My cat is vomiting

kalif

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Hi everyone,

My cat, Charlie (almost 3yo), has been throwing up quite badly recently. He started 2 weeks ago - he would vomit a small amount of clear brown-yellow liquid twice a week. However last week he threw up quite badly early after breakfast, then he threw up twice more after. We called the vet, he told us to stop food and water and come in the evening. He did some blood test - normal. Nothing toxic in his system. He suspected gastritis (or maybe he ate a bug), gave him a jab, and advised us to feed Charlie small amounts in higher frequency. If it does not get better, the vet can provide Charlie an over the counter gastritis medication. He didn't vomit the rest of the day, nor the next few days - so i didn't see the rush to get the meds.

Almost a week go by, Charlie is okay till tonight. He didn't eat much of his dinner but threw up just as badly again an hour later. And 3 more times, 2 hours apart. I'm going to get him to the vet again tomorrow morning. But i'd like to reach out for the experienced guys here if some changes to his routine I've made that could be the cause of this.

1. We've been feeding him both wet and dry food - quarter cup each in the afternoon and late night before we sleep. And half a cup of wet food for breakfast and dinner. But we decided about 3 weeks ago to keep rotating different flavours of the same brand, plus one other brand he used to like, to give him variety. He's quite a fussy eater.

2. I've recently changed his litter from a clumping clay to cherie unscented clumping natural wood cat litter since the last week and a half. I really love this change since it clumps so well and there's no smell. It's a life-changer. But could this litter be the cause of Charlie's vomiting? Has anyone have experience with clumping wood causing vomiting?

3. I've always had an automated air freshener in my room, and for as long as Charlie has been with us. But could that be a possible issue now as well? It is always faced away from any of his perches, and he's never minded it before.

What i find really difficult to wrap my head around is that i have another cat, Leia, and she's perfectly fine. And i monitor them for meal time so one doesn't steal the other's bowl. Charlie doesn't eat human food nor does he go through the trash.

I know I'll be back at the vet tomorrow, but it's 3am where I'm at now and i just can't sleep thinking about all this. I'm so worried sick. And feeling awful that i didn't go back to get the otc medicine.. I definitely would appreciate any help or suggestions.

Thank you in advance.
 

denice

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It really could be any number of things. He could just have a more sensitive system. Since you have recently introduced different foods I would start there, as well as another vet visit. Have you noticed the vomiting correlating with feeding one of the new foods? For now I would go back to what you were feeding before and see if that helps.
 

stephanietx

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Have you changed his food recently? Do you rotate canned food flavors? Many kitties can't tolerate fish or chicken.
 

sidneykitty

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I'm so sorry Charlie is vomiting. Since you said you added some new food flavors recently, its possible that upset his system. Can you try going back to whatever food you were feeding regularly and see if he still vomits?

Do you know if he has been pooping regularly or if he is straining to poop? If you have another cat, I understand it might be hard to know unless you see him go in the box.
 
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kalif

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Hi everyone,

I woke up today, he seems normal - i haven't fed him much since last incident at 2am. Will check with the vet again later.

He's been to the box - he's peeing okay. Just can't track the poop. And he eats Ciao pudding chicken as his regular - he doesn't eat anything else much. But he was receptive to the tuna and prawn flavours of the Ciao pudding brand. We chose that cos he just wont eat anything that is meaty or requires to chew (apart from his dry food).

So the consensus seem to be the food. It's just that yesterday he started throwing up at dinner, which he barely ate the old food (he ate the new one in the morning 12 hours prior). Then while cleaning up he ate the said dinner - and threw up 2 hours later. So should i keep the old wet food plus the regular dry food (regular routine)? Or just keep to one of them?
 

stephanietx

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When you change dry food, you have to do a gradual change over a period of time. Abrupt changes of dry food can cause gastro problems.
 

sidneykitty

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Ok. Let us know what the vet says after you call.

I'd stick with the old kibble and old wet food for now. If this clears up and you decide to reintroduce new foods, you might want to try introducing them a bit more gradually.

On the other points you made - no, I don't think the litter or the air freshener could cause this. I understand your line of thinking, though. Anytime something is potentially wrong with my cat, I start overanalyzing absolutely everything!

If you are able to, can you watch him in the litterbox or somehow tell if he is pooping or straining to poop... I'm just thinking normal labs, but vomiting an inappetance could be due to constipation. They didn't do x-rays, right? Has he vomited at all near the litterbox?

Though it sounds like the gastritis medicine helped. Is that right?
 
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kalif

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Ok. Let us know what the vet says after you call.

I'd stick with the old kibble and old wet food for now. If this clears up and you decide to reintroduce new foods, you might want to try introducing them a bit more gradually.

On the other points you made - no, I don't think the litter or the air freshener could cause this. I understand your line of thinking, though. Anytime something is potentially wrong with my cat, I start overanalyzing absolutely everything!

If you are able to, can you watch him in the litterbox or somehow tell if he is pooping or straining to poop... I'm just thinking normal labs, but vomiting an inappetance could be due to constipation. They didn't do x-rays, right? Has he vomited at all near the litterbox?

Though it sounds like the gastritis medicine helped. Is that right?
Hi guys, thanks for all your input! Really appreciate it!!

Charlie hasn't thrown up since that day and is back to his normal self. I dropped by the vet and he's given me some gastritis meds (which is difficult to feed) and probiotics (which is thankfully easy). He also said to increase his laxapet to 3 times a week for a while (i give them laxapet once a week). If he is still throwing up, the vet will do both another blood test to compare his liver status and an ultrasound.

The poop looks like a normal amount for two cats so i assume he's going to the bathroom well, but I'll keep an eye on him to check for pooping or non-pooping. I'll observe him further if he throws up again in another week. He usually throws up at his resting spots. I will discard any thoughts on other things that could have caused his vomiting, and keep to his usual foods.

Thanks everyone!!
 
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