Puking after using the litter box

[hhudson93]

A week ago my 10 year old long haired cat, molly started to puke and was unable to keep food or water down. She lost 2.2 pounds in a couple of days and now weighs 4.8 pounds. After a week of visits to the vet, she’s gotten the anti nausea medicine multiple times and IV fluids, they did bloodwork- all appeared normal. An X-ray showed something but they couldn’t tell what so next Step was an ultrasound. The ultrasound found a variety of things. She has one kidney functioning better than the other, pancreatitis, and a cyst on her liver. They didn’t see anything cancerous or that needs surgery at this time. She’s been home since last night and was acting better. They suggested the Hills digestive food to help with pancreatitis flare ups. They also noticed some fur in a stool sample so she’s trying to pass a hairball and they gave me a lubricant to give her orally to help with that.
Things seemed better until this morning when 2 hours after her breakfast, she puked half of it up. Then she used the litter box and pooped (not solid) and immediately puked outside the litter box stomach bile (bright yellow/green). No white foam which she was puking up last week. I ran an errand and came back and she was meowing at her food cabinet so i gave her a small amount. She’s also drank water and kept it down fine. Then, just now, she pooped again in the litter box (still not solid) and immediately puked the stomach bile again outside the litter box. I called her vet and explained what’s going on today, the vet wasn’t super concerned and said to just keep an eye on her and make sure she’s keeping the food down and to decrease the amount of food I’m giving her so she just eats a little at a time. He also recommended a new litter box and the half a Pepcid.
Does anyone on here have any advice or experienced something like this?? This past week has been awful (not to mention expensive) She’s such a sweet girl and her personality is still there, she’s acting normal not like she’s in pain, minus the puking bit going on. Any help is seriously appreciated!! Thank you!!
-Heather

 

[Blank.starr]

Well if she's having runny stool, I don't know if you feed her anything outside of the Hills, but you should avoid giving her wet food. My vet confirmed that wet food is often too watered down and could cause diarrhea. (Excellent food btw, if a tad pricey. I use the Hills Science Diet for my kitten.)
A new litter box would be a good idea but be sure that you're scooping and stirring the litter every day and wash the box when you change the litter too.

 

[daftcat75]

Well if she's having runny stool, I don't know if you feed her anything outside of the Hills, but you should avoid giving her wet food. My vet confirmed that wet food is often too watered down and could cause diarrhea. (Excellent food btw, if a tad pricey. I use the Hills Science Diet for my kitten.)
A new litter box would be a good idea but be sure that you're scooping and stirring the litter every day and wash the box when you change the litter too.

Water in food is reclaimed by the kidneys and colon. Water in food does not mean watery stools.

Dry food is high in carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, starches, and grains) which are difficult for cats to digest. Those carbs can also feed the wrong kinds of gut bacteria which can crowd out the right strains. The lower digestibility and adverse effects on normal gut bacteria can cause diarrhea or loose stools.

Inflammation in the lower gut, gallstones, liver disease, or an reduction/obstruction in bile flow can also cause the barfing after pooping. This is probably not a complete list.

I would not feed dry food to a cat with pancreatitis because of how much more difficult dry food is to digest. This puts extra work on an already inflamed pancreas. I would look for simple foods like Fancy Feast Classic pates, Rawz, or Tiki Cat. Look for recipes that are as close to meat, moisture, organs, and supplements. Try to avoid starches, grains, and gums as much as possible. Fruits and vegetables may be harder to avoid but make sure they appear much further down in the ingredient list.

The yellow/green in the vomit is bile. Bile barfs are never good. She may have a partial obstruction in her gut, possibly the hair she is trying to pass. Watch for changes in appetite and energy level. If she stops eating or becomes lethargic, run her down to the vet without delay and get an X-ray to start.

 

[daftcat75]

White foam is stomach acid. Stomach acid barfs could be as simple as increasing feeding frequency. She may be going too long between meals. Cats in the wild will eat a dozen small meals a day rather than the twice a day gut bombs we tend to feed them. Smaller meals fed more frequently is often the first best step you can do with older cats. Their digestion slows down with age so a smaller meal helps here too.

