotton throw i have on a chair. He was
getting this feet caught up in a particularly long hanging thread, so
I cut it off (about 20-24 inches) and then waved it around on the
floor for him to play with, which he did. Then he grabbed it and ran
under a chair where he started to chew it. He likes to chew stuff, so
I didn't think anything of it until I realized that he was eating it.
So I tried to go to him and get it, but that just made him run under
the sofa, where he evaded me trying to get him from wither side. Ended
up he ate the dang string! It is all cotton and thin, more like a
think yarn than a string or cord.

After he did it, I got to thinkiing that I'd heard about not letting
cats have string and rubber bands, but I thought it was b/c of choking
hazard Then  I got online and read about all the terrible things that
can happen when a cat ingests string. I freaked out!  So within an
hour I went ot my vet (a minute's drive in the neighborhood) with a
piece of the string to show her and explained what happened. She said
we have 2 options: surgery immediately to remove the string or wait it
out and watch him very closely and hope he poops it out. I'm doing the
latter, of course. She says to watch for vomiting or refusing food and
being lethargic or acting ill. (Also watch for him hiding from me, but
he does that anyway. )

Doc said if there's going to be a problem with the string causing a
blockage or getting caught up in his insides, he'd probably start to
show signs of distress about 12 hours after eating the string, which
will be tonight. If he does, I need to bring him in first thing in the
morning for surgery. Best case is that he will just poop the string
out, i guess in a day or two. And if he doesn't poop it out but is
acting and eating fine, chances are the string dissolved in his system
(since it's not nylon, dental floss, etc.), she says.

I asked the vet if Laxatone would be a good idea, and she said it
wouldn't hurt and may help him pass whatever's in there. But he a shy,
skittish cat who won't let you near him if he suspects anything's up,
which he does now, so he hasn't let me near enough yet to put some
Laxatone on his paw or nose to even try that.

I feel so stupid and guilty about giving him the string in the first
place, and then not realizing the danger here until it was too late to
stop it.

Does anyone know what the chances are that he'll be ok and just poop
it out? Is it more likely that that will happen versus the drastic
step of him getting his insides damaged and needing surgery? Google is
full of stories of the cat needing surgery or dying from this, but i
hope that's the exception rather than the rule!

many thanks for any advice,
mary