Please help! 1 yr old cat won't stop vomiting!

[rbianchi]

I have a kitten named Tucker. He is only barely over a year old. Up until last week he was on IAMs kitten chow. After he turned 1 in late January, I did my research to try to find him a heathy big boy kibble. I decided on Hill's science diet indoor adult 1-6 chicken recipe. When it arrived I gradually started to change his food. I was only just barely sprinkling them in before he starting vomiting (maybe 3 days). I was a little worried giving them to him because the kibbles were substantially bigger than his kitten food and he is such a tiny boy. I came home Tuesday afternoon to vomit on the floor. I didn't think much of it and just thought it might be a one-off. Then I saw Tucker violently puking. This happened about 8x Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. At the end he was not even throwing up food, just what looked like bile. I took off work on Wednesday and took him to the vet as soon as they opened. They took his temp which was normal and then felt his belly. Which he didn't have anything bad to say about. I opted for them to take an x-ray to err on the side of caution but they couldn't visibly see anything wrong or any type of obstruction. They gave him subcutaneous fluids, a shot of penicillin, a shot of an antiemetic and sent us on our way home with metronidazole and an appetite stimulant/antiemetic. After returning from the vet he seemed so lethargic. The doctor said that he needed to go to the litter box because he could see stool in his intestines when he was looking at the x-ray. Tucker finally went pee around 8 pm that night, not using the litter box since the morning. My dad came over Thursday to kitten sit while I was at work because I was so worried. By the time I got home from work on Thursday not much had changed, he was just lethargic and only peeing in the litter box, not eating or drinking or pooping. I took him back to the vet that night and they administered more subcutaneous fluids and a B12 shot. Since he hadnt pooped, the doctor did a rectal exam and pulled a poop out of his butt. He sent us home with lactulose, a laxative. I gave it to Tucker when we got home and he finally pooped in the box. He still was not eating or drinking. Fast forward to now. Since I've been home he has eaten a little bit of boiled chicken and some of my older cats kibbles. Hill's science diet w/d. He just vomited twice, puking up whole kibbles the first time and mostly bile the second time. Idk what to do. I am so beside myself. I've tried chicken, tuna, treats, a/d wet food. He just won't eat or drink. He is not as active as he usually is but he will still play when prompted. I'm so worried about my little man. Should I take him back to the vet or do you think that is making it worse and I should just let him get through it. He's only 8.5 lbs and I don't want to overload his little body. But this is breaking my heart please help me. I don't know what else to do.

 

[Whale_gurl]

I have a cat rescue and get many cats who come through. I am not expert. Just have several experiences.
1. Cat vomits . I have him on wet food...duck....ir chicken and sweet potatoe by beyond. I use hills gastrointestional biome dry food. It helps heal the microbiome.
In general i don't like to feed dry foods. Its not what cats ate for thousands of years. And their bodies have not adapted in last 70 users of esting kibble.
2. Another cat turned out to be allergic to chicken. They changed to freeze dried raw and cast speed vomiting.
I would switch back to the original food you had been feeding. And stabiluze from there.

 

[rbianchi]

I have a cat rescue and get many cats who come through. I am not expert. Just have several experiences.
1. Cat vomits . I have him on wet food...duck....ir chicken and sweet potatoe by beyond. I use hills gastrointestional biome dry food. It helps heal the microbiome.
In general i don't like to feed dry foods. Its not what cats ate for thousands of years. And their bodies have not adapted in last 70 users of esting kibble.
2. Another cat turned out to be allergic to chicken. They changed to freeze dried raw and cast speed vomiting.
I would switch back to the original food you had been feeding. And stabiluze from there.

Thank you for the advice! It means a lot. So should I just watch over him and return him to his normal food and skip the vet tomorrow to see if he improves?

 

[MissClouseau]

Unless there's a weird coincidence with timing, sounds like the food didn't work well for him. He might be intolerant to one or more things in the ingredients. It's not very unusual it takes a few days for things to go back. What I am worried about a bit, sounds like you tried different foods to get him eat which is understandable but if those foods also contain something he's intolerant to, he can't get better. It sounds like it's also possible the food caused constipation. I know constipation can also cause nausea and vomitting.

There might be a second issue too though. Did they run a blood test beyond checking for infection? Was he on a hairball remedy when this started? Or does he eat too much at once? Small meals throughout the day is easier on the digestion.

Have you tried going back to his IAMs kitten food? That's what I would do and give some time for the gut to heal. In the meantime check what are some different thigns between that IAMs kitten food he didn't have a problem with and this Hill's science diet.

 

[rbianchi]

They did not run a blood test. I have taken him off of all the meds and just given him access to his IAMs kitten chow and water. However he has thrown up twice during the night. It doesn't look like he is chewing his kibbles. Could a sore tooth cause all of this? Should I still offer him the boiled chicken?

 

[MissClouseau]

Could a sore tooth cause all of this? Should I still offer him the boiled chicken?

