Cat vomiting since a few days

[Sam and tiana]

Hi all,
Been a while since I've been here but unfortunately Tiana has become sick for no apparent reason. She started vomiting two days ago and at first I was not concerned since she does throw up sometimes but then she kept doing it. I changed her food and watched her to see if it was the new plants we bought but so far she hasn't even licked them. We took her to a vet two days ago when she first started it and they checked and said she might have gastritis. Gave her shots for vomiting and sent us home with the royal canin recovery wet food to feed for 2 days on a schedule. She didn't eat much and after 24 hours started vomiting again, so yesterday we took her back to the vet and they said it could be a hairball issue which does not require a blood test. Told us to get the nutri vet hairball gel. Also gave her a few more shots. Today I was relived to see her hyper and making biscuits but just a few minutes ago she threw up again! I'm out of ideas rn and really can't bear to see her in this way.

Is there anything else me and the doctors could be missing or will this clear up on its own?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How old is Tiana? And, do you know what these 'few more shots' were? You changed her food - before or after she started throwing up? If you changed the food before, that would be the most obvious possible problem. And, if so, put her back on her old food, and compare the ingredients to see the differences. How long after she eats is she throwing up? Is it digested or undigested?

Any peeing or pooping issues? Other changes in the home? New soaps, detergents, carpet cleaning, candles, air fresheners, litter, etc, etc?

She may not lick the plants in your sight - cats are pretty in tune with what they should and should not be doing. I have a cat who will ignore plants when she knows I am watching but will definitely check them out when I am where she thinks I can't see her.

Gastritis doesn't just pop up out of nowhere - unless there is an underlying health issue or foods that she has become allergic too (which can happen). Usually, but not always, stool changes are seen as well.

If not the food, and no results are gotten from the hairball gel, the next step is blood work to see if something shows up out of the ordinary - possibly followed by an ultrasound.

 

[Sam and tiana]

Hi there!
Sorry for the very late reply but Tiana has gotten so much better and thankfully haven't puked since Monday. One weird thing she did today was have watery eyes where she looked like she was crying? But it went away soon enough so I hope it's nothing to worry about. We still don't know what's going on and still really need help figuring it out.

Tiana is going to be 4 this August! And while I'm not exactly sure what the shots were, the doctor checked her temp on the first day and determined that she had a low fever. So she gave a shot for vomiting most likely an antiemetic and another one one for fever. She got four shots over the course of 2 vet visits. We haven't changed her food at all because we were scared of this exact thing happening I was eyeing the hill's pet cat food for her since they set shop in my area a while ago and it's finally affordable now but I'm scared to change her food. She's currently on the Royal Canin Sensible dry food which we haven't changed in more than a year now. She wouldn't eat at all when she got sick and her vomit was usually yellow or clear due to her eating basically nothing. She survived last week on pedialyte and the tiniest amount of wet food the doctor prescribed.

She's an extremely picky cat, the kind of which I've never seen before and she never seemed enthusiastic about food. The only thing she absolutely went bonkers for was just plain boiled chicken but as she grew older its just meh. Then there's the sachet of cat treats you get at the store that's like chicken flavour which she likes to snack on in tiny quantities. Since she never went ham over her food it was extremely difficult to put her on a schedule. So we left her dry food out and she'd take tiny nibbles throughout the day. She's at a healthy weight of 9 pounds on her last visit which is surprising because I have no idea where she gets it from.

No peeing and pooping issues other than the occasional accidents but last week her litter box visits were reduced but her poop and pee looked normal. No changes in our place other than moving in to a new apartment 3 months ago. She was terrified but after a day got completely settled in. As far as I can tell, this vomiting has become a seasonal thing for us. She did the same thing last year during February and a different doctor gave her a shot for vomiting and we gave some pedialyte. It happened the year before too and around the same time. Pedialyte seems to be the only thing that works fast on her but it also feels like each year its getting worse. She never got sick for more 3 days before but now it has stretched into almost a week.

I'll definitely keep an eye on the plants as they are the only new things in our place. We bought them 2 months ago and I made sure that all of them are cat safe but it could be irritating her stomach.

I have a feeling that she's allergic to something and maybe that's why she seems so picky. I don't know what I'd do if it's something like corn meal because I'm limited to the options available here. This pandemic has made the process skyrocket already and to get them imported is not feasible. But it doesn't make sense because that would mean she'd have to vomit everyday but this almost feels like a flu or the weather or something.

Also she seemed to like the hairball gel and as predicted became disinterested two days later. I'm not sure what exactly worked this time around but she drank about 20mls of pedialyte for 2 days. By the end of it she really seemed to like the taste of it and started drinking it by herself instead of me having to push it through with a syringe.

I genuinely don't know what's going on and wish she didn't have to go through the horrible retching and gagging every year. She does not regularly throw up hairballs so could it be hairball congestion that gets too big every year? But I see no clumps of hair in her vomit aghh. She's doing pretty well now, eating and drinking normally and we've put her on a schedule again which means she's constantly following us around begging for food but this time we're adamant. Since she eats only tiny nibbles throughout the day, during her mealtimes she eats tiny portions and covers it up with imaginary sand to eat the rest later. Nevertheless we're soldering on and hoping that she figures out she won't be getting food all the time and will have to eat big portions during specific times. Don't know how we'll ignore the doe eyes tho

Extremely long reply but thank you for responding!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update. Since this seems to be an annual/seasonal thing (right?), there has got to be something different in the household that occurs during this time of year - even after having moved to another home. I can't see how it would be solely food related because you don't change out her food seasonally, most of the times she eats the same things, correct?

Do you change out bedding, blankets, pillows, and so on during the winter months? Could it be a residual effect from a live Christmas tree, or other holiday decorations? Some people burn candles or incense at particular times of the year. A fireplace being used, perhaps? Someone in the household who has a different job, or additional jobs this time of year, that brings in 'stuff' from those places? Attire that is only gotten out, such as coats, gloves, boots, etc? The list goes on, and I am not sure what else to use as examples.