Strange Pattern of Vomiting

[jinxywinx]

Hello, everyone!
I am new to this forum, but so very happy to have found it! My husband and I are owned by 7 kitties. Mauli is the oldest (6 yrs old) and also the one having issues.
We took her to the vet because she was vomiting quite a bit. She would act completely normal and then suddenly have a fit where she would throw up a hairball, and then not eat for a day but continue to vomit foam - usually 3 times consecutively. We called the vet and he told us this was normal and to use an OTC hairball remedy. We did.
It did not help the situation, and we began to notice that she would throw up the hairball (sometimes HUGE) along with food which was usually partially digested. Then she would cease eating for up to 1 or 2 days and continue puking (mostly clear or foam, but sometimes a tinge of red).
This scared the h-e-double hockey sticks out of me, so I took her back to the vet. He examined her and did blood work, and told me that she was overall a healthy cat. He prescribed an anti-nausea medication, advised that we feed her Purina dry food and sent us on our way.
We switched her food and gave her the medication until it ran out, but now we've noticed that it's starting again. She will be fine for about a week, and then the whole thing starts all over again. She throws up 2-3 times a day for up to 2 days and then her appetite returns to normal and she's fine again. She has not lost any weight at all, either. It is so weird.
I am so worried about her. I've made another appointment at the vet, but it isn't until next week. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I feel so bad for her, and I also feel guilty that I'm starting to resent the fact that I have to clean up puke so often.

 

[auntie crazy]

Hi, Jinxywinx! Welcome to TCS!

Cats fed kibble sometimes have trouble like this. Cats who don't eat often enough can get nauseous and throw up, too (usually clear or slightly foamy), and this sometimes leads to them going off their food... which is exactly what it sounds like you're dealing with.

How often do you feed your kitties? Do you feed any wet? Can you increase it and decrease or, better yet, stop feeding the kibble? My brother had the same problem with his two girls and this solved it completely. After two years of vomiting, going off their food, and many, many vet visits, he made the switch to canned, and they immediately stopped being sick.

Hope we can get to the bottom of this!

AC

 

[jinxywinx]

Hello, AC

Thank you much for your response!
We normally feed our cats 4 times a day - 7am, noon, 5pm, and 9:30pm. We feed 5 of them communally, and Mauli and her sister separately (the other cat has UTI patterns and is on Urinary SO formula). We sometimes will feed them wet food for the last feeding.
I fed Mauli wet food earlier today and she threw it up about a half hour later in one giant puke puddle (so disgusting). However, she only has an appetite for wet food when she is sick like this and I feel like as long as she is eating something, it's a good sign.
One thing I have noticed about Mauli (and I'm not sure if this is at all related) is that she has a tendency to be very picky about her food. She will not eat anything salmon flavored, and has a tendency to prefer only chicken wet food in gravy.

 

[ldg]

Hi! I'm sorry this is what brought you to TCS, but glad you found us, and I hope we can help.

Has an xray been done when she should have an empty stomach?
How has her weight been? Is she losing weight or maintaining her weight?

The blood concerns me.

Several things come to mind.

1) She does have an issue with hairballs, and she's in a cycle of acid creation that might be broken with an antacid or H2 blocker type medication. When this happened with Lazlo, the vet put him on zantac (1/2 the lowest human dose once daily) (he weighed 12 pounds). The blood may be indicative of ulcers. I don't know if you could see these on an xray, you'd have to ask the vet. But it may require at a minimum an xray, or perhaps an endoscope or biopsy or ultrasound.

2) She has an issue with hairballs, but this is coinciding with something else.

That something else could be:

She's developed food allergies and/or sensitivities. The easiest way to see is to do an elimination diet. You can either feed her boiled chicken and rice for a while, see what happens (of course if chicken or rice is the problem, this won't help). When our Chumley seemed to have allergies, we went straight to the prescription diet Hill's z/d. If you want to try this, do NOT feed the dry version. ONLY THE WET is truly hypoallergenic. The z/d dry has brewer's rice in it, and it turned out Chumley is allergic to Brewer's Rice.

So that was confusing, until we realized the dry z/d was NOT actually hypoallergenic.

