The cat is about 18 months old. All vacinations are up to date. The cat has been frequently vomiting (2-3 times a week) since 8 weeks. It has been dewormed at the vets and most recently with Drontin at home. Last week, we took it to the vet and he was treated for an upper respritory infection with a 10 day course of Zeniguin. The syspmtoms (runny eyes and sneezing) has totally cleared. The vet can offer no real answers for the vomiting. I have 5 cats total and they all vomit occasionally, usually after eating to fast (large piles of undigested food). All the cats get frequent hairball treatment.
The cat in question vomits large amounts of bile and mostly completely digested food. The only thing that I can find different than all the other cat vomiting problems over the years is that the vomit, when dry (if we don't find the spot right away) is very granular in texture. I found one spot on the top of our bedroom wall unit and it completely ruined the finish of the oak (I assume due to the acid in the bile). When cleaning this dry mess, it was like trying to clean up dry grout.
Does anyone have any ideas? The vet has offered expensive digestive exams, etc. The cat, other than this, acts completely normal. It is very active, playful and loving. There are no other symptoms. I should think that I can rule out worms, as we have treated twice and no visible worms in feces or on cat's behind.
Please help!
I've got a cat that frequently vomits and no answers!
Re: I've got a cat that frequently vomits and no answers!
Are you sure the food is always digested?
What food (brand and type please) are you feeding, and have you changed it recently or do you frequently change types?
How soon after eating does he vomit? What other indicators have you noticed occuring before he vomits?
Are there ever hairballs or strands of fur in the vomitus? Is the bile clear or tinted/mucousy/bloody?
Is he short-haired or long-haired?
What hairball remedy are you using and how often? Hairball remedy is not intended for long-term use.
Has he been tested for FELV/FIV?
Is there undue stress in the home, or between the cats in any way? (intimiation especially at feeding times, near the food dishes)
How are his urination and bowel habits? Urinating and defecating normally? (i.e., is the stool normal consistency or does he have constipation/diarrhea incidents etc)
Do you feed treats , dairy products, or anything other than his cat food?
Did your vet mention the possibility of food ingredient sensitivity or allergen?
The granulation you see is simply dried food particles and can easily be cleaned with soap and water if you just slightly soak it for a moment first. If you have alot of wood products in your home you want to preserve, try Murphy's Oil Soap, it is a good cleaner for wood, wood furniture, but only use sparingly and make sure it is rinsed of all residue to prevent the cats licking/ingesting it.
What food (brand and type please) are you feeding, and have you changed it recently or do you frequently change types?
How soon after eating does he vomit? What other indicators have you noticed occuring before he vomits?
Are there ever hairballs or strands of fur in the vomitus? Is the bile clear or tinted/mucousy/bloody?
Is he short-haired or long-haired?
What hairball remedy are you using and how often? Hairball remedy is not intended for long-term use.
Has he been tested for FELV/FIV?
Is there undue stress in the home, or between the cats in any way? (intimiation especially at feeding times, near the food dishes)
How are his urination and bowel habits? Urinating and defecating normally? (i.e., is the stool normal consistency or does he have constipation/diarrhea incidents etc)
Do you feed treats , dairy products, or anything other than his cat food?
Did your vet mention the possibility of food ingredient sensitivity or allergen?
The granulation you see is simply dried food particles and can easily be cleaned with soap and water if you just slightly soak it for a moment first. If you have alot of wood products in your home you want to preserve, try Murphy's Oil Soap, it is a good cleaner for wood, wood furniture, but only use sparingly and make sure it is rinsed of all residue to prevent the cats licking/ingesting it.
..........Traci
Re: I've got a cat that frequently vomits and no answers!
I'll answer in red so I can get to all the ?s.
Traci wrote:Are you sure the food is always digested?
Yes, it is almost always bile with a tiny amount of very digested food.
What food (brand and type please) are you feeding, and have you changed it recently or do you frequently change types?
This is actually my daughter's cat. For it's first year, she changed the food a few times with no results. She travels a lot so the cat has been living with me for about 3-4 months. We changed it's food to a mix of Purina One Hairball Formula and Urinary Tract Formula ( a mix we have been using for our other cats for more than 2 years to combat our hairball issues and one cat with urinary calculi due to the amount of ash in cheap food). We have had great improvement in our cat's health overall with this brand. The cat in question seemed to improve a little since the change, perhaps only vomiting 12 times a month instead of 15 or 16.
How soon after eating does he vomit? What other indicators have you noticed occuring before he vomits?
There are no indications. It is never immediately after eating... at least within an hour. In almost all cases, we never see the cat vomit... we find the mess later (which I have always found unusual).
Are there ever hairballs or strands of fur in the vomitus? Is the bile clear or tinted/mucousy/bloody?
No mucous, no hair, no worms... just clear with the tiny particles of food I have mentioned, giving it that grainy residue. I have wondered if that (the granular material) is actually one ingredient of the food, ie: corn that the cat has problems with. But I should think that when the food is formulated and mixed it is finer than this.Is he short-haired or long-haired?
Domestic short hair.
What hairball remedy are you using and how often? Hairball remedy is not intended for long-term use.
We use different brands, all petroleum based. We usu it basically once or twice a month, perhaps more if we notice one of the cats coughing up a furball.
Has he been tested for FELV/FIV?
I don't believe so. Wouldn't there be other issues? Lethargic, etc.?
Is there undue stress in the home, or between the cats in any way? (intimiation especially at feeding times, near the food dishes)
None, he is active and very playful with all. If anything, he seems to try to be the tough guy and attack "playful) all the others. No competition for food.
How are his urination and bowel habits? Urinating and defecating normally? (i.e., is the stool normal consistency or does he have constipation/diarrhea incidents etc)
He does seem to drink more water than most. Although I have one cat that drinks more than I do. He sits by the sink (my cat) 4-5 times a day waiting for me to turn it on. He prefers running water for some reason. The cat in question doesn't drink unusual amounts, just more than average. I thought it was because he is young and very active. Always running around. His stools were a bit runny when he first got here and very foul smelling. But that has gone away and the change in diet occured around the same time so we attributed the runny stools to the old diet. Now, everything seems normal.Do you feed treats , dairy products, or anything other than his cat food?
We do feed all the cats Wiska's Temtations but only a few times a month. The cat in question was kept isolated, due to the resperatory infection for the past 10 days... no treat. It vomited 3 times in 10 days.
Did your vet mention the possibility of food ingredient sensitivity or allergen?
The possibilty yes but no solution.
The granulation you see is simply dried food particles and can easily be cleaned with soap and water if you just slightly soak it for a moment first. If you have alot of wood products in your home you want to preserve, try Murphy's Oil Soap, it is a good cleaner for wood, wood furniture, but only use sparingly and make sure it is rinsed of all residue to prevent the cats licking/ingesting it.
As I've stated, I can find no pattern or unsual symptoms other than the vomiting. I am 53 years old and have probably owned 20 cats in my lifetime. This is unlike anything I have ever seen in a cat. I've had hairball issues, this is not it. I've had cats with Lukemia, etc... this is not any disease than I can see. There are simply no other signs that this cat is not well. The vet said that some cats simply vomit more than others. But that is not something I have ever dealt with or heard of. It is very frustrating. It is obviously a hassle to clean up and deal with. But I just don't know what else to try. Before the cat came here, my daughter did experiment with different foods including wet only. None of these made any difference. Since answering you, I have realized that the only other unsual part of this is that the cat ALWAYS vomits when alone. It didn't occur to me until just now. All my other cats, when vomiting due to hairballs or eatng too muc or too fast, vomit in our presence. I have never actually seen this cat vomit, only the evidence later. And no, it can't be any of the others as this has always happened with this cat, when he lived alone with my daughter and when isolated here. So it must be only him.
Re: I've got a cat that frequently vomits and no answers!
If you do not actually see him vomiting, don't assume it is him that is vomiting all of the time. While he may have a problem, this could also be one or more of the other cats at different times, in different places.
The vet should have recommended a trial diet of limited ingredient or hypoallergenic diets. This is the FIRST course of action once labwork has failed to show anything significant. If the food is even partially digested, this is an indicator that he may not be metabolizing his food, or is having a reaction to one or more ingredients, usually it is a certain protein (like dairy, beef or fish). If he doesn't have hairballs, it is futile and unnecessary to be feeding a hairball diet. Unfortunately, no commerical diet is available as a strictly limited ingredient or hypoallergenic, your vet must prescribe it. For most healthy cats with no other health condition, these can also be fed to them (but would suggest their normal diet be fed as their sole intake). Also, for him in particular, cease any treat when initiating any new hypoallergenic diet, because if you don't, you will never be able to determine if the treats may have an ingredient he may be allergic to.
