My brother in law while in medical school volunteered for a weekend research experiment to earn some extra money. The research was for dysentery medications (the volunteers where well rewarded) and part of the research involved having a small string secured to a tooth and the capsule containing the rest of the string was swallowed. Once the end of the string had passed all the way through the subject it was the researchers then pulled the string back up through the subject’s mouth. (Did I mention they where paid for this.)
Well, scepticism is a virtue here so I’m told, and even though I was a bit miffed at being doubted at first, I unfortunately find myself questioning the story about your brother.
You said “the capsule containing the rest of the string”. So the capsule held the string and the string was released from the capsule as it moved through the intestines? Was there some sort of medicine on the string? If not, what was the purpose of the experiment? Why did they pull the string back out through the mouth instead of letting it pass through? Did the string have some sort of coating to allow it to sense the conditions of the gastro-intestinal tract? How long did it take them to pull the string back out? God I can’t believe I’m so wrapped up in this.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think you are lying about this. I just suspect there is more to the story.
The “string test” is used to diagnose certain conditions of the small intestine, as in the clip from Johns Hopkins: http://pathology5.pathology.jhmi.edu/micro/v15n31.htm
“Duodenal and jejunal contents can be sampled by aspiration, or by using a string test. The string test involves having a patient swallow a gelatin capsule containing a nylon string, the free end of which is secured at the mouth. The capsule dissolves in the stomach, and the string continues through the duodenum to the jejunum. After a number of hours, the string is retrieved and material absorbed by the string is examined…”
Here’s a description of the string test from MedLine’s online dictionary:
What is baffling me now is that there is no mention that care should be taken in removing the string. Perhaps the instance of injury and death is so rare that it is not worth mentioning. That would mean that my experience with my cat was just a stroke of bad luck.
Well I hope that is the case.
I recall reading the biography of Errol Flynn which described him as an unpleasant child who delighted in the following. A piece of lard was tied a length of string and fed to a duck. Shortly thereafter the lard was excreted by the duck, string still attached and fed to a second duck and so on, allowing Flynn the young monster to connect several ducks together.
Nametag and Torus,
Seems both of you where able to find more detail then I can offer. This happened to my ex –brother in law, so I am unable to inquire further. Thank you for the links.
Regarding Cecil’s account of the floss-nosesnort-hack-it-out-and-rub-away, I know I’m not the only one who’s seen guys do this with spaghetti noodles. Forget Cecil’s disclaimer, “…it is claimed…”–this really happens, and the guys I’ve watched say it’s pretty easy to do.
Noodles are a little slimy, too, which may make it easy to snort & hack your way to party popularity.
I’m a sutra-neti noodle, neti noodle do or die…
>>you are genuinely desirous of probing your innards with twine, however, I can suggest an alternative yogic exercise called sutra neti, which involves a dampened, waxed string that you snort through one nostril. After a few days practice, it is claimed, you should be able to inhale the string with such velocity that you can fish the far end out of your mouth. With both ends in hand, you can then engage in the practice of gharshana-neti, or string rubbing, which apparently is something like playing the Jew’s-harp. Picture it: nasal floss! I guarantee, it’ll be a day the gang in the car pool won’t soon forget<<<
I am content to believe this. As we have previously established, cats have much shorter intestinal length than humans - see http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_087.html.
Regarding the “string test,” please note that “the string continues through the duodenum to the jejunum.” The jejunum is the upper part of the small intestine. This is consistent with the comment in the column that “you might be able to coax a string through the stomach and maybe a short distance into the small intestine.” As this illustration shows, however, the jejunum is merely an intermediate step on a long journey (http://www.yoursurgery.com/ProcedureDetails.cfm?BR=1&Proc=49).
I’ll have Little Ed update the column.
Well Torus, your first thread has been blessed by the Perfect Master himself. Something to tell the grandkids about… or maybe not.
I am nearly speechless. Cecil has actually linked to this thread from a classic column. I suppose it is all downhill from here. Then again, how much further downhill can you go after spilling your guts (ouch) about the accidental death of your childhood cat.
I’m very happy to have contributed in some small way to Cecil’s fight against ignorance, but if this is my moment in the sun, I’m going to cry myself to sleep tonight.