3) She has a problem with hairballs. Get a furminator, specifically a furminator (if you don't already have one), and brush her daily with it.

And consider searching for a holistic vet - see if there is one near you. You can search at http://www.ahvma.org.

When we were unable to solve our Chumley's problems with our traditionally trained vets, we decided to "think outside the box," because he was miserable. We found a DVM (Dr. of Veterinary Medicine) that is ALSO trained in alternatives that was only about a 35-45 minute drive from us. She had his problem with diarrhea fixed up within FOUR DAYS (and we'd been working seven months with the regular vets). His issue with allergies was solved with the very first herbal treatments she prescribed. His problem wasn't hairballs, but because of Lazlo we discussed the issue. Cats should be able to pass hairballs, and if they aren't, there is an underlying problem with the GI system. Western medicine is not good at this kind of problem, but Chinese Medicine is. So if you decide to see if there's a holistic vet you can work with, when searching, look for one trained in chinese herbals, because that means they're trained in Chinese Medicine.

So whether her problem is "just" hairballs, or is allergies or food sensitivities, in our experience, Chinese Medicine can help where western medicine fails. Western meds help us and our kitties in so many ways... but when it comes to immune-related problems, western medicine isn't so good and doesn't always find a way to treat the symptoms. Chinese medicine doesn't treat the symptoms, it treats the underlying problem.

4) I don't want to scare you, and this probably isn't it because your cat is so young. But in the end, our Lazlo's problem turned out to be cancer. And even though the xray in January was clear and his blood work was normal, an endoscope at the time may have found the cancer that we didn't find until July, when there was a large mass in his stomach. Yes, he did have problems with hairballs. And he was losing weight, but we wrote it off to the switch to an all wet diet from a mostly dry food diet. I don't know yet if we caught it in time, but he is responding really well to chemotherapy, and tolerating it really well (he's also getting complimentary treatment with our holistic vet with the knowledge and consent of the oncologist).

Your kitty probably has an issue with hairballs in combination with food sensitivities or allergies. IBS is also a potential, because it can be expressed via vomiting, not just issues with diarrhea or constipation. IBS can only be properly diagnosed with a biopsy, though it can be treated with steroids (if you don't want to explore the alternative route). If she responds to steroids, then you can forego the biopsy and "assume" it was IBS.

Given your vet didn't outline any of these options, you may want to consider a second opinion from a new vet.

There may be others with more ideas, but hope we're able to help! Vibes for your baby!

 

[jinxywinx]

Thank you for your response, Laurie!
So much information to take in that I never even imagined. I am so sorry that your Lazlo's diagnosis was so serious. Is his treatment manageable? I wish both he and you the very best for recovery. I'm sure he will do very well with such a conscientious person watching over him!!
Vibes for you and Lazlo as well!!

Mauli, though not a fat cat, is most definitely not underweight or losing weight. Once she has gotten all the puking out of her system, she eats like a horse, drinks normally, plays normally, and delights in her reign over the household (she is the queen kitty - we call her The Beast, because she promptly becomes beastly when the others try to take her position).

Our vet did not take any xrays, though he did do a blood workup and a physical examination. I am thinking that, based on this information you've given me, that looking for a second opinion might be a good option.

I would like to try feeding Mauli a chicken and rice diet, but am not sure what the best method is for doing that. I will search the forum to see if there are any ideas on that!

Thank you again, I do appreciate your help!

 

[ldg]

When we did it for Chum, we just boiled chicken in water, and made white rice. I'd mash up two tablespoons of rice, shred into little teeney pieces an ounce or two of chicken, and mix it all with some of the plain chicken water. I fed this to him as often as he wanted to eat, but about four times a day. I don't know if it was enough calories technically, but it was only for about a week to see if we could get his diarrhea under control. It helped a little bit. Then I started feeding him the recommended amount of z/d. Like I said - if you're trying a food elimination diet, I'd go for only the wet z/d.

If it is sensitivities, you can probably tell within a few days.

And thanks about Laz.

He's tolerating the chemo really well. We have no idea if it's putting the cancer into remission or not. This is the first cycle of treatment, and the first ultrasound isn't until the 5th week, which will be the week of the 29th.

 

[jinxywinx]

Is z/d available only at the vet's office?

