Vomit regularly, but not too often

[hiroober]

My 10yo cat was on home-cooked meat for the recent 3-4 years, she vomits every 10-14 days. My vet thought it might be some sort of food allergy, so I followed her suggestion and tried Royal Canin Anallergenic. She didn't stop the vomit pattern in the first month, but after some irregular vomits during that time, I found her didn't vomit for 25 days. The record was broken after a consecutive 3 days of some extra cooked chicken leg. But I honestly don't think dry food is a good source of food, I want to get her back to wet food without the vomiting. Before Anallergenic I mainly feed her with cooked chicken/pork/mussle/occasionally some chicken liver, mixed with Fancy Feast can, then sometime Ziwipeak air-dried lamb recipe if I don't have time to cook for her. Some efforts were put in to find the reason for the regular vomiting. I take her to the vet to do a geriatric panel every year and an ultrasound test 2 years ago but didn't find anything.

My question is, is it a good idea to trial and error different meat to find out what kind of protein she's allergic to while she is mainly on Royal Canin Anallergenic? My plan is to try one kind of meat at one time. If she could eat it for several days without throwing up, I'll make the assumption that she's ok with it. Does it sound plausible? Is there any other possibility to trigger the vomit? Given that every time she vomits right after she eats, or even still eating(she never vomits after eating more than 5min) and the content is always food still in its shape, does it sound like a food allergy? I assume the food is not yet down to its stomach?

I've been confusing regarding this issue for quite a while, I really really appreciate if anyone could share some experiences.

 

[Azazel]

Are you just mostly feeding cooked muscle meat or are you ensuring nutritonal adequacy? The vomiting may be a sign of nutritional deficiency.

 

[hiroober]

Are you just mostly feeding cooked muscle meat or are you ensuring nutritonal adequacy? The vomiting may be a sign of nutritional deficiency.

As I mentioned, I tend to give her different proteins, mussel is just one of them. But thanks very much for the information, I didn't realise that it may lead to a symptom like vomiting. What makes me really confused is that I've actually tried so many combinations on her diet. Like only commercial cans, only Ziwi Peak air-dried food, mix home-cooked meat with can/Ziwipeak(which is the most common one). Cans and Ziwipeak food are all labeled as a complete food for cats, she still vomits on those. But I reckon I usually didn't try for too long. What is a reasonable time for a food trial like that?

 

[She's a witch]

The following helped my girl stop regurgitating food:
- elevated food bowl
- small meals, no more than 1.5 oz more often
- egg lecithin for hairball control

 

[lisahe]

The following helped my girl stop regurgitating food:
- elevated food bowl
- small meals, no more than 1.5 oz more often
- egg lecithin for hairball control

These things also help our cat who both barfs and regurgitates. Anything to slow down her eating -- including foods she will eat but doesn't love! -- helps. Yes, if your cat is doing this while eating or right after eating, it would be regurgitating. And it would be unlikely to be caused by an allergy.

All that said, if some of the vomiting comes later, In addition to considering deficiencies if you're not feeding incomplete foods, you'll need to consider the ingredients in all the commercial foods you feed. Our cat vomits if she eats potato, agar-agar or mussels. The mussels, by the way, were probably the worst. And this was a definite allergy/sensitivity *not* regurgitation, when the food comes back up almost immediately, undigested.

Good luck!

 

[Azazel]

As I mentioned, I tend to give her different proteins, mussel is just one of them. But thanks very much for the information, I didn't realise that it may lead to a symptom like vomiting. What makes me really confused is that I've actually tried so many combinations on her diet. Like only commercial cans, only Ziwi Peak air-dried food, mix home-cooked meat with can/Ziwipeak(which is the most common one). Cans and Ziwipeak food are all labeled as a complete food for cats, she still vomits on those. But I reckon I usually didn't try for too long. What is a reasonable time for a food trial like that?

Different proteins in itself will not lead to a nutritionally adequate diet. If you're just feeding muscle meat from different proteins your cat will be malnourished. What is the calcium source? Iodine? Vitamin A?

If the vomitting is still occurring when feeding complete foods for long periods of time then it may not be due to this. But I would still be concerned about feeding a nutritionally complete diet if you are doing home-cooked. Just feeding different kinds of muscle meat is not enough.

New foods should be introduced very slowly, over a span of 10-14 days.