I imagine that feline intestines aren’t as thick and durable as those of larger mammals. Also, I don’t know how fast your cat runs, but if it was anything like my cat, a doctor performing a string test on me would have to attach the uningested end to a Corvette to achieve a properly scaled speed 
Just try removing your belt rapidly while wearing it to hold up your jeans. It’s almost impossible to do without damaging something. Try pulling electrical wire through a conduit with two 90 degree bends. Be sure to tell me how much insulation you strip off the wire.
The fact that the intestines are a series of S-curves and loops, any attempt to pull a string out would meet with great resistance. Enough force in pulling would eventually force the string or yarn to cut into intestine somewhere along the line (groan) causing peritonitis, and eventually death if untreated.
Perhaps peristalsis would have allowed the cat to pass the yarn harmlessly, but that is like playing russian roulette. It might, and it might not.
I knew a guy in my military tech school who would undo his dog tag chain, snort one end in one nostril, cough a couple of times, and spew it out his other nostril.
Why, yes! It DID hurt just looking at him!
Hey, did he go to college with DaveORad? 
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116092
I am a veterinarian and have seen incidents very closely related to the idea of ‘passing the string thru’ as put forward by the questioner. Cats in particular are prone to playing with and therefore swallowingstrings. This can be a major risk if it becomes anchored, either around thebase of the tongue or in the stomach. The string propagates down the intestines much better than your team seems to think, especially if there is
something on the end or the end just gets rolled up into a ball. The risk is that the intestines become ‘plicated’ or accordianed between the forward end of the string and the anchored end. I usually describe this as the same thing that happens with curtains when pushed to the end, getting all bunched up there. This can lead the excessive pressure and loss of bloodflow to the
intestines, causing them to die in areas. A second major risk is that the string can saw thru the intestinal wall leading to peritonitis and other severe infections. Any animal showing the signs of a linear foreign body is a candidate for immediate emergency surgery.
I most also say that this is not the case for every piece of string or other foreign body swallowed. I have seen a needle and thread pass completely thru without causing any damage. But as always, better to be safe than sorry and to not allow your cats to play with strings. Also, the description of the cloth used by those practicing yoga would likely be to large to pass out of the stomach and therefore would carry very little risk of something like this happening.
Dear Torus,
I am, admittedly, a big fat nobody and it is none of my business, however, judging from you intelligence and pithy writing style, I predict great things. Way to go, Kid.
“Let us curse while we may for in heaven swearing is not allowed.” Mark Twain
What is it about cat owners that has you IMMEDIATELY grabbing unexpected things that come out of your pets’ ASSES? All of these shocking tales have a similar “I saw…then I grabbed” rhythm. If you need to get your hands on something when kitty produces a UBO (unidentified booty object), pick up the damn telephone and call a vet.
My cat Flash (named for his propensity to sniff lit candles, thereby losing his whiskers in a pretty, pseudo-magnesium flare) loves to eat string, balloon ribbon, yarn, anything that might act as tummy floss. He has passed such materials safely more than once - and I found it very touching of him to leave me a cat-poop in the box freshly wrapped in colorful ribbon.
His latest obsession is the cellophane on cigarette packages - a dangerous snack which, fortunately, makes a lot of noise when chewed. He has learned that the words “Flash! Drop it!” are the predecessor to a serious butt-smack if he doesn’t spit out whatever he’s mouthing.
I totally believe that a piece of string can do serious damage to anyone’s tender insides. When teaching a unit on ceramics I’ve often used string to cut through a tough chunk of clay as much as a foot in diameter, with ease. And it’s a teacher-only activity because I was tired of students cutting their hands open when they didn’t hold the string properly. I’m thinking how much more tender the casing (grandma always used the traditional animal gut kind) on a sausage is than a person’s hands and have to say how sorry I am for poor Amelia.
I’m a man who has had pretty long hair for the past couple years; right now it’s about two feet long or so. With all that hair on my head, it’s hard to not accidentally swallow a hair or two now and then. I never notice when I’m doing it, but I know it happens because sometimes they come out the other end: I’ll feel a weird tickle down by my drainpipe, and reach down, and pull out a two-foot-long hair. So.