Cat vomiting every couple of days...

[electra]

Hi all, I have a 7-year old DSH who has asthma. It's well-controlled by Prednisone, every few days. I almost never notice discomfort or coughing.

Lately, for past couple of months, he's been puking every couple or every few days. He is on a renal diet due to some kidney issues which actually are better due to the diet. His puke looks yellow, and sometimes looks like undigested cat food in it (He eats dry food). He seems fine otherwise--drinking, eating, using litterbox. Has been to vet a couple of times recently and they said next step is to do ultrasound.

I upped his Prednisone to every couple of days, like it had been for a while before changing to every three days. Vet said that might help the stomach.

I'm sure this isn't 'normal'...Anyone have this, with their cat? I guess it could be IBS, or something we haven't figured out yet....

Thanks for any advice. Wondering if I should do ultrasound sooner or later, or try new food, or...? Thank you!!!

 

[LTS3]

It sound like it could be IBD. The vet would have to do a biopsy to confirm. Many people opt for the lesser expensive ultrasound. Pred will help. It typically is given twice daily for a few weeks before the vet determines it's ok to slowly taper off based on symptoms. Other medicines may be needed at first such as Cerenia to help the vomiting and nausea. A diet change is helpful. A bland-ish LID novel protein type diet works well for many IBD cats.

Two web sites with good info:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

www.ibdkitties.net

Feline IBD

Address the root cause of IBD in your cat. Treat inflammation and gut dysbiosis with proper tools to restore health, not just manage symptoms.

www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org

 

[electra]

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind.

He has to be on Pred anyway for his asthma...

 

[LTS3]

My IBD cat also has asthma. The asthma was discovered when the vet tapered off the pred and stopped it. He put my cat back on pred for another few weeks and then tapered off and stopped it. That was enough to control both the asthma and IBD.

Hope your vet can figure out the cause of the vomiting If it is IBD, it's a manageable disease to treat.

 

[electra]

Thank you so much!

 

[electra]

Wondering now (after talking to some folks) about switching from dry to wet food. I guess they get far more hydration from wet food, which can be good for renal issues. He's really only eaten dry, all his life.

Any opinions on this? Of course it would be high-quality wet food, just like the dry. Or should I mix it up? Dry and wet? Or should I go to a sensitive-stomach dry food instead? Hmm. Thanks!

 

[Pouncecat1]

Vomiting can have many causes- a hairball, over eating or eating too fast, gastritis, or IBD, or cancer, a foreign body the cat cannot pass etc. Likely you do have Something going on, the question is what? And how much you want to spend to diagnose the problem.

With a stomach problem like this, the vets always start with bloodwork and x rays. Depending on what the results of those show, you can proceed with more diagnositics. An ultrasound will tell you if you have inflammatory bowel disease, cancer or pancreatitis, or enlarged lymph nodes, enlarged liver and spleen etc.

The problem with an ultrasound is that if there is intestinal thickening, they will say it is either IBD or cancer, and the only way to know for sure is to do either exploratory surgery for biopsies (expensive) or endoscopy with biopsies (slightly less expensive, but less accurate).

OR you could skip the ultrasound and go straight for an exploratory surgery. My cat looked like he had an obstruction requiring surgery. I delayed because the vet said he couldn't be sure it was an obstruction. I wanted a less invasive option and did the ultrasound which showed either IBD or Cancer. So right now we are treating as if this IS cancer when it could only be IBD.

I may have been better off with the exploratory surgery with biopsies so I would not be treating based on an IF. It could turn out that he doesn't need chemotherapy and I'm treating him for a disease he doesn't have. Or he could very well have cancer and I'm treating him correctly. The point is, there is no way of knowing. The only way to diagnose it at this point is to withdraw both the steroids and chemo and repeat the diagnostics (endoscopy or surgery) in a couple weeks. But that could be deadly if it is cancer.

My vet said it is ethnically questionable to do exploratory surgery or an endoscopy with biopsies, and you are better off treating and monitoring for improvements. If the cat improves on medication, then the treatment is probably correct. If the cat gets worse, then you may have a different type of cancer or something else going on.

That said, my other cat had intestinal thickening and did not get chemo, and she is still alive and kicking. So if she had cancer, she should be dead by now. She is on prednisolone only. But she does have some lumps in her mouth (which might be benign or may have turned cancerous). But again, if it were cancer, I don't know how she is still alive unless it is a less aggressive form of cancer (she's had lumps for a couple years)...

Because your cat is ON steroids, that means that you probably can't do an endoscopy with biopsies because it will be less accurate. Because your cat is on steroids I would go ahead and do the ultrasound. If there is intestinal thickening, then you are at the same point I was. You might be able to withdraw the steroids and see if you can do biopsies in a couple weeks, but again that is risky if it turns out to be cancer.

