Cat runs to bowl, like she wants to eat

[jolie fleurs]

and she will lick at her food, but then she makes these kind of gag/dry heave motions, with no sound. She did once bring up a small amount of clear fluid, slightly bubbly. Looked like saliva, if that makes sense, the little puddle was about the size of a quarter. (Very similar to the spit up they do after eating grass) It's almost as if it's triggered when she leans down to eat, and it continues for a bit when she goes away from her dish. I can see where it might be an acid reflux sort of thing, but she is semi-feral and I do not know how on Earth I am going to get a Pepcid down her to test that theory out. Is there anything else that can be done for acid?

I'd honestly think it was just a hairball, were it not for the lack of sound. She seems otherwise fine.

I am just so upset, because I had a male a few years ago who started off like this, with the odd head-thrusting/soundless gagging motion, and the vets never could figure out what was wrong, and we ended up losing him. (Had to put him down) But he got to where he wouldn't eat, and I am trying to nip it with Pookie before it gets to that.

Thank you so much for any thoughts and advice!

 

[kittenmittens84]

Cats do this when they’re nauseous too. Wanting to eat and then turning away is a classic sign in cats. Unfortunately lots of things can cause nausea (including acid like you said) so it’s very non specific. A trip to the vet is definitely in order, especially if she won’t eat at all.

 

[jolie fleurs]

Thank you! She is outdoors a lot, so she may well have gotten hold of something that made her queasy. I will have to figure out a way to catch her if it keeps up.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You can also try elevating her dish to see if that helps any while you are trying to figure out a way to catch her.

Edit: if you have a good relationship with your vet, you might ask them if they would be willing to prescribe a few doses of pepcid for cats that you could try.

 

[susanm9006]

If she lets you hold her, try to get her mouth open and look as far in as you can. Cats do get pieces of bone, sewing needles and other things stuck in their palate. I definitely wouldn’t let this go on much longer without taking her to the vet

 

[Misty_Miffy_Moon]

What is her food brand. If it keeps happening after she eats, it might be the brand of food, some can poison your cats or make them vomit. Check to see if she has anything stuck in her throat like susanm9006 said. Your cat might be nauseous for some reason too. You can look up articles on TCS for things like this I think.

Make sure she didn't eat anything from the outside/inside that could have poisoned her. I know some cats get poisoned and have signs like this. Have you checked with your vet yet? If your cat is not eating you could try wet-food (unless you only feed wet-food try hard food)

You said you had a male cat who had the same thing, and he had to be put down? If so, it might have been a sickness/virus and your cat right now caught it. Unless you disinfected your entire house/wherever your old male cat went.

I have never had a problem like this. My cat freaks out and eats like there's no tomorrow. Lol.

You can watch videos on how to figure out on "how to catch your cat" if you can get a hold of her.

Anyway, I hope she gets better!

 

[jolie fleurs]

Thank you all so very much! I should have been more clear; we lost our Butterbean a few years ago, so I don't think it's a contagion issue.

Is the cat Pepcid more palatable?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Is the cat Pepcid more palatable?

I only suggested the cat version because I understood the composition to be safer for cats. But, certainly, call the vet and ask about human Pepcid and see what they say; perhaps it is merely related to the dosage.

Also, for clarification, is she eating anything at all? If not, the concern that susanm9006 brought up about something being stuck in her mouth/throat is a valid one.

 

[jolie fleurs]

Not eating much, but lapping up the gravy , so she is getting nourishment; probably could withhold for 24 hours without worrying too much? She is a picky eater, too, so it's not unusual for her to refuse food. It's the odd "motions" that made me wonder if something was wrong. She was licking her chops just now, could that also be a sign of nausea, I wonder?

To be honest, she could have gotten herself a squirrel or something, and is eating more than I know anyway. She will come sometimes in at night to sleep, I am trying to turn her in to an indoor girl, but as I said she was/is feral, so it's on ongoing process!

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. I will absolutely take her in Monday if it is still happening. I thought about something in her throat, or also a tooth issue? At any rate, thank you VERY much indeed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She was licking her chops just now, could that also be a sign of nausea, I wonder?

Oh, yeah - that can definitely be a sign of nausea!

You could also get some baby food meats (no onion, garlics, etc) and see if she would lap those up while you keep an eye on her!

Watch over her and please keep us posted!!

 

[stephanietx]

If she continues not eating, I would get her to the vet for an x-ray to make sure there's no obstruction and that she's not constipated.

 

[jolie fleurs]

Great suggestions, thank you so much!

 

[jolie fleurs]

Pookie is doing MUCH better today; has eaten plenty of food! And pooped! ( pretty sure she had been doing so right along, but I saw her for sure this evening) After withholding food for 12 hours or so, I gave her a small amount of chicken only baby food, as per your suggestion, and she scarfed that right down. Waited another couple of hours and gave her the rest, as well as a small amount of her favorite Fancy Feast pate, which also went down well. She got a quarter of the can of FF and about 6 pieces of kibble at her normal supper time. (Trying to slowly wean her off, but she does love her crunchy food, bless her.) She acts like she wants more, but that seems like a lot if in fact her stomach was upset, so that's all she will have today.

Cannot thank you all enough, truly. You are the BEST!

 

[neely]

Pookie is doing MUCH better today; has eaten plenty of food! And pooped!

That's wonderful news but I would keep a close eye on her to make sure she does not show any sudden change(s). Fingers crossed she's back to her old routine with no other issues.

 

[jolie fleurs]

I will for sure!