 

[ldg]

Unfortunately, yes.

 

[jinxywinx]

No problem, I will ask at her appointment this week! I need to pick up some S/O for Loki anyway.

 

[auntie crazy]

Originally Posted by Jinxywinx

Hello, AC

Thank you much for your response!
We normally feed our cats 4 times a day - 7am, noon, 5pm, and 9:30pm. We feed 5 of them communally, and Mauli and her sister separately (the other cat has UTI patterns and is on Urinary SO formula). We sometimes will feed them wet food for the last feeding.
I fed Mauli wet food earlier today and she threw it up about a half hour later in one giant puke puddle (so disgusting). However, she only has an appetite for wet food when she is sick like this and I feel like as long as she is eating something, it's a good sign.
One thing I have noticed about Mauli (and I'm not sure if this is at all related) is that she has a tendency to be very picky about her food. She will not eat anything salmon flavored, and has a tendency to prefer only chicken wet food in gravy.

A quick look at some of the Purina kibble formulas show a lot of grains (more grains than meat, actually), and that's rough on a cat's body. It can lead to IBS/IBD, which would exhibit the symptoms your kitty is showing, including the red tinge, and would make processing hair difficult. Grains can also cause excessive shedding, especially if the cat begins to develop an allergy to any of them (and Purina use several, including corn and soy - both high allergens), so she's ingesting a lot of hair while she's grooming, then vomiting it (this would explain why she's ok while on the hairball meds, but has problems when she comes off it).

I think a total switch to low or no-grain canned might do the trick here, and I definitely agree with Laurie that your kitty's tummy needs a break. Her recommendation of boiled chicken and rice has helped a lot of folks in similar situations.

Hope you get Mauli back on her feet ASAP!!!!

AC

 

[jinxywinx]

I will try out the chicken and rice, and let you guys know how everything goes.

 

[ldg]

Continued vibes! !!!!!

 

[minka]

Originally Posted by Jinxywinx

Is z/d available only at the vet's office?

You can also purchase it at some online retailers, including petfooddirect.com

 

[jinxywinx]

Originally Posted by Usher

What are you giving to your cat ? You just stop to give her the heavy food which can not be disgusted and give her soups and branded light food.Take your cat immediately to a vet and check her stomach first ,i hope it would not be a serious problem.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean here.
I was feeding her Purina One that the vet recommended, but have been attempting to feed her chicken and rice for the past two days. She doesn't seem to be a huge fan of it, but will eat if I feed it to her off of my finger.


Minka, thanks for that. I might bring up the idea of an allergen-free diet to the vet, as I've noticed that she has also been scratching a lot as well.

 

[ldg]

So given her pattern of vomiting... is two days too early to tell? Has she thrown up?

Just sending more !!!!!!

 

[jinxywinx]

She hasn't thrown up for 2 days, but this is generally the cycle. If she doesn't throw up by next week at this time, we will know if the chicken and rice is working!!
Her appointment is Thursday, so we will see what the vet says also!
Thank you for the vibes!! Mauli is sitting here staring up at me like she knows she has some advocates out there in the digital world!!

 

[auntie crazy]

I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed for you two! My kitties send good thoughts to Mauli as well.

AC

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by Jinxywinx

She hasn't thrown up for 2 days, but this is generally the cycle. If she doesn't throw up by next week at this time, we will know if the chicken and rice is working!!
Her appointment is Thursday, so we will see what the vet says also!
Thank you for the vibes!! Mauli is sitting here staring up at me like she knows she has some advocates out there in the digital world!!

Mauli is obviously one smart kitty.

 

[ldg]

Usher, the cat has been to the vet, and is now on a temporary diet of boiled chicken and rice, and is back to the vet in a few days.

 

[jinxywinx]

Well, Mauli's appointment was yesterday afternoon.
The vet did some blood tests again and a test for a fungus on the inside of her ears because of the scratching (negative). He seems to think that she is simply suffering from hairballs and that the red tinge is from the dye in the food.
He told me to use OTC hairball treatment, and feed her Purina Pro Plan. He is still adamant about dry food, but she seemed to do so well on wet food and hasn't thrown up since I have been feeding her that.
Thank you for the vibes!! I will continue to watch her and update.