Most Unusual Ingested Objects By Pets Named

Over the last year, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) received nearly 2000 claims from dog and cat owners related to the removal of ingested foreign objects, amounting to almost $3 million in treatment costs. Many of the ingested items were very popular "snack" choices, including socks, hand towels, sticks and rocks. However, the list of objects included some very unusual objects – including a tent door, a hearing aid, a baseball, and part of a deer antler. The following list is our selection of the most unusual objects in the list:

• jellyfish
• tube of denture adhesive
• dead poisoned vole
• bikini
• ink pen
• baseball
• glass Christmas ornament
• hearing aid
• bed sheet
• box of pencils
• tent door
• 16 steel wool pads
• light bulb
• barbecue brush
• Frisbee
• jumper cables
• squirrel
• balloon ribbons
• deer antler (partial)
• extension cord
• portion of wool rug
• TV remote control
• fire log
• wooden toy train
• pine cone
• eye glasses
• rosary crucifix
• 25 to 30 soiled diapers
• bath bubble mix

VPI said in a statement that all pets that ingested these items made full recoveries and received insurance reimbursements for eligible expenses. To avoid costly ingestion incidents, VPI recommends that all pet owners keep a close eye on their pets and place any item they suspect a pet may want to chew or eat safely out of their pets’ reach. As this list demonstrates, VPI says that as pet owners we should never underestimate our pets’ ability or desire to eat anything they can find.