Not sure but I doubt sore tooth alone would cause so much puking. If it is connected to a dental problem, try to shred the chicken to small pieces and handfeed him so he can swallow. Is there a pate texture food with a simple formula you know he handles well? That might worth to try. Maybe with some Fortiflora sprinkled on top as it works as an appetite stimulant too, probiotics, and has a vitamin.

They did not run a blood test.

If he continues to puke without any Hill's food but on the food you are sure he handles well, I would call the vet and let them know. From your description I suspect maybe he also gets stressed at the clinic (stress itself can trigger Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Cats - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost), but if it is something else obviously he needs to go back for more diagnostic tests. My own cat by the way didn't handle two different Hill's dry foods I have tried in the past. Sometimes something a brand commonly use in their foods does not sit well for a particular cat. Maybe there is something like that going on with your kitty.

 

[rbianchi]

I would just hate to continue to stress him out by taking him to the vet again. I would assume the next thing they would want to do is an x-ray with barium contrast so they could see everything. And possibly bloodwork. He seemed good this morning and was even drinking water but then a few moments ago he threw up again. Just losing my mind here and so worried about my little guy. I want him back to his 100%

 

[MissClouseau]

I would just hate to continue to stress him out by taking him to the vet again. I would assume the next thing they would want to do is an x-ray with barium contrast so they could see everything. And possibly bloodwork. He seemed good this morning and was even drinking water but then a few moments ago he threw up again. Just losing my mind here and so worried about my little guy. I want him back to his 100%

I'm sorry to hear he's puking today too. Stress is bad but this much puking also means dehydration and not getting enough nutrition, and they might make the situation dangerously worse.

Since this started when you weren't home on Tuesday, maybe he swallowed something he wasn't supposed to. As they didn't even do bloodwork, if I were you I would take him to the vet today and run more diagnostic tests.

 

[stephanietx]

Since he is still vomiting at this point in time, I would get him to the vet for another check up. He probably needs another x-ray to rule out a blockage and to check for gas in his colon/intestines. He could just be really constipated. He could have gastroenteritis, which my kitty gets if we introduce a new food that doesn't agree with his system. It's basically a build up of gas in the colon. It causes a "full" feeling and the kitty doesn't want to eat, can't really get comfortable when laying down, and can cause nausea and vomiting. The last time it happened, it landed him in the vet hospital for a week. The vet administered nutrition via IV as well as meds to help with nausea and fluids. I finally told them to offer him some canned Science Diet a/d to get him to eat again, although I knew it would cause diarrhea. I can handle the diarrhea and treat that more than I can him not eating!

I would not give him ANY dry food. Stick with the boiled chicken and give him small servings of plain meat baby food for a day or so. If he holds that down, offer him some wet food, maybe something like Fancy Feast (no fish as many kitties react negatively to that).

 

[lisahe]

I couldn't agree more with what stephanietx and MissClouseau write: I totally understand the concern about stress but it really sounds like Tucker needs to go back to the vet so his health doesn't continue to suffer. Given how long he hasn't eaten, dehydration (from not drinking) and fatty liver disease (from not eating) are very real concerns. If nothing else, he needs to be checked for dehydration. Depending on what the vet finds, he might get something to increase his appetite.

Given Tucker's history of constipation, the suggestion of only wet food is very good, whether it's boiled meat, baby food (the very plain kind, no added salt), or canned food like Fancy Feast or Friskies. Given the timing of the diet change and the symptoms, I agree with MissClousea that it sounds like the Hills food wasn't a good match. Even so, I think a vet visit would be a really good idea!

 

[rbianchi]

Thank you all for the support! I did end up taking tuck back to the vet for a barium contrast x-ray and bloodwork. We dropped him off at the vet and picked him up about 3 hours later. We won't know the results until later today though as we have to get a final xray and wait for the results of the blood work to come back. BUT GUYS. Since we have gotten home around 3 pm Tucker has seen IMMENSE improvement. He has been eating drinking playing and best of all no vomit. That's 12 hours! It's like he is back to normal. The doc didn't give him any other meds while he was there but something magical must have happened. Or maybe the barium had some type of therapeutical effect since it is somewhat alkaline. I'll post an update when we get the results. My heart is just so happy and full to see my little man back to normal.

 

[rbianchi]

 

[MissClouseau]

Thanks for the update! Great to hear there seems to be some improvement. I hope it all goes better from now on.

Try to let us know when you get the test results.

 

[rbianchi]

Blood results just showed he was dehydrated. They administered subcutaneous fluids and his last x-ray with the barium showed no obstruction! I really don't know what happened it seems like an anomaly.

 

[lisahe]

Blood results just showed he was dehydrated. They administered subcutaneous fluids and his last x-ray with the barium showed no obstruction! I really don't know what happened it seems like an anomaly.

That is very good news! I'm glad they gave him the fluids, it seemed almost certain he would need those. Cats can really perk up after fluids, I hope Tucker does!

 

[amandag1]

Try some smelly fancy feast flavors...
My cat goes crazy for delectables- the bisques
Baby food- meat based
Even temptations!! (The treats, its better than nothing)