Corn allergies are more common in dogs than in cats, and corn is often labeled as an evil ingredient, when in fact it is not. It is a good energy source, and if used in limited amounts, is not problematic for an otherwise healthy adult cat.
All cats, especially new cats introduced into a home with resident cats should be tested for FELV/FIV.
I am a bit concerned that he had an upper respiratory problem, unless that was brewing before you aquired him. Healthy, indoor cats generally do not aquire upper respiratory infections unless aquired by a new adopted kitten or adult cat without a vaccination history, or unless their immune system has been compromised by another health condition. I assume your vet ruled out herpesvirus?
Just to be sure, do you have plants in your home he could be nibbling on? If so, keep ALL plants out of reach to cats, most are toxic to cats. Could he be chewing on inappropriate items? (i.e, plastic bags, sisal from a cat tree, carpet remnants, paper, or other things in the home you're not aware of)
I suggest talking to your vet and getting kitty started on a strictly limited ingredient diet/hypoallergenic diet only, expect 4 weeks or more to determine effectiveness, feed nothing else beyond the strict diet. You have to be prepared to feed the cats seperately so the cat in question eats strictly his prescribed diet. Follow up with your vet as he advises, and if the vomiting continues or worsens on the new diet, re-evaluate with additional tests (bloodwork, xrays to check for inflammatory problems) and/or change the type of the hypoallergenic diet, there are several veterinary diets for this purpose, where one cat may do well on one, another cat may not, so you have to have available to you the choice if one does not work. Your vet can work with you on the diet type and determine if it needs to be changed to another veterinary diet. If your vet is hem-hawing the situation and hasn't even discussed this approach already, see a new, more comitted feline-only vet, promptly.
The vet should have recommended a trial diet of limited ingredient or hypoallergenic diets. This is the FIRST course of action once labwork has failed to show anything significant. If the food is even partially digested, this is an indicator that he may not be metabolizing his food, or is having a reaction to one or more ingredients, usually it is a certain protein (like dairy, beef or fish). If he doesn't have hairballs, it is futile and unnecessary to be feeding a hairball diet. Unfortunately, no commerical diet is available as a strictly limited ingredient or hypoallergenic, your vet must prescribe it. For most healthy cats with no other health condition, these can also be fed to them (but would suggest their normal diet be fed as their sole intake). Also, for him in particular, cease any treat when initiating any new hypoallergenic diet, because if you don't, you will never be able to determine if the treats may have an ingredient he may be allergic to.
Corn allergies are more common in dogs than in cats, and corn is often labeled as an evil ingredient, when in fact it is not. It is a good energy source, and if used in limited amounts, is not problematic for an otherwise healthy adult cat.
All cats, especially new cats introduced into a home with resident cats should be tested for FELV/FIV.
I am a bit concerned that he had an upper respiratory problem, unless that was brewing before you aquired him. Healthy, indoor cats generally do not aquire upper respiratory infections unless aquired by a new adopted kitten or adult cat without a vaccination history, or unless their immune system has been compromised by another health condition. I assume your vet ruled out herpesvirus?
Just to be sure, do you have plants in your home he could be nibbling on? If so, keep ALL plants out of reach to cats, most are toxic to cats. Could he be chewing on inappropriate items? (i.e, plastic bags, sisal from a cat tree, carpet remnants, paper, or other things in the home you're not aware of)
I suggest talking to your vet and getting kitty started on a strictly limited ingredient diet/hypoallergenic diet only, expect 4 weeks or more to determine effectiveness, feed nothing else beyond the strict diet. You have to be prepared to feed the cats seperately so the cat in question eats strictly his prescribed diet. Follow up with your vet as he advises, and if the vomiting continues or worsens on the new diet, re-evaluate with additional tests (bloodwork, xrays to check for inflammatory problems) and/or change the type of the hypoallergenic diet, there are several veterinary diets for this purpose, where one cat may do well on one, another cat may not, so you have to have available to you the choice if one does not work. Your vet can work with you on the diet type and determine if it needs to be changed to another veterinary diet. If your vet is hem-hawing the situation and hasn't even discussed this approach already, see a new, more comitted feline-only vet, promptly.
..........Traci