Handle caught around cat's neck

My cat got a handled paper bag caught around her neck and ran under the bed causing the handle to become tightly pulling back on her neck. How do I make sure she didn't hurt her neck, throat or windpipe?

Naturally, she was very scared and breathing heavily when I caught her and pulled the handle and bag off of her neck. I am scared to death that she has hurt herself. She is calming down now, but she is still breathing kind of heavy. She will not eat or drink since the situation happened about 30 minutes ago.


In a situation like this, where a cat is having difficulty breathing or breathing abnormally, this would be a time to immediately run to the veterinarian. Taking the time to write online is not in your cat’s best health interest.

We are not available to be online for feline emergencies, and are not available at the computer at all times. However, even if we were, in the time it takes to write back and forth, this could make the difference in life or death for a cat in an emergency situation. Your time would be better spent calling a veterinary emergency center in a situation like this and asking them for advice, or driving your cat to your nearest veterinary facility.

If, by the time you are reading this, your cat is now breathing normally, and eating and drinking okay, she will likely be fine. But I would still recommend following up with your cat’s veterinarian as soon as that is possible.

Best wishes,
Dr. Neely