My Pet Ate Tinsel. Now What? Tinsel Poisoning in Dogs and Cats

It’s tempting to go all out when decking the halls for Christmas, but pet parents need to be mindful of a few holiday hazards.  

Cats and dogs—especially younger animals—are inquisitive, and the holiday season brings all kinds of new things into the household, from trees and decorations to packaging and new foods.  

All of these have their own inherent dangers, but one pet safety risk that’s commonly overlooked is tinsel. 

So why exactly is tinsel dangerous to pets? Here’s what you need to know—and why you should skip trimming your tree with this shimmering decoration. 

What Is Tinsel?

Tinsel refers to the strands of shiny plastic or metallic decorations that mimic bits of ice that many of us love to use on our trees and wreaths.  

Sometimes it comes as individual strands, and other times it comes in longer ropes. Silver used to be the “standard” color, but in recent years gold, blue, red, and green tinsel have become increasingly popular. 

Why Tinsel Is Dangerous to Pets

Tinsel is incredibly dangerous to both dogs and cats, as well as other household pets who might find it intriguing.  

Often, the animal starts out playing with the shiny tinsel. This exploration then involves the mouth and then your pet winds up swallowing it. 

Tinsel strands are difficult to chew and do not break down in the gastrointestinal tract. Tinsel is surprisingly strong and can become lodged under the tongue or within the stomach or intestine, where they can cause an obstruction or cut through the lining of the digestive tract of a dog or a cat.  

For some pets, tinsel will head down the “wrong pipe,” causing them to choke and cough. Ideally a pet is able to cough up the tinsel and it doesn’t warrant a choking emergency where the Heimlich maneuver needs to be done.   

However, sometimes the tinsel remains in the respiratory tract, leading to continued coughing and breathing problems. 

What To Do If Your Pet Swallows Tinsel

So, what happens after a cat or dog swallows tinsel? If you’re lucky, nothing, and your pet simply has some shiny poop a few days later.  

However, if the tinsel gets hung up anywhere along the way—under the tongue, balled up in the stomach, or strung out in the intestinal tract, health issues are inevitable and can be quite serious.  

This is a situation veterinarians refer to as a gastrointestinal “foreign body,” something stuck in the digestive tract that doesn’t belong there.  

More specifically, tinsel often causes a “linear foreign body” obstruction, where it becomes stuck at one end but continues to travel down the digestive system.  

Some animals will have only mild signs (or no signs at all), at least to begin with, but other pets quickly become markedly ill. Signs of tinsel ingestion in pets may include: 

• Vomiting 

• Poor appetite 

• Abdominal pain  

• Diarrhea 

• Straining to poop or not pooping at all 

• Lethargy or other changes in behavior 

If your pet ingests any amount of tinsel, call Pet Poison Helpline or your vet for next steps.  

If it’s determined you should take your pet in for a health check, your vet will usually do some testing, including an exam, radiographs, and sometimes an ultrasound. 

If they confirm a foreign body, it will need to be removed through surgery or endoscopy, depending on where it’s located and how much damage it has done. The vet’s goal is to go in, find, and remove the tinsel as quickly as possible before it can cause more problems—and to repair any damage it did while moving through the digestive tract, which sometimes can be quite severe.  

How to Keep Your Pets Safe from Tinsel

Preventing any tinsel-related blockages is simple: don’t use tinsel in your holiday decorating.  

However, if this decoration is an important part of your holiday rituals, consider using the rope-like tinsel, which is harder for pets to swallow.  

Placing any tinsel you use—whether the rope or strand form—up high and out of your pet’s reach is ideal. It’s best to keep your dog or cat away from the tree at night to prevent ingestion while you are not watching.  

To keep your pet from getting into the Christmas tree, especially for cats that like to climb, consider investing in a dog gate or a tall cat gate to completely block your pet from entering the room where decorations are most accessible.