General Question

trypaw's avatar

My cat is still throwing up. What should I do?

Asked by trypaw (332points) August 24th, 2012
19 responses
“Great Question” (1points)

My cat Spike (8 years) has been throwing up since Saturday Morning. (he has thrown up since then on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and today Friday) So everyday but Wednesday. I took him to the vet Monday they did blood work and a stool sample. Everything came out fine. So I switched his food to Royal Canin Special 33 for sensitive stomach. I did this yesterday and I also received medicine from the vet Metronidazole and cat lax for hairballs. He throws up about 10 hours after eating and I can still see most of his food in his puke. I don’t know what else to do. He acts normal and everything but I dont know why he is throwing up so much I only feed him a tiny scoop of food 2x a day and yes he eats fast but I split up his portions. Can someone please give me some advice on what I should do? I’m really worried Spike means everything to me.

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Answers

syz's avatar

The only thing that you can do is take him back to the vet for more aggressive diagnostics and treatment. Radiographs or an ultrasound may provide some answers. If you aren’t satisfied that your vet is getting to the bottom of things, ask for a referral to a more advanced facility.

Be careful about switching foods too rapidly – sudden dietary changes can cause GI upset, too. A new food should be introduced gradually (¼ new food, then ½ new food, etc).

syz (35938points)“Great Answer” (1points)
trypaw's avatar

Also its not too much puke. Maybe a couple handfuls. (I have smallish hands) and usually only once a day he pukes.

trypaw's avatar

@syz He throws up his old food too. Wellness wet food. The best I can buy. I don’t know what to do if he throws up his wet and dry food that are the best top notch I can get in a pet store.

Qingu's avatar

Apart from throwing up, is his behavior the same? He’s still drinking water, eating, going to the bathroom properly, has the same amount of activity? If that’s the case, you can probably chill out a little. But still take him to the vet as soon as you can make an appointment.

If his behavior HAS changed, you might want to consider taking him to an animal emergency room ASAP. It will cost a lot and there’s a chance there’s nothing wrong with him and it will be a waste of time and stress for Spike, but even so it might be worth your peace of mind.

Coloma's avatar

I have gone through this several times and usually, READ: Usually, not ALWAYS, it is a minor bout of gastritis that will pass within 4–5 days or so.
I rushed my 3 yr. old Siamese to the vets in June after a few days of occasional vomiting and low appetite and they pumped her full of fluids and gave her an appetite stimulant. It cost me $130 and she only needed one dose of the meds and was fine again.
The vet said she often sees cats on the curve of recovery from minor gastritis issues.

Better to be safe than sorry, but…give it 3 -4 days, if he/she is not acting really lethargic, still active, eating a little, might just be a bad gopher or a minor intestinal virus.
Cats can contract stomach viruses and flus just like we can.
Is she fully vaccinated? If so, and you do not think/know of any potential foreign items she might have ingested, it is most likely, kitty stomach flu.

trypaw's avatar

@Qingu His behavior is fine, he acts totally normal. Aside from the first day he threw up he was feeling too good but he has improved minus the vomiting. I just took him to the vet this Monday and I’m not sure right now with the occasional vomiting that it is necessary. I’m just a little worried.

trypaw's avatar

@Coloma Thanks for your answer I really hope he just has a tummy virus and it will go away. He does seem to always be hungry however, I hope that is a good sign.

Coloma's avatar

@trypaw If he is always hungry asnd vomiting, I betcha a gazillion bucks he has worms! Do you notice any little white, rice like segments in his poo?
What you describe is very typical of worm infestation. Most likely tapeworms.
In this case he needs to see a vet for two worn=m shots 2 weeks apart. Check into ,ow cost clinics on your area, and they may ask you bring a stool sample.

Tapeworms are very common and you can usually see the little rice like segments or, sometimes a whole worm vomited up. Tapeworms look like a piece of spaghetti, long and white. Ick!
They come from fleas or from ingesting a lot of little rodents that carry the parasite.

trypaw's avatar

@Coloma He was de-wormed probably the beginning of the year (just in-case not because he had worms) he never goes outside, and they did check his stool sample. Could he still have worms as a indoor cat?

Coloma's avatar

@trypaw If he doesn’t have fleas, unlikely, and as an indoor cat. Sooo, back to the gastritis thing, or…? Maybe food allergies too. If the issue doesn’t clear up soon he needs to be seen, obviously. Good luck! One of my cats just survived a rattlesnake bite about a month ago.

keobooks's avatar

Are you sure it’s 10 hours after he eats? If there is still food in it, that’s kinda odd. It sounds like he’s gorging. It’s not really the amount of food they eat – it’s how fast they eat. It’s a bit aggravating because our older cat has started gorging and portion size doesn’t help. She either gorges or eats grass. She’s getting old and having a toddler around isn’t doing her any good.

trypaw's avatar

@keobooks yeah I fed him this morning at around 8am, and he threw up actually close to 6:30

rooeytoo's avatar

Is the cat losing weight? That would be an indication of whether or not he is retaining enough of the food to nourish him and to me would determine whether I run to the vets again or hold off for a day or so.

trypaw's avatar

@rooeytoo He has lost weight but I’ve had him on a healthier diet for a few months as well trying to get him to loose weight he was a little chubby. It’s not much weight. He weights maybe 8–10 pounds I’m estimating and he was 13.5 pounds 4 months ago.

Coloma's avatar

@trypaw Has he had his thyroid tested? He is a middle aged cat now and usually thyroid issues show up in a cats middle to later years. Symptoms are vomiting, weight loss and rough fur coat. Every lb. lost for a cat/dog is the equiv. of 10lbs. on a human. If he has lost over 30% of his body weight in 4 months, something is seriously off.

trypaw's avatar

He hasn’t ever had any problems, he’s generally a healthy cat. How would amber go about checking his thyroid? What would be involved?

Coloma's avatar

@trypaw They run blood tests to look at various chemical balances and kidney function. Untreated thyroid usually results in kidney failure and/or cardiac ( heart ) problems along with extreme anorexia. It is a really awful way to go. Most cats can be managed on medication, which is not expensive, but some, like one of my old guys that died a few years ago, cannot tolerate the meds. and the only option is killing the thyroid via radioactive iodine treatment which is pricey, around $1000 to $1.200.

trypaw's avatar

But he had bloodwork done on Monday? Wouldn’t they have saw something?

Coloma's avatar

@trypaw Oh, yes, you mentioned that, sorry. Well….I guess it is a mystery, just keep working with the vets.

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