A schedule that works for my 15 year old is 6am, 9am, 6pm and 10 pm with timed feeders to cover the daytime and overnight (between 9/10 and 6.) She eats only wet food.

 

[WMM201]

She may be very constipated, if the vomiting is after a trip to poop in the litterbox. Diarrhea is sometimes a sign of constipation, because there is a hard stool the cat can't get out and loose stool is more or less squeezing past the old stool. But since your cat has other illnesses, it's just important to keep her fluid intake up with the vomiting. Maybe try giving her hairball gel daily or even twice a day for a couple days?

 

[hhudson93]

She may be very constipated, if the vomiting is after a trip to poop in the litterbox. Diarrhea is sometimes a sign of constipation, because there is a hard stool the cat can't get out and loose stool is more or less squeezing past the old stool. But since your cat has other illnesses, it's just important to keep her fluid intake up with the vomiting. Maybe try giving her hairball gel daily or even twice a day for a couple days?

Yes I read somewhere else that puking right after pooping could be constipation!! I know she’s definitely trying to pass the hair obstructing her stomach. The vet confirmed from one of the xrays and an ultrasound that there is fur in her stomach but he didn’t feel surgery to remove it is necessary since she’s proved she can pass it from the stool samples I brought in that were almost all fur. Thank you for your input! Greatly appreciated.

 

[hhudson93]

White foam is stomach acid. Stomach acid barfs could be as simple as increasing feeding frequency. She may be going too long between meals. Cats in the wild will eat a dozen small meals a day rather than the twice a day gut bombs we tend to feed them. Smaller meals fed more frequently is often the first best step you can do with older cats. Their digestion slows down with age so a smaller meal helps here too.

A schedule that works for my 15 year old is 6am, 9am, 6pm and 10 pm with timed feeders to cover the daytime and overnight (between 9/10 and 6.) She eats only wet food.

I’m definitely going to try small meals that are more frequent! I’ve always only done breakfast and dinner but your advice makes sense. Thank you!

 

[daftcat75]

Yes I read somewhere else that puking right after pooping could be constipation!! I know she’s definitely trying to pass the hair obstructing her stomach. The vet confirmed from one of the xrays and an ultrasound that there is fur in her stomach but he didn’t feel surgery to remove it is necessary since she’s proved she can pass it from the stool samples I brought in that were almost all fur. Thank you for your input! Greatly appreciated.

Give her a teaspoon of egg yolk. It will help with passing hair in two ways. The choline in egg yolk stimulates GI contractions that help move hair and stool on through. The lecithin in egg yolk acts like bile to dissolve the fat that binds the hair and makes it difficult to pass. Egg yolk can be a powerful laxative because of the lecithin. Start with 1 tsp and wait 24 hours before giving more. I call 1 teaspoon the cat drain-o dose. It should clear her out. You will likely need a fair amount less on a maintenance basis. For this reason, I recommend either buying egg yolk powder or making your own.

This page talks all about egg yolk for hairballs and includes a recipe to make your own and a link to buy theirs.

How Best to Manage Hairballs

Hairballs are an early warning sign of a motility problem in cats. This article describes how best to manage hairballs.

www.foodfurlife.com

 

[sivyaleah]

Well if she's having runny stool, I don't know if you feed her anything outside of the Hills, but you should avoid giving her wet food. My vet confirmed that wet food is often too watered down and could cause diarrhea. (Excellent food btw, if a tad pricey. I use the Hills Science Diet for my kitten.)
A new litter box would be a good idea but be sure that you're scooping and stirring the litter every day and wash the box when you change the litter too.

Goodness this is terrible advice your vet is giving you!
And Hills Science Diet is filled with all kinds of things that are not part of a cats normal diet but that, is for another conversation

To the OP, I agree with she might be constipated. As mentioned, the liquid in the digestive tract will be the only thing that can get out which would account for the loose stool you are seeing. You've gotten good advice for this already but I'll add, perhaps using a probiotic in her food and if you are not completely satisfied with your vet that getting a second opinion might be something to think about. I also think she needs better nutrition than Hills. The suggestion of Fancy Feast is a decent one but make sure it's the Classic Pate line, which is grain free - with no other added carbs/fillers of any kind (no peas, potatoes, fruit, etc).