Regurgitation

Heroherohero

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Hello! I'm looking for some advice on what to do about my cat regurgitating recently.

It started about 4 weeks ago where about once or twice a week he would regurgitate his food minutes after eating it. 1st week I thought he just wasn't feeling too great, 2nd week I thought it was because he would run around after eating so I tried to keep him from doing so, 3rd week I thought maybe he was eating pieces that were too big so I started to plate smaller rounds of his food during feeding time, and now we are in the 4th week. He ate only a small portion last night before regurgitating it a minute later. After cleaning up I have tried elevating his food on some boxes to see if a change in angle helps him keep it down.

I'm wondering if I should take him into the vet, but I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid as I tend to have high anxiety and let minor issues get out of hand. I'm in a weird position right now as I don't want to force him to the vet as he's exceptionally aggressive at the vet and needs medical sedation & will be kept there all day. I worry about doing this now as I move in 3 weeks across the country & will be taking him through airport security. I worry that if I open the case at the airport he'll think he's back at the vet and attack... And yes, he will attack me too out of fear - let's just say last years vet visit we attempted to have me get him out of the carrier and I left bloody. I'm extremely worried about the spread of covid in cats.. he would be at the vet all day until waking up from the sedation - how can I trust the vets are working to keep contamination low? He's a frail cat, so I'm scared for his safety.

He has his regular exam at the end of the month & will receive his vaccines & all then too.

He is 7 years old and eats raw rabbit twice daily as he has really bad food allergies. He's not acting different. Sleeps in his fav places comfortably, despite regurgitating he does eat his meals, still plays daily, no lethargy, urine and feces are the same. The only difference is after a 6 month "break" last week he decided he does want to start snuggling on the couch again.

What are your thoughts? Am I being paranoid or should I take him to the vet despite my hesitation? Thanks in advance!
 

daftcat75

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I don't know that you want to let this be for another three weeks. And then how long will it take to find a vet in your new place? I do believe a vet visit would be wise. While you are at the vet, you can ask about gabapentin, an anti-anxiety drug, that might make future vet visits as well as the airport/air travel easier on him.

Is it possible that the rabbit got contaminated? My Krista will regurgitate raw food if it's past its prime, if it's left in the fridge or out in the open too long, or the cuts are too rich for her. Leg meat is good with her. Loin/saddle comes back up. Rawz makes a rabbit pate which helps with her multiple food sensitivities without risking raw food right now. She's currently immuno-suppressed while taking chemotherapy for her lymphoma.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Since he only eats twice a day, maybe try feeding him smaller meals more often. My raw eater regurgitates also if he eats too much so I have to feed him more than twice a day. I also feed him in a raised dish and know exactly how much I can give him before it will come back out again. Oh, I also started making his chunks a little larger so he has to spend more time chewing. More time chewing makes him slow down a little bit overall, which is a good thing. If you guy eats ground meats, you could try adding something to his bowl, like a clean golf ball or two that he has to eat around. That will make him slow down just in case he scarfs it down.
 
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Heroherohero

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Thank you all for your replies, and apologies for the late response! I decided I didn't want to wait, but wanted to get the flight out of the way first and moved up my move out date to this Tuesday. Which means... a lot of frantic packing has been happening but I'll be bringing him to a local vet on Wednesday in our new city.

Hopefully he checks out ok, but better safe than sorry. It's still too soon to see if the elevated plate is helping as the regurgitation only happens once a week but I'm happy to report he's been keeping everything down so far this week. I'll start moving him to smaller, more frequent meals daily, but I'm wondering how to manage that once I need to start working from the office again? I also really liked the idea about the clean golf balls to help him slow down eating so I might try that too!
 

cataholic07

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Yes smaller more frequent meals is best. Twice a day cats are very prone to throwing it up just because they are sooo hungry.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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When you go back to working in the office, maybe you could feed before you leave, when you get home, and right before bedtime. Nothing says they have to be evenly spaced out if that doesn't work with your schedule.
 
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