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Cats And strings
貓咪和線繩
Most cats and kittens love to play with string, but if a feline begins to swallow string, it could become a deadly game. If you're a cat owner, you might have witnessed a bizarre fact about cat behavior: once a cat begins eating a bit of string, it continues swallowing it until it has swallowed the entire string, even though it would be safer and simpler if the cat coughed it up.
多數貓咪喜歡玩線繩，但如果一只貓開始吃線繩，那會變成一個致命的游戲。如果你是貓的主人，你可能目睹過貓咪稀奇古怪的行為：當貓開始吃一根線繩時，它會不斷吞繩子直到吞掉整根線繩，盡管貓咪將繩子咳出來會安全并簡單得多。
Veterinary scientists aren't completely certain why this happens, but they know it has to do with the swallowing mechanism in the cat’s throat and esophagus. For cats, swallowing is an automatic response to having food or other substances in their mouths. A reflex in the front of the mouth pushes food to the back of the throat.
獸醫學的科學家們不能完全肯定為什么會發生這種事，但他們知道這和貓咪喉嚨及食道的吞咽機能有關系。對貓來說，嘴巴里有食物或其他東西時，它便會出于本能進行吞咽。嘴巴前部的一塊肌肉將食物推向喉嚨后部。
Once the nerve endings in the back of the throat get stimulated, they automatically cause the cat to swallow, sending the substance down the esophagus. When a bit of string reaches the back of the throat, the cat has no control over this swallowing mechanism, and the string continues to make its way down the one-way street of the cat's esophagus. While this reflex may help a cat hold onto struggling prey in the wild, it can cause the cat harm if what's in its mouth isn't food.
只要喉嚨后部的神經末梢受到刺激，貓就會自動地開始吞咽，把東西送到食道里。當一根繩子碰到喉嚨后部時，貓就無法控制這種吞咽機制，繩子就繼續沿著貓的食道一路而下。盡管這塊肌肉能幫助貓在野外控制住掙扎的獵物，但當貓口中的不是食物時，這就會給它帶來傷害。
Swallowed string can get lodged in the cat's intestines and cause severe vomiting, appetite loss, rapid dehydration, and listlessness. If one end of the string is caught around a cat's tongue, it is very important that the cat's owner never try to pull the string up through the cat's mouth. Doing this might cause the string to cut open the intestines and possibly kill the cat. Instead, your vet can decide if surgery is needed to remove the string.
吞下的繩子會卡在貓的腸子里并導致嚴重的嘔吐、食欲不振、急性脫水以及精神萎靡。如果繩子的一頭纏住了貓的舌頭，對貓的主人來說不要把繩子從貓的嘴巴里拉出來是很重要的。因為這樣做的話可能導致繩子把貓的腸子割開并可能把貓殺死。反之，應該由你的獸醫來決定是否需要動手術來取出繩子。