Or the ultrasound could show pancreatitis, or some other cyst or polyp or something else entirely. So do not assume it is cancer. Unless your cat is FIV or FELV positive, it's probably not cancer (just based on your cat's age).

To further confuse the matter, inflammatory bowel disease can be a form of pre-cancer. So you could do biopsies and it MIGHT look like IBD, but then in a couple months or years, it could mutate into cancer.

My cat (with IBD or lymphoma) has severe allergies to food (and everything else on the planet). The chemo, is the first time I have ever gotten his allergies under control in years. We tried allergy shots, multiple special diets, steroid injections, antibiotics etc... All to no avail. Nothing worked to control his allergies other than keeping him in an E collar, and doing medicated baths 2x weekly, in addition to daily medication with either antihistamines, steroids, antibiotics, special ointments etc. All those did was give you partial control.

 

[stephanietx]

I would try switching to wet food and using dry food as "snacks" and "treats".

 

[electra]

Thank you! he did have ultrasound and it did not show anything suspicious. I'm going to try wet food...A friend said her cat did not do well on the Royal Canin (my cat is on the renal variety), but did well on others...(dry food, if I want to try another dry food in future)...

 

[Hannah518]

That’s great news to hear about the ultrasound! My cat was throwing up a lot and ended up having thickening and nodules so I am in the same boat at Pouncecat1. We opted not to poke around to find out for sure. Cerenia did help but he didn’t take it for long. We are also refilling his pred.

Prior to all this though my cats tended to vomit up their dry food a lot. I switched to wet and the vomit decreased immensely besides it’s just better for them and is better for hydration as most everyone has said. If the ultrasound is clean, it sounds like a diet issue.

is he losing weight at all?

 

[MissClouseau]

Small meals throughout the day is better and easier for digestion than 2-3 meals a day. It also helps a little on preventing hairball-related issues. Especially when it's dry food, I would use malt paste like hairball remedy every day or every other day, depending on the product.

You could also discuss with the vet and try probiotics if there is any problem with his bowel movements. Does he get constipated?

My cat is intolerant to some grains and unfortunately even most "hypoallergenic" prescription foods contain a grain. Food intolerances are very common.

Also let me remind there could be more than one thing going on.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I always give my cat her Pred the same time frame each day (or in your case, I recommend doing it the same time frame every few days, like every morning in a two-hour window) -- but most importantly, I always give her some food alongside the dose of Pred. Do you give the Pred with or without food? What does your vet say?

 

[electra]

Thanks guys. He's not losing weight and seems healthy.

Giving Pred with food is good point--not sure if I've ever been told when to give it! And at same time, too.

Hannah, thanks for vote for wet food. We'll definitely try it, and try to use it more (or only)!

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

[BaileyCat]

Once we changed to an all wet diet, vomiting ceased. I am ashamed of myself that I allowed people and vets to convince me, for so many years, that vomiting was normal... just something cats do.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I always give my cat her Pred the same time frame each day (or in your case, I recommend doing it the same time frame every few days, like every morning in a two-hour window) -- but most importantly, I always give her some food alongside the dose of Pred. Do you give the Pred with or without food? What does your vet say?

Thanks guys. He's not losing weight and seems healthy.

Giving Pred with food is good point--not sure if I've ever been told when to give it! And at same time, too.

Hannah, thanks for vote for wet food. We'll definitely try it, and try to use it more (or only)!

Thanks so much, everyone!

Some cats, if on Pred long-term, can get ulcers in their stomach lining or in the GI tract:
Help! Question About Prednisolone

I was told by my vet to give Pred with food, and that could help decrease the chances of this occurring. Maybe you can consult with your vet about this, and find a way to see if this could be one possible reason for the vomiting? Or you could at least rule it out.

 

[electra]

Once we changed to an all wet diet, vomiting ceased. I am ashamed of myself that I allowed people and vets to convince me, for so many years, that vomiting was normal... just something cats do.

Aww...It's so hard to know! And yeah, I find it amazing that my vet hasn't recommended the wet food option, as it's so simple (if it does do the trick), and so much better for a dehydrated cat. That's the nice thing about having an online community of cat lovers!!

 

[electra]

So, I just gave Otto some wet food (about half a can) today, and a third of a cup of dry food (new stuff, more protein-based and supposedly easier on stomach). He ate it all up. He's never had a problem switching foods, but should I go more slowly with the switching?

Also, can anyone help me with correct amount of food for 10-lb cat, if I give both dry and wet in a.m. and p.m (or just wet in p.m. or a.m. not sure what I will do...). Thank you!! Seems like feeding quality wet food can get expensive...?

 

[BaileyCat]

PERSONALLY, I would feed wet food only.
By the way, Otto is verrrrry handsome!

 

[BaileyCat]

Catinfo.org has very helpful suggestions for transitioning from kibble to canned.
